Coffee Grounds Faith

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:14-20 NIV)

Yesterday, I was sitting in my office working and enjoying a cup of coffee from my favorite coffee shop in town.  I lifted my cup to savor the last bit that was left.  Suddenly, I found myself literally spitting it back into the cup.  Unbeknownst to me, coffee grounds were sitting at the bottom and, in that last sip, I had sucked them into my mouth.  It was a disgusting experience.  And it gave me an even greater understanding of what Jesus was telling the Laodicean church.

The people in the church were completely satisfied with their lives. Obviously, they were participating in church gatherings and must have believed they were in good standing with the Lord.  Yet, He called them lukewarm and said that though they thought they were rich, in fact they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.”  Not exactly a ringing endorsement and not likely what they expected to hear.  

It was a divine wake-up call they needed to hear and so do we.  It is so easy, as the Apostle Paul implies, to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. (Romans 12:3)  We grow satisfied with where we are in our lives and with the Lord.  Where we once were “hot” for the Lord, we may have grown lukewarm.  And like those coffee grounds in my mouth, Jesus finds lukewarmness disgusting.  So much so, He would rather us be rejecting Him than tepidly following Him!  

This smacks dead in the face of our often “better than nothing” approach.  At least we are in church every Sunday.  At least we aren’t doing THOSE things.  At least we are giving some money to the poor. Jesus finds this approach disgusting.  What He wants is not half-hearted efforts, but humbled and fully committed people.  Just like I want to be drinking the coffee and not the leftover grounds.

Today, know the Lord loves you and this is why He is warning you.  Are you lukewarm in your faith?  Then it is time for a change of heart only He can give.  He is waiting and knocking.  Will you humble yourself and let Him in?

© Jim Musser 2016