Hey everybody, I read an incredible blog by one of friends, Chris McGrath, yesterday, and he gave me the privilege and permission of posting this on my blog so you all can read too. I simply just copy-pasted from his post. His blog’s URL is listed below, and I’d encourage you to check it out after you read this. Indeed, after you read this, you’ll probably want to anyways.
Here it is:
I have often wondered what it would be like if the any of the great Christian leaders of old could see the American Church. Men like the Apostle Paul or Martin Luther or Jonathan Edwards. What would they think? Would they be pleased? Disappointed? Angry? A better question might be this: what does Jesus think?
Well, we know what he thought about the church in Laodicea, a church in a world eerily similar to ours. The church there was financially well-off and had no immediate needs. The members had grown self-reliant. The fruit exhibited by the Christians there was little to none.
They were content with spiritual apathy. And this nauseated Christ. “I wish you were either hot or cold!” he cried, “But because you are lukewarm, I will vomit you out of my mouth” (v. 16).
What direction does Jesus then give to the church? He says, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
We can infer from this that the church was: A- investing its wealth in the temporary, finite treasures of the world. B- apathetic and stuck in sin C- behind a closed door to God D- in the middle of a spiritual war.
What does Christ say about this?
A- “I counsel you to buy from me…” Jesus Christ has a passion to see the church live with a kingdom perspective. That is, to have such an accurate view of eternity that it effects the way we spend our money, present ourselves to the world, and dream for the future.
B- “Be zealous and repent.” This two-part call to action is simple and straight-forward: get stoked and stop sinning! The freedom of the Gospel is something to be excited and passionate about! This is not only because it means eternal life with Christ in the future, but deliverance from the shackles of sin, guilt and shame while here on earth.
C- “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” Christ is beckoning us to let him in. “Let him in? Well, I already let him into my heart when I was 12.” Awesome. But what about today? Look at what Jesus will do if you open the door to him: “I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.” Jesus will hang out with you. Jesus, the King of All, the Name above every name, will be your friend. If the idea of chillin’ with Jesus, getting to know him better, and having his spirit indwell you doesn’t seem like that much fun, then please realize this: you have become satisfied with sitting in a mud puddle in the slums instead of swimming at the coast.
D- “The one who conquers.” There is no “conquer” without “enemy.” Christian, you are at war. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Those who overcome, Jesus says, will sit with him on the throne in Heaven.
Jesus has written to us. And it’s an unsettling rebuke. But if we can take the challenge seriously, the reward on the other side will surpass anything that this world has to offer. That’s because the reward is Christ.
http://cjmcgrath.blogspot.com/2012/01/revelation-3-progress-report.html
