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Intention

To receive Jesus’ rebuke as beloved sons, and to turn from uselessness to closer fellowship with him, and to lives that count for eternity.

Scripture

“Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea: Thus says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation:

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

“I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent. See! 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.

“To the one who conquers I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

– Revelation 3:14–21

Reflection

Jesus’ words to the church in Laodicea are severe. Perhaps surprisingly, they are also spoken to people he deeply loves.

“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline,” he tells them (Revelation 3:19). His stern warnings are not a sign that these Laodiceans were outside the Church. Quite the opposite: Hebrews 12:5–6 affirms that while the Lord’s discipline is hard to hear, he disciplines “the one he loves and punishes every son he receives.”

These believers belong to him, and that is precisely why he will not leave them as they are.

Jesus’ words about being “hot” or “cold” are sometimes misunderstood. Some hear them as a contrast between on-fire Christians and cold unbelievers, as if Jesus would rather have people who completely ignore him than those who follow him half-heartedly.

But that’s not what he was saying.

Cold water, like that found at Colossae, is refreshing to drink. Hot water, like that of the hot springs at Hierapolis — about 10 km from Laodicea — is therapeutic to bathe in. Both are useful. Lukewarm water is useful for neither.

Jesus was telling the Laodicean church that, although they were saved sons, they were useless servants. He has evaluated their works (Revelation 3:15), and they are accomplishing nothing of eternal worth. He warns them that he will vomit them out of his mouth.

To those who receive Jesus’ rebuke and zealously repent, he makes an extraordinary offer: “I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). The one who has just threatened to spit them out now invites them to share a meal.

Jesus loves his people enough to speak hard words, because he longs for a close relationship with them.

Paul makes a similar move with the Thessalonian believers. Although they were “children of the light,” he warns them not to fall into spiritual “sleep.” He commands them to “stay awake and be self-controlled” (1 Thessalonians 5:5–6).

If we have become sleepy believers — distant from the Lord — it is often because we have believed a Laodicean lie. We deceive ourselves into thinking the things of this world are more appetising than fellowship with Jesus, and more appealing than his promise of “the right to sit with me on my throne” (Revelation 3:21).

When we pray for the Church to awaken, we are asking that his beloved people would stop living as if they needed nothing, receive the rebuke, and sit down again with the one who loves them and gave his life for them.

We are asking a sleepy Church to receive the rebuke of his love. Those who do will never regret it.

He is already knocking. All we need to do is open the door.

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Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank you for your great love, which refuses to leave me as I am. I invite you to examine me and my works, and to reveal anything worthless that I must repent of. Where I have believed a lie, thinking that my way is better than yours, I receive your rebuke, knowing it is for my good and your glory.

Where my closeness to you has been broken, I repent, I open the door, and I receive your restoration. Let me “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

Lord, I pray for your Church to awaken. May your Spirit contend powerfully with your people, convicting us of sin, and convincing us that nothing but your way is worth living for. May your Church be a glorious, overcoming and conquering one, following close in the footsteps of the one who “conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” 

Awaken your lion! Amen.

Author Bio

Samuel lives with his wife and three young children in South Australia. He is fascinated by the impact of worldview and enjoys exploring how Christian faith relates to every area of life. An emerging writer and journalist, he has a background in the biological and geological sciences, ministry, and theology.

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