“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot.  So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:15) 

These words of Jesus to the Church of Laodicea are a shot across the bow of any complacency creeping into our lives as Christians.  God calls us to love him and others, and we show our love for others by serving them when the opportunity arises. 

I have a good friend in his upper 80’s, who fell and broke his hip.  He is in a rehab center receiving therapy to get out of bed and into a wheelchair and begin to maneuver so he can get back into his prior living situation with his wife.  His friends have arranged for him to be visited daily in addition to his wife’s regular visits to support, encourage and pray with him.  It is easy to let complacency creep in with a lukewarm response and find excuses not to volunteer.  God, however, is calling us to show our love for him by supporting him in this need. 

Our sinful nature, particularly sloth and pride, war against volunteering and serving others.  In our sloth we become indifferent to the needs of others and lose our passion to seek God in all things.  In our pride we seek to substitute our will for God’s.

While God is forgiving and merciful, his desire and call for us is neither casual nor trivial.  The last thing we should want is to become distasteful to Jesus as he says in the above scripture.

Are we intentional or “lukewarm” in living out our Christian faith and serving others?”