Revelation 3 - Being Useful for God
**Revelation 3 - Being Useful for God**
*"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."* (verses 15-16)
*"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."* (verse 20)
◇ The last of the seven churches in Asia was the church in Laodicea. This church received rebuke from the very beginning, without a single word of praise. It was to this church that the well-known exhortation "be either hot or cold" was addressed as a stern rebuke.
Laodicea was a city positioned at the crossroads of three major trade routes, making it a hub for commerce and finance. Because the city lacked religious and political fervor, it never wielded great power nor experienced major upheavals. It was a city characterized by stability, balance, and compromise.
Despite their wealth, stability, and peace, the people of Laodicea had one major complaint: their water supply. The city had no fresh springs of its own, so water had to be transported from a source 10 kilometers to the south through clay pipes. What happened to that cool, refreshing water during its 10-kilometer journey through clay pipes? By the time it reached the city, it was neither hot enough for bathing nor cold enough for drinking—it had become utterly useless water.
God compared the people of Laodicea to this piped-in water. Like that water, they were neither hot nor cold, making them as useless as water that couldn't be used for bathing or drinking. While they prided themselves on being wealthy and lacking nothing, God revealed their true condition: they were wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. Yet they remained completely unaware of their actual state. Content in their wealth and comfort, they couldn't recognize what they truly needed.
What was it they desperately needed but lacked? It was Jesus, who stood outside knocking at their door. They mistakenly believed that their wealth, comfort, and absence of want were God's blessings and signs of Jesus' presence with them. But this was an illusion. Jesus was not inside with them—He was outside, knocking and asking them to open the door.
Many churches today build magnificent buildings and hold grand celebrations within them. They boast of how God's blessings enabled them to construct such impressive facilities and how they live in abundance without want. But we must ask: might it be that Jesus is not inside these buildings, while only the people inside are satisfied with themselves?
Jesus rebukes the Laodicean believers who had grown complacent in their comfortable lives. He tells them not to be like that useless water—neither hot nor cold. Instead, He calls them to be either hot or cold, so they can serve as useful water, whether for bathing or drinking.
To become useful Christians, we must open the door and receive Jesus. We must welcome Him, follow His example, and obey His teachings. This is the life of a useful person—a life that won't be spat out, a life that serves as light and salt in this world.
♧ Good and righteous God, help me to become a useful person who reflects Christ. Guide me on that path. Holy Spirit, make me strong and bold. Amen.