Day 53: When Jesus is outside - Revelation 3 vs 14 – 22.

14 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea.” This is the message from the one who is the Amen - the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation. 15-16 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other but since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich - I have everything I want - I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realise that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me - gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.

19-20 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22 Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” Revelation 3:14-22 New Living Translation

What a startling picture this is. Jesus is standing outside a Church and knocking on the door hoping someone will invite Him in! How did that congregation feel about themselves as compared to how Jesus saw them? (vs 17)

We're not told if the 'riches' they boasted of was actual physical wealth, or whether they simply thought they were spiritually superior to others. But both of those can lead to the spiritual poverty and blindness that Jesus spoke of! The danger of wealth is that it can lead to a divided heart. As Jesus said in Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

But it's not just money that may divide our heart - it can be what we think about all the things the world offers, it's entertainments, it's pleasures, it's fame and status symbols and so on. The idea is that we can have 'one foot in the Church and one foot in the world'. But what picture did Jesus use to describe the outcome of such a lifestyle? (vs 15-16).

Lukewarm Christians are of no use to the Lord no matter how great they may think they are. But did Jesus rebuke them so strongly because He despised them and wanted nothing to do with them anymore? (vs 19-20)

This picture of Jesus knocking at a door (which I said was quite startling) is also so beautiful! It's often been used by preachers as a gospel text to urge people to 'open their heart' to Jesus. But we see here that it was actually spoken to those who already professed to be Christians! It was an invitation to Christians whose lives were nowhere near what Jesus wanted them to be. They were living in a manner that kept Jesus on the outside of their life. But Jesus longed for them to experience the true fellowship that comes when He is truly Lord within our lives.

Something to ponder. What do you think is involved in 'opening the door to Jesus'?

Could it be the prayer of confessing where we've been compromising, and asking Him to truly have lordship in our life? Could it be asking Him to give us strength to give up things of the world that we know are keeping us from that intimate meal-sharing friendship with Him? Oh don't think that such a prayer is meaningless – Jesus said “I WILL COME IN”.