No Spitting Here!

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here 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 him, and he with me." Revelation 3:14-20

I was reading these verses today, and it was one of those ones that really struck me. Particularly verse 16 and 17. Verse 16 tells us to get in the pot or get out- but to stand on the edge and be halfway in and halfway out is unacceptable. We can't love God just a little. We can't spend time in his word and then turn around and spit on our neighbor. It's all or nothing. If we find ourselves in the middle, that's not good enough for God. He wants our whole heart- not just a part of it. And verse 17 seems to me that it is aimed at those who think they are satisfied with the status quo. This verse is calling out to the people who are "basically good people". People who are kind to others, share what they have, and also have made their own way and are successful financially. Yet these people don't know God, they have not given their hearts to him, and because of that, this verse calls them poor,pitiful, and wretched.

Fortunately, there is a way to not be poor, pitiful, and wretched. And verse 20 gives us that solution. God is always there, at everyone's door, knocking to be let in. All we need to do is hear that knocking and open up. We need to open the door to our hearts and let in the possibilities that await us on the other side of the door. Put that with the other verses, and we also know that it does us no good to just open up partway. It isn't beneficial to us to just open it up a smidge and test the air on the other side. We need to open it up all the way and invite Him in. Welcome Him into our hearts and lives and allow him to change us. The results of opening the door all the way is eternity in His Presence. One small act is rewarded with an eternity of generosity. We are truly blessed to have such a benevolent God.