The Virus

It is a disease that has swept our nation. It is something that has affected each of us at some point or another. It is safe to say that we have all had some form of this and may still be contaminated by it and don’t even realize it. It has been around so long it is even mentioned in the Bible, in Revelation 3:15. As with most viruses, it is not desired to have a temperature of above or below normal. You don’t want to have a fever, making you too hot, and you certainly don’t want to be too cold. The doctor would say it is desirable to be in the comfortable state of 98.6. Roles have been switched slightly, however, for this certain malady. The name of it, I have deemed: the lukewarm virus.

In the spiritual sense of things, I would like to associate the word “lukewarm” to comfort. I believe what Jesus was saying in Revelation 3:15-16 was that he didn’t want us to be comfortable in our spiritual walk with him. We, as humans, like to be comfortable. We like to associate ourselves with people that we know and are comfortable around, be a certain temperature, not do things that make us stand out, if it makes us uncomfortable. If it were up to us, we would stay in a state of comfort for the rest of our lives, because it is much easier and more pleasant to us. It is very dangerous for us, as Christians, to be in this state of comfort. It tells us that we are just fine where we are in our spiritual journey. We don’t need to learn anything new about Christ, witness to any more people than we already are, or strive to become any more like Christ than we already have. In being comfortable with our state, we are being stagnant, neither moving forward with Christ, nor moving backward without him. We simply exist in the middle ground.

Christ would rather have his children be completely cold against him, rather than lukewarm. This is hard for me to accept sometimes. It is hard for me to imagine that Christ would seriously rather have a cold turkey individual over that of a stagnant Christian. I wouldn’t think that the cold individual would be completely comfortable with their situation. Take for example, this scenario. Imagine what would happen if I went outside without a coat on in 30 degree weather. I would consider myself to be very cold at this point. Not only am I cold, but also I would be increasingly aware of what I do not have: a coat. I could continue to walk outside without a coat on, but I would be miserable. I imagine that the cold individual mentioned in the Bible would feel much the same way without Christ. They could continue to go on without Christ, but they would be increasingly aware of what they were missing. I would imagine that if you were hot in your spiritual walk with Christ, you would almost be like a pot of boiling water on the stove. You would be too excited to stay still and more than willing to warm up anyone else that came into your pot with you (or crossed your path). The lukewarm Christian, has no idea of what they are missing. They feel fine, so why change anything about their lifestyle in which they are living?

I would love to say that I’m always on fire for Jesus and that I’m not ever in the lukewarm state, but I would be lying. I have searched for an answer as to how to become hot for Christ. The answer, I believe depends on each individual. There is no shot you can be injected with that will make you immune to the virus. Christ says in Revelation 3:17 that the lukewarm person has no need of anything. According to the Bible, they are fully aware of their riches and their wealth, and yet so unaware of their poor, miserable, naked, blind selves. I don’t propose that I have the cure to the virus, but I have found one key that may help heal us of the disease. That one key is realizing that we are nothing and becoming increasingly aware of what we are in need of: and that’s Christ.