It’s no secret that I am a big fan of coffee. I am what you might call a bit of a coffee snob. I have brands and even specific roasts and blends of beans that I prefer over others, but I can drink it all. Generally, if you come into my office you will find an assortment of coffee mugs and water bottles on my desk. One of those vehicles for liquid delivery will have some form of coffee in it. I LOVE coffee!
In my passion for coffee, however, I have been unsuccessful in finding a way to enjoy room temperature coffee. There are very few things that make me gag faster than taking a sip what I believe to be a reasonably warm cup of coffee only to have the bland, lukewarmness of room temperature coffee drain all joy from the room. I love excessively hot coffee and I love it when it is ice cold, but I cannot stand room temperature or lukewarm coffee.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to guess where I am going with this. In Revelation 3:15-16 Jesus says, “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.” Jesus is saying this room temperature way of life makes Him sick. Lukewarm water is not useful.
As I was drinking my coffee this morning it came to mind that we have a whole lot of room temperature coffee in our world today. We have a problem making up our minds. In every aspect of life, we have so many options available to us that we struggle to lock in one way or another. Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not against having options. The problem is this mentality sneaks into our relationship with Jesus. We don’t want to be so locked in with Jesus that we “miss out” on other opportunities in life. The room temperature of the world around us takes us to a point where we are just undrinkable. The issue at hand is commitment. Jesus wants us to lock in to what He is doing in the world and who He has called us to be.
I regularly have to ask myself where I stand. Am I hot or cold? Or, am I somewhere in the murky middle? If I’m honest, there are times when my commitment becomes stagnant and I am just going through the motions. I see other options around me and I find myself slowing down to see what else is available. In those times, I have sat on the desk too long and adjusted to room temperature. The sickness of apathy has done its work and I am neither hot nor cold. I’m not as useful as I should be. It’s a terrible place to be and it makes our Lord sick. I would argue it makes us sick as well. It’s hard to find the joy of the Lord in the middle ground.
May our lives be like a good cup of coffee that God and the world around us sips and knows they’ve just tasted something that’s worth drinking.
Great read!