This whole
trip, God has been challenging me to want more of Him. I am quickly finding out that by wanting more
of Him, I have to want less of myself and my own desires. I can no longer live the life I had before
this trip if I truly want more of Christ. I am realizing the higher life he has called Christians to live and how
I need to submit control of myself over to him. How I need to live as Jesus taught us to live 24/7, not just when I am
with my Christian friends, or at church. Without doing this I can never truly receive everything God wants to
give me. I just read “Crazy Love” by
Francis Chan and this short book blew my mind. Every word that he wrote convicted my spirit about how I so easily
become complacent in my walk with Christ. He made a statement about the lives Christians live saying that
“something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers.” This one little comment really made me
think…and it is so true. Nothing Christ
did was normal or accepted by the Pharisee’s. So why do we, as Christians, try so hard to be politically correct, to
not stand out in a crowd, to not rub someone the wrong way, and all the other
behaviors we perform to appear “normal” to the unbelieving world?
In this book there is a chapter titled
“profile of the lukewarm” where Chan gives examples of what it looks like for a
Christian to be lukewarm. Instead of
trying to summarize the points and what not, I decided to just type everything
from the book…so please read as many, or as few as you want (the scripture
under each statement is proof against that lifestyle choice). As you read them, I will ask you to do the
same thing Chan asked of me the first time I read through them…take the time to
evaluate your life right now. Not the
person you think you should be or want to be, but the person and life that you
are currently living everyday!!
“It is not scientific
doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this
land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious,
church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity.”
Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they
believe “good Christians” so, so they go.
Isaiah 29:13
Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the
church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy
and safe to give, they do so. After all,
God loves a cheerful giver, right?
1 Chronicles 21:24; Luke 21:1-4
Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over
what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care
more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and
giving) than what Gos thinks of their hearts and lives.
Luke 6:26; Revelation 3:1; Matthew
23:5-7
Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from
their sin; they only want to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t
truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish
them. Lukewarm people don’t really
believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one.
John 10:10; Romans 6:1-2
Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who
do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme”
Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm
people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers.
James 1:22; James 4:17; Matthew 21:28-31
Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their
neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They
do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by
talking about private issues like religion.
Matthew 10:32-33
Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by
comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as
so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as they guy down the street.
Luke 18:11-12
Lukewarm people say they love Jesus and He is, indeed,
a part of their lives. But only a
part. They give Him a section of their
time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their
lives.
Luke 9:57-62
Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with
all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much,
but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person;
it’s only for pastors and missionaries and radicals.
Matthew 22:37-38
Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love
others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in
return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who
cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally alight them, whose
kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or
uncomfortable. Their love is highly
conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached.
Matthew 5:43-47; Luke 14:12-14
Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there
are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are
willing to give.
Luke 18:21-25
Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more
often than eternity in heaven. Daily
life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next
month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do
they intently consider the life to come.
Philippians 3:18-20; Colossians 3:2
Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and
comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the
poor. They are quick to point out,
“Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only that the love of money is.” Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel
“called” to minister to the rich; very few feel “called” to minister to the
poor.
Matthew 25:34, 40; Isaiah 58:6-7
Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep
themselves from feeling too guilty. They
want to do the care minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring too much
of them.
1Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46; 1Timothy
6:17-18; Matthew 10:28
Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church,
made a profession of faith at age of twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian
family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament
warned Israel that they were
not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel,
so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling is a “Christian
nation.”
Matthew 7:21; Amos 6:1
Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are
structured so they never have to. They
don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings
account. They don’t need God to help
them-they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live-they
have life figured and mapped out. They
don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the
most part, they are in good health. The
truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped
believing in God.
Luke 12:16-21; Hebrews 11
Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than
average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical
unbeliever. They equate their partially
sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong.
Matthew 23:25-28
After I read
through this chapter, I heeded the advice of 2 Corinthians 13:5 to “Examine
yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” and with the
help of Chan’s profiles, I evaluated the life I was living and realized that in
many areas I am quiet lukewarm. Here I
thought I was doing such a great job following Christ and giving my life to
him, but after reading through these profiles, I find that didn’t get it. What I thought was enough, doesn’t even begin
to be enough. When God says He wants
everything, he means EVERYTHING, not just the things that are convenient for
us… So now that I know, it is up to me to make that decision to live my life
the way Christ intended for me to live it, not as lukewarm!
“So,
because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my
mouth.”
Revelation
3:16
Alyssa,
Very powerful thoughts that I will be pondering upon for a while. thanks for sharing. Neil