“Tepid” :: Versions of Christianity You Should Reject (According to Jesus)
In the Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon Cooper meets Amy Farrah Fowler (a match made in heaven), he offers to buy her a beverage. Amy’s response: “Water. Tepid.”
Room temperature water is okay, as long as you’re expecting it. If you’re hoping the water in front of you is super-hot (to make tea), or ice-cold (on a hot day) and turns out to be lukewarm (on the first sip), that usually results in some sort of spewing (or at least the temptation).
That was Jesus’ metaphorical response to dealing with lukewarm people in the church who were neither “cold nor hot.” The folks who made up the Church of Laodicea had an inaccurate perception of themselves. They had become so secure in their wealth and accomplishments that they had become numb to their true spiritual needs.
Like the leper who can feel no physical pain, they claimed to be “just fine” as their souls gradually succumbed to an infection they could neither perceive nor feel.
Though these words of Jesus sound harsh, they come from a compassionate heart …
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.” Revelation 3:19
In fact, one of the most well-known sayings of Jesus appears in this gentle rebuke …
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Revelation 3:20)
Renditions of this statement (like the one below) often show Jesus knocking at an entryway with no latch on the outside; the door needs to be opened from within.
God will never force Himself on anyone; but He will always respond when invited.
Reject any version of Christianity whose adherents say, “We’re kind of a big deal.”
Jesus knows better.
Especially when …
Schmidt Happens.
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