Rev. 3:14-22 “The Pain of Fence Sitting- Laodicea” 8-12-07 Dr. J. Ben Sloan
This past week I have noticed how many people talk on their cell phones when they drive- I have done this myself. I’ve also noticed how many of them swerve to the middle of the road. The middle of the road in some ways is a safe place. You don’t have to worry about falling off the edge- going into some ditch or tree, but you do have to worry about oncoming traffic, and at some point we have to recognize that the road was not just meant for us. There are many people who prefer the middle of the road philosophy about Jesus. They want just enough of Jesus and faith to keep them from going over the edge of immorality, but they don’t want to be religiously crazy. But this passage would remind us that just a pinch of Jesus won’t do. If you do not take Jesus seriously, frankly do we expect him to take us seriously? It is impossible to be half married. It is not good to finish a job only half-way, and it is not good to try to be a half Christian.
I love seeing somebody who is very sensitive get into the pool- especially where the water is really cold (which is a memory in August in South Carolina). They stick their hand in, then their toe, their leg, then they pull it back out- run talk to a friend, come back sit down, put both legs in, maybe bravely wade in with their hands horizontal with their chests. At one point it is exhilarating to be half-way in. But in another way, it can be miserable. Then there are those in the pool are yelling, “Just come on in… the water’s fine!” There is a little lack of faith in their call for the person who is half in and half out. Even if the half-in person has experienced “just-right water” yesterday.
Fence sitting can be a hard business, because at some point you have to get off of the fence and choose a side. Someone said, “to all the fence-sitters out there- may their fences be filled with barbed wire!” The old saying goes something like this- “People who straddle both sides of the fence are bound to get a pain in their groin.” There is a place to make decisions carefully in life. But it can be over-done. I knew a man who dated the same woman for twenty two years and because he couldn’t decide to marry her, she finally, even though she liked him a lot, moved on. There are people I know who say they’ll really get serious with their faith after something happens…
Maybe when they get out of college, or when they aren’t so busy with their jobs, or when their kids are older and can dress themselves for church, or when they retire, or when they can’t travel anymore. There is always a reason to not get serious about what is most important in life. Jesus is calling us in this passage to take him seriously.
The people of Laodicea wanted to be half- Christians. They wanted to do what so many people do in our culture: come to church on Sundays, and then live like they never went to church the rest of the week. This letter to Laodicea is easily the harshest words to all the seven churches. After reading this letter you want to say, “Ouch!” But sometimes we need to be pinched a tad to wake us up. Church is not just a place to come, feel good, and fall asleep. Maybe they are like what Dante said, “the darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” We are living in real times of moral crises, and many Christians are silent, and cowering- as if they have nothing to say or do. They may believe in being on the Lord’s side of the fence, but they don’t want to speak out for that side lest they appear radical. But the ones who win the day are the ones who don’t care what others think, and are willing to pay the cost to do and say what is right.
The church can actually become wealthy by accommodating culture and not stirring the pot. If not in terms of money, then in terms of not being attacked or degraded. If the church is dead, no one will attack it. When Christians are dead in their faith- saying nothing, doing nothing, then frankly no one will attack it because no one cares. The church in Laodicea said, “I am rich.” But they were poor. They were rich in the applause of the world, and poor in hearing heaven’s applause. They were rich in numbers, but poor in dedication. It was an easy- fence sitting church. My hopes are that no one will say that honestly of us.
The church in Laodicea avoided persecution. Jesus counseled them to buy gold refined in fire. This is clearly a reference to the biblical idea of being refined by the trials of life, so that the impurities are burned away, so that the true, valuable element is left.
Interestingly, Jesus said, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.” This is a real lesson. It is a lesson about how to love people. Hebrews says, “The Lord disciplines those he loves.” Discipline, is not just about punishment, it is about training, getting in shape. I think of the football team and its two-a-day practices. Much of that discipline is training, and learning more than it is doing extra push ups or running an extra 3 laps around the field. Discipline means in part teaching us to listen to the wisdom of the ages. It is training us not to be selfish, or careless, or apathetic to others. Discipline teaches us to be tough. The Lord disciplines those He loves because He wants us to be ready for the trials of life.
It is a lesson about not being left alone by God. God cares for us, even when we are lukewarm or uncaring toward Him. Though we may avoid persecution from human beings, we cannot avoid the discipline of God. God will not leave us alone in our comfort, in our callousness. If He does, then we are already in hell. Hell is when God leaves you alone.
The people of Laodicea were not left alone, and God has not left you alone today. There may be people who are not here today who don’t care. But today, God is dealing with you- and that may be why you are here. God wants you to say something, to do something, to be something for Him. God wants you to escape your comfortable disinterest. When I see people turn up their noses in snobbery and indifference at other human beings, whether they be liberal, conservative, Republican or Democrat, black or white, rich or poor, male or female, a believer or a non-believer, something is wrong. God teaches us to leave our indifference.
Laodicea, Ray Van Der Laan says, was known for its hot springs. People from all over would come to the town to be bathed in the hot springs that had healing properties. It also had not too far away, cool, clear, fresh water. Much like Yellowstone. Yellowstone has geisers and hot springs, and the old folk used to go there to be healed. It also has clean, fresh water. Jesus said, the people of Laodicea were not clear and cold. They were polluted and luke warm. Luke warm water, is the kind that bacteria love. It is not fit to drink or swim in. the cold or the really hot kill the bacteria. I heard an environmental engineer speak about Lake Murray’s pollution levels. He said that it is much cleaner in the spring and fall, but that bacteria grows toward the end of the summer- and the fish go deep to find cold water with more oxygen. My point is you don’t want to be lukewarm.
But I really think Jesus is speaking here about people being content to be apathetic. The greatest sin of the church today is apathy. We don’t want to get our feathers too ruffled. If we get our feathers ruffled, we might get our feelings hurt and say or do things that are stupid.
The great verse in this passage is sometimes overplayed. It is, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and sup with him and he with me.”
The idea is that Jesus is knocking on your heart’s door. He is trying to wake you up from your slumber and get you to the door. He is ringing the doorbell to your life trying to get you to get up and respond. He is calling your cell-phone, he is leaving a message on your answering machine, he has sent you an e-mail, he is trying to communicate with you so that you will respond. Do not turn away in disinterest, apathy.
I am someone who loves ice tea all year round. I also like hot tea on a cold, winter’s night. But there is no season in which I prefer luke warm tea! One day I was drinking ice tea and I sat it down on the counter. I walked away to do something, came back and picked up…
Picked up what I THOUGHT was my nice, cold, ice tea. Instead I picked up a glass of tea that had been sitting there for some time- probably overnight. The ice had melted, but the cup was the same. My immediate response to this surprisingly luke warm tea was to run to the sink and spew it out of my mouth!
Jesus said, if you are not hot, and you are not cold, he will spew you out of his mouth. But he also graciously says, Look- I’m right here wanting you to respond to me. I
invite you to dedicate or re-dedicate yourself to the one who gave himself wholly to you.
To Him who overcomes-Jesus gives the right to sit on his throne- just as Jesus overcame and sits on the throne.