THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA

 

The Church at Laodicea wouldn’t say “yes” or “no”

Ephesus was a hard-working and orderly church. They dotted their I’s and crossed their t’s… but they had lost their passion. Pergamum held fast to Christ’s name… but they also tolerated false teaching. Thyatira was commended for their love, but a false prophetess was leading them into immorality and idolatry. The church at Sardis had great reputation. It was the talk of the region… but it was spiritually dead. The church at Philadelphia did the best that they could with limited resources. You can read about these churches in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, where we get a summary of how the churches of Asia Minor were doing. Asia Minor is in today’s Turkey and the churches within it were like the churches in Peoria or Galesburg to a great extent. Some of them had so much order that they choked off the “ardor” and some of them had more enthusiasm than doctrine. It was a mixed bag for each of these churches… but it was the “lukewarm” church at Laodicea that got the worst grade because they didn’t give Christ much thought, one way or the other. When God stands at our door and knocks, God expects an answer. When the Spirit whispers, “follow Jesus,” our answer may be “yes” or “no,” but God expects an answer!

According to our passage in Isaiah (5:1-9), God had done everything He could for His people. He had planted them on a fertile hill and He put a hedge around them. What is more, He built a watchtower and also provided a wine press. They- the people of Judah- were built for success. And so, God was expectant as He approached His vineyard. He expected MISHPAT (justice)… but found MISPACH (bloodshed). With all of the love God had provided, surely God would find a loving, prayerful, committed, serving community when He showed up, but the planting, the rain, the hedge, and the pruning were all in vain. God had done the work but His people let it die. Israel had every reason to flourish, but privilege always carries accountability. When God calls, we are called to respond… and our response is measured by the justice and righteousness we work for and show in our own lives.

When Christ traded in glory to walk among us, He sought a response from the people. “Do you love me more than these?” “What do you want me to do for you?” “Show me where you laid him.” God sent His Son into the world to save our souls, to be what we are meant to be, and to serve others as Jesus had done. Jesus had no intention of forcing His will on us and he never tried to tell us what we wanted to hear… but He did call for trust and obedience, for surrender, all along the way. He didn’t intend to please everyone. It wasn’t his goal to gloss over sin or to minimize the cost of discipleship, but it was His goal to take a stand for everything that is truly good and loving. He knew that the little gods of this world- money, power, pleasure- had held sway for a long, long time. He knew that people were scared to walk away from the crowd and that they were bullied if they did. He knew that people had deep relationships that pulled them in any number of ways, and He knew that many, many people would choose an easier and softer road. He knew that the choice He laid before them would be challenging and divisive. But He invited them to come and see what He could do. He invited them to choose the direction in which they would go!

But God calls us to make a choice- will you worship me or someone or something else- “yes”, or “no,” but not “we’ll see.” God calls us to surrender and follow Him. He invites us to pick up our own cross of faithfulness and service and He waits for our answer. Our answer may be, “Count me in! Where’s my cross.” Or it may be “no. I’m not strong enough to carry a cross.” One or the other because invitations deserve a response! AMEN!