Revelation 3:15
Either Hot or Cold
I like soup when it is piping hot and a soft drink when it is icy cold. I can’t stand either one lukewarm. Jesus has the same attitude toward people who profess to be His children. He detests lukewarmness. He said He wished they would be either hot or cold.
Now, why would Jesus prefer cold to lukewarmness? If we understand the term cold to mean hostility toward the gospel, we must conclude that Jesus would rather see a person an antagonist than a halfhearted follower. But that explanation seems doubtful.
I don’t believe Jesus preferred hostility to half-heartedness. Some scholars suggest that He may have been thinking about two springs near Laodicea—the hot mineral springs at Hierapolis and the pure cold water springs in Colossae. The hot springs were seen as possessing healing powers. The cold, invigorating springs provided refreshment. The Christians in the church at Laodicea brought neither healing to the spiritually ill not refreshment to the weary. They were lukewarm, and therefore of no help to anyone.
You and I must ask ourselves these questions: Do I provide refreshment to the spiritually weary by bringing them encouragement, joy, and hope? Do I bring healing by challenging the careless, correcting the erring, and rousing the indifferent? Remember, we can’t help anybody if we are lukewarm. The Lord wants us either hot or cold—whatever the need may require. - H.V.L.