Zeal

Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about tospit you out of my mouth.
Jesus, in the verse above, was speaking to the Church at Laodicea. This was an indictment of their lack of zeal. They were not hot with zeal for Jesus, as they should have been, but lukewarm and satisfied with their situation. Jesus gave them a stiff rebuke and called on them to repent. True zeal is more than singing, clapping, and giving lip service to God. It means getting involved and performing Christian service…. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord (Romans 12:11). Nearly everyone in the United States has zeal for something. Bumper stickers and t-shirts, such as ‘Fishing is life’, display zeal for many activities in this country today. Instead of the word fishing, just substitute any of a number of words such as football, basketball, golf, hunting, car racing, soccer, music, sky-diving, etc. People have plenty of zeal for a lot of things that are really meaningless in the end…. I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Solomon went on to conclude that the whole duty of man was to fear God and keep his commandments. The Apostle Paul was zealous and made it clear what life was to him…. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). Paul’s bumper sticker or t-shirt would proclaim, ’Christ is Life.’ A person should consider what word he would use in the statement, For to me, to live is. The word that a person places here is where his zeal lies. Jesus said it another way…. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21). Praise God for his grace and mercy and may we all be zealous for Christ and the Kingdom of God and not lukewarm as was the Church at Laodicea.