So we know that being a lukewarm Christian is not good at all, and we know what it looks like to be lukewarm. But you may still be thinking to yourself, "if everyone who believes in Jesus is saved, then whats wrong with being lukewarm?" Well here's the problem, if you are just lukewarm then you may not even be saved. If Jesus has not made a big enough impact on your life to radically change the way you live, love, act, and think, then you obviously have not allowed Jesus to come into your life and change you.
In Galatians 2:20, we are told that we are reborn into Christ's resurrection, and in John 3:3 Jesus himself promises that we will not enter into Heaven unless we are born again in the Holy Spirit. James 2:26 tells us that if we do not have good deeds come as a natural result of our faith, then our faith is simply dead. To take it a step further, in Revelation 3, Jesus tells the church in Laodicea that he is so disgusted with them being lukewarm, that he will spit them out of his mouth. There is no way around it, Jesus is calling us to love him. Not part of him, and not with a part of what we can offer, but all of him and with all we can offer. And if you cannot bring yourself to give everything you have to the God in Heaven who created you for the very purpose to love him, then you must not love Jesus enough. His words, not mine.
It is hard to hear, for many reasons. One of the most distressing for me is just thinking about the untold populations who have been deceived into believing that believing alone is enough, and thus are missing what Christianity is all about. The masses who are going to be very surprised when the day of judgement comes and Jesus tells them "I never knew you." And quite honestly it scares me, because it makes we wonder which of my friends are truly saved, and which ones aren't.
But it is also giving me conviction for them, to share with them what it REALLY means to be a Christian. I am just wanting to proclaim the name of the Gospel to anyone who will listen, and even those who won't. Jesus' love is not something to be held on to and kept for myself; our very calling as men made in God's image is to love others, and what better way to love others then to help them have a relationship with Jesus.
But I am not perfect, by any means. I cannot save people from their sins, only Jesus can. All I can do is bring them to Jesus and tell them what they need to know to make their own decision to accept Jesus into their life. So since what I can do is infinitesimally small compared to the grace of God (God's plan WILL be carried out, whether I accept my role or not. I only pray that I am not missing whatever God is calling me to do on a daily basis), I must take care that Jesus is first and foremost in my life. If I begin with the foundation of Jesus, making all decisions and giving all I have for Jesus, then what I build on top of that will naturally be built strong, strong enough to survive the fire (1 Corinthians 3). This will be especially tough coming into the new school year, judging by how my walk ebbed and waned this last year whenever I had a lot going on. So that is something that I need to change, I need to be consistently giving everything to God, in all situations. If I have a lot to study for (which I will, my schedule is LOADED), I will start in prayer for focus, and repeatedly take breaks to pray to endurance. I need to keep a good sleep schedule, not sleeping in but rather waking up early and giving the very beginning of my day to God. I need to be praying for those who are in the dark on campus, and I need to step out of my comfort zone to help them find the light.
I also know what it means to have a strong role model and friend there for you as you begin a new relationship with Jesus. I need to be this role model, someone who will encourage people, hold them accountable, help them understand and deepen their faith, and be there for them at any time. Tyler was this guy for me this last year, and now it is my turn to go and make disciples. In the little bit of time I have left this summer I need to begin to prepare for this, through prayer, through Scripture memorization, and through planning out how to disciple others by loving them in the same way Jesus loves me.
This next year is certainly going to be tough, but I am going into it head first, running the race of life as if to get the ultimate prize, Jesus. I need to stop giving just a part of myself to God, stop "finding" time for Him, and start making time. God does not accept a half-hearted giver, and I do not want to be a half-hearted giver, and neither should you.