If you're a Christian, you're bound to
have experienced someone (or multiple people) who are what you would
call lukewarm for God. They make it clear on their posts on social
media that they believe in God and love him. They have been baptized
and believe that Jesus died for their sins. They post bible verses,
and will talk about God casually in conversation. They will ask for
prayers requests through times of struggle, and talk to people who
they are close to within the church. Granted, all things are
wonderful to do. It is not wrong to do these things, but there is
something very large missing from the equation.
I wrote in another article called "Growing Spiritually and Becoming Stronger" that becoming a
Christian changed my entire life, and I honestly believe that that is
how it should be when we are baptized. So, I can tell you from
experience that there is nothing more disappointing when you go onto
things like Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and you see cuss word
after cuss word on someone's page or you see a photo of them getting
drunk at a party. After all this time, you thought that their
spiritual life was okay, and now it's not. When you see that they haven't been coming to church as often and that they don't go to church functions anymore...
nothing is quite as heartbreaking as someone who is lukewarm. Not
only is it hard for faithful Christians to deal with, but it not
acceptable in Gods eyes.
Revelations 3:15-16 “I know your
works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold
or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I
will spit you out of my mouth.”
So many times I have seen people my
age try to be of the world and still try to be a Christian. I've seen
church camp friends of mine say cuss words outside of church or post
them online. It's like the saying to God you want to have your cake and eat
it too! I think it's so important for us all to understand that this
is not possible.
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord."
Sin clearly separates us from God, and
if we are not willing to change, our relationship with God is right
where it was before.
So then, what should we do when we see
this happen to the people that we love? I've sadly had to ask myself this
several times and it has honestly been a struggle. I've always been
the type of person who wants to change people. I want to open their
eyes let God work through me, but I've come to realize that we can't
make people change. I can't make people stop partying or drinking or
cussing no matter how I hard I try. You could spend months studying
with someone, and no real change will happen unless their hearts are
convicted and they make the decision to change for themselves.
At Queen Way Church of Christ, we
recently had a ladies seminar and our topic was on influence. We
talked about how our influence on others is strong, and sometimes we
don't even realize who we are having an affect on. I loved this topic
for this year because it reminded me that even if I can't make
someone change their life, I can still be an influence. I may
unfollow someone on Instagram or hide a persons profile because I
don't want to see or read cuss words, but what we can all do is
still keep our lines of communication open. I'm still friends with
people on Facebook and I try to make it known that I love them and am
always here when they need to talk. People who are lukewarm or who
have fallen away should know that we as Christians are always here for a bible
study or available to talk to. When I was struggling with this, a friend of mine told me that I need to keep my
communication open with others no matter how upset I can get with
them. We shouldn't completely shut out others who may need us, and
might some day come to realize that they are living in sin.
I may not have found the exact answer
to help with this issue and I am clearly not perfect, but what I do
know is that we need to all try our best everyday to always glorify
God and please Him.
Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by
testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect."
