“Did you know grilled cheese sandwiches don’t have to be burned?”

“What?”

“Grilled cheese sandwiches don’t have to be burned. I had one for lunch. It wasn’t burned, like yours always are.”

My son, Pie, had just returned from a day of working at the home of fellow church members, as part of his youth group’s efforts to raise money for a youth trip.

I’ve reported on this blog before, I am not a cook. Like Walter Brennan, on the Real McCoys used to say, No brag. Just fact. Still, having Pie remind me of one of my many deficiencies, especially one that impacted what he ate, made me cringe.

My way of cooking was to turn the heat all the way up. Never considered a medium. All or nothing. That’s the way it was. (I’m using a past tense verb here, but should probably amend it to say, it’s not that way, all the time, anymore.) I’ve grown to love burnt toast.

This reminded me of something the apostle John wrote about in Revelation.

Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God’s Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God’s creation, says: “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless. Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.”  Revelation 3:14-18  (The Message)

Maybe we’re walking around like those Laodiceans. We think we’ve got it all together. We don’t need anyone’s help. But, God’s ready to spew us out. We’re neither hot nor cold. God’s ready to be done with us, because we’ve grown stale. We’re unaware of our spiritual poverty and blindness. We’ve got the outward conformity thing going on. We look pretty good. But what about our spiritual maturity? How are we doing in that department?

So, as I try to remember to moderate the temperature when I grill my cheese sandwiches, I need to never forget to keep the fire of my striving to be more Christ-like, turned all the way up.

I don’t want God to spew me out because I’m stagnant. What about you? Do you need to get rid of a lukewarm attitude, and turn up the heat in your relationship with Jesus?

I wish you well.

Sandy

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