To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth, and do not need a thing." But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. — Revelation 3:14-22
Jesus offers a prescription for the Laodicean church. It is a powerful remedy designed to cure our arrogant self sufficiency.
He begins by telling us to buy. There is a cost and here it is: We must give up our warped view of ourselves. We must see how needy we truly are apart from Jesus Christ. We must hand over to Him all that we hold dear. That will look different for each of us. For the rich young ruler, the price was too great. His missed out on true wealth and power because He clung to an illusion, a fading dream.
Gold refined in the fire signifies true riches, things that cannot be shaken, the good that emerges from our trials, the finished work of God in our lives. Like you, I could give you a long list of things that have gone wrong in my life. I would not have chosen any of these trials. But now, looking back on them, I smile. I have wealth now that I never had before. I have a settled peace now that I never had before. Yes, I am still a work in progress as all of us are. But some of the gold is there. God’s work, not mine.
White clothes signify the righteousness that does not come by pretension or pretending. When it comes to righteousness, you cannot fake it ’til you make it. True righteousness comes when we own up to what is inside — not just to our sin, but to our deception, our corrupted motivations, our helplessness to ever change even one thing about ourselves apart from Christ. Then the Spirit of God sweeps in and the Lord washes us clean.
More tomorrow …
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. Dwight and his wife Kim provide prayer ministry for inner healing / transformation and coaching in prayer ministry. He is available to speak to your group or church. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.