Indifference found in religion
Revelation 3:17-18 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (ESV)
I live in the land of excess; the country I live in, right down to the community I live in. The banking industry and wealth surround me. People that are consumed with all the worldly possessions they can attain; excess to a high degree, working to impress all those they do no know. I lived that life in the pursuit of happiness through “stuff” for most of my life. I grabbed for all I could attain; the temporal pleasure wore off, I moved to the next conquest. The cycle is endless, for just as the Laodecians are described here, I was spiritually blind to my lostness. That desire I was trying to fill, was a hole in my soul that could not be filled by anything found here. “The riches of the body will not enrich the soul; the sight of the body will not enlighten the soul; the most convenient house for the body will not afford rest nor safety to the soul. The soul is a different thing from the body, and must have accommodation suitable to its nature, or else in the midst of bodily prosperity it will be wretched and miserable.” (Matthew Henry)
The Laodecian’s thought they were at the peak of their lives in so many ways. They felt rich, and blessed by God in so many ways to a point that pride had creeped into their religion. Their chests were puffed out to the point their hearts were hardened and indifferent to God. They thought they had all they needed; they felt as though they had attained, forgetting about the power of God through provision and grace. They just became indifferent and seemingly numb to all that came to a true heart for God. Pride and humbleness are polar opposites; pride can creep into your religion and close the door to God. Christ saw their hearts and knew how far they were from him. He sees your heart and knows the level of your true religion; is it religion or is it relationship with Him? Religion kills the soul for it produces the acts that lead to works that save. Those works that save are built on pride in accomplishment; that pride grows indifference, a false security found in religion. The false security of religion found in weekly pew attendance, will become a south bound bus seat for your soul.
Have your eyes been opened? Do you desire to know that He has what you need for your soul? Do you understand that a true heart for him leads to paradise, and is only found with a humble repentant heart? “Doubtless there are many in hell that once thought themselves to be in the way to heaven. Let us daily beg of God that we may not be left to flatter and deceive ourselves in the concerns of our souls.” (Matthew Henry). Is Christ tugging at your heart? He provides the key in the next passage: 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. He can take your indifferent heart and save your soul eternally. He can provide you what you will never find in the pursuit of stuff, or the indifference found in religion. He can give you what truly satisfies your soul, and use you to draw others to Himself, with your testimony of a changed life found in Him.
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