Spiritual Awakening Part 2

"Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?" (John 14:5)

To be spiritually awakened, you must first take an honest assessment of where you're at in your relationship with Jesus Christ right now.

Do you know?

I think for many people, their stance is, "Hey, if things are going okay for me, why rock the boat?"

And so, like the proverbial frog in the kettle, many of us end up settling for a benign, but comfortable lukewarmness, unaware of the perils of our true spiritual condition.

Knowing that Jesus often used the analogy of a relationship between bride and groom to speak of His relationship with the Church, what do you suppose a marriage would be like if the bride and groom never spent any time together? Never spoke to one another? Never got to know each other on a deeper level? Never experienced any spiritual, emotional or physical intimacy together?

That would be one boring, lifeless marriage, to be sure. 

And so God (our Bridegroom) commands us with the following incredible invitation, which has an even more incredible promise attached:

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

Isn't that what we all ultimately want? To have God draw near to us.

So why aren't we experiencing Him on a personal level more often, if at all?

Because He tells us we have to make the first move.

The directive is clear and conditional: Draw near to God and (then) He will draw near to you.

We just sit there on the bench waiting for God to ask us to dance. But He wants us to want Him. He wants us to ask Him to dance.

Do you get it?

He wants sincere, passionate, devotion and worship from us. He doesn't want to be treated like He is merely a dutiful obligation, like there are a bunch of other things we'd much rather be doing than worshiping Him.

Going back to the analogy of a bride and bridegroom, if you had laid your life down for your spouse, constantly going out of your way to bless them with every thing they need, showering them with kindness, love and affection, and he or she never showed any gratitude or affection, never loving you in return, what kind of marriage would that be?

A joyless marriage for sure.

And one that would wither to the point that the marriage would likely end in divorce, like over half of all marriages sadly do today.

This is exactly why so many people lead a lifeless and joyless spiritual life.

We sit comfortably on the throne of our life, and we neatly arrange all the things we have around us; marriage, family, job, material possessions, finances, hobbies. And oh yeah, God is down there somewhere, in a place where He won't take too much of our time away from the other things we enjoy. Somewhere where He won't inconvenience us too much.

And we wonder why our life feels so spiritually dull, or dead.

Jesus said the first and greatest commandment is:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)

If God laid down His life for us, and goes out of His way to bless us with everything we need, showering us with His kindness, love and affection, why should He have to command us to love Him in return?

It's because we're selfish, self-centered people, who would rather take than give. Who would rather do our own thing, and stay on our own throne, and conveniently arrange all the aspects of our life, including God, to suit us, according to our own likes and dislikes. According to our own understanding.

And by so doing, we have created a "god" to personally suit us. 

I'm not casting stones at anyone here.

Because I have done this to God many times throughout my life as a "Christian." I'm not judging you by writing this blog today. It was intended to convict and awaken me first, because I need to hear it, and heed its message.

To the lukewarm church in Laodicea, Jesus gave the following command:

"So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see." (Revelation 3:16-18)

Jesus goes on to say to the church at Laodicea:

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelation 3:19-21)

And in case you might think that this rebuke and command was only meant for the church at Laodicea, 2,000 years ago, Jesus lets us know that this rebuke and command was meant for all the churches:

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:22)

This painful rebuke and chastening was given by Jesus to the people He loves. As many as He loves, He rebukes and chastens. And He said, If a man loves Me he will keep my commandments."

It's all about love.

If you, if I, truly love Jesus, we will obey His commands. If we love Him we will choose to draw near to Him daily. moment by moment.

And His amazing promise is that He in return will draw near to us.

If you have ears to hear, you will hear Him gently knocking on the door of your heart today. 

Now, will you open the door of your heart to Him and invite Him in?

The promise of fellowship and intimacy with God is right there to you in His Word.

—It's your move...

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.