Friday, October 23, 2009

Hot, Cold or Lukewarm?

If someone told you that you had one month to live, how would you spend your last 30 days on this planet? Would you do anything differently? Much has been written about this topic and there is even a movie coming out soon that is based on the Mayan calendar which ends in the year 2012.

Since I believe that all of us have eternal life, I am not really concerned about when my final chapter in this world ends. I instead concentrate on the role I play in God's puzzle and my relationship with the other pieces of the puzzle.

As I reflect on my new life outside the cave, one thing I notice is that I no longer live with fear. I would describe my "temperature" in the cave days as lukewarm, that is just sort of going through the motions. If someone had asked me what I would do with my final 30 days while I was still in the cave, I would have answered that big changes would be made.

Now that I am free, I see the world very differently. There is passion in my daily love letters to my wife. My enemies are no longer enemies. My relationships with others are getting better as I work on overcoming my own weaknesses, the main source of friction with others. I feel a sense of purpose as I contribute to this blog on a daily basis. My "temperature" has gone from lukewarm to hot. If you told me today that my time is almost up, I wouldn't change anything.

There is a quote in the Bible related to our temperature (Revelation 3:15). Jesus doesn't like lukewarm. He wants us to make a choice to be "all in" or completely out. A life without passion does not attract other people to God's puzzle. Can you imagine eating a steak that is only partially cooked? How about going to the dentist and having him clean only half of your teeth? Middle of the road does not cut it!

Live each day as if it were your last and don't worry about when that day is. Make sure that you let the people you care about know how much you love them. May your temperature be red hot today and all the days that are ahead of you.

Revelation 3:15

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would you were cold or hot.

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