SOME LIKE IT HOT
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold…
Can you finish the rhyme? There’s no accounting for taste. I’m not sure what kind of porridge this is, but it doesn’t sound appetizing, no matter the temperature. Remember the three bears? They had differing opinions on how hot they liked their porridge too.
Beyond the porridge world, there are numerous things that can be enjoyed at multiple temperatures. Do you drink your coffee steaming or prefer it iced? Would you rather have warm milk or a chilled glass? Hot water with lemon or tepid lemon water? We don’t have to agree. In the case of food or drink, we’re not hurting anyone with our preferences. Our faith, however, is a different story.
The Apostle Peter made a few mistakes as he served as a disciple to Jesus, but you can’t argue—his faith was hot. His desire was to please Jesus. A fisherman by trade, Peter was one of the first to hear the invitation, “Follow me.” We don’t know if he talked it over with his brother Andrew, whispering out of the side of his mouth, “I have a family to feed. Do you think it will be a paid position?” Peter might have wondered what this following entailed.
What was it about Jesus that caused men to walk away from their livelihoods to join His entourage? He hadn’t become famous yet; He wasn’t yet known for His healings, exorcisms, or teachings. What shone out of the Saviour’s eyes that day that motivated Peter to walk away from his boat and his nets and abandon his former life to follow Jesus? He put blind trust in this teacher, a seeming nomad.
The first thing Jesus did was change his name! One minute his brother was calling him Simon, as he’d been known since birth, and the next, he walked away from that life a new man with a new name: Peter, ‘the Rock.’
As we read of his faith journey in the Gospels, we quickly see that this rock was more like a rolling stone at times. A natural-born leader, Peter had some qualities that Jesus had to harness for him to become spiritually rock solid. He was self-confident but impulsive and loud-mouthed, with the habit of blurting his thoughts to everyone before he considered them. As a friend of mine describes her late husband: “He had diarrhea of the lip!” But he was enthusiastic and aggressive—qualities that Jesus could use in a future preacher of the Gospel. He was hot in his zeal for serving Jesus.
On the other end of the thermometer, there was Judas Iscariot who’d been given the same incredible opportunity as Peter to be one of the Messiah’s chosen comrades. Did he accept the invitation with similar excitement and anticipation? Yet, his Jesus-fever chilled over time, and his spiritual journey ended in betrayal and suicide. At what point did greed freeze his spiritual growth? John 12: 6 says that Judas was a thief—he’d been put in charge of their money and regularly stole from it. While Peter’s heart grew hot for Jesus, Judas’ pilot light went out.
What doubts entered his mind and smothered that flame? What were the voices in his head whispering to him, turning him from a willing disciple who abandoned his life to follow Jesus to a man who offered to betray Him—to help plot the murder of his leader? His story is tragic. His fall not only led to Jesus’ death but his own as well. But, unlike the Messiah, Judas’ death was the end of his journey.
While God doesn’t desire that any be lost, it’s those of us who fall between Peter and Judas in our spiritual heat in whom He is most disappointed. When we don’t burn with zeal for Jesus, we hide our faith and shy away from sharing what God can do for others. We call ourselves Christians, but no one around us can really tell. We grow cooler.
God would prefer we didn’t use that label at all. If we are not all in like Peter, why do we claim to be His followers? Instead of reflecting His Jesus-glow to others, we send mixed messages about the Christian life. Yes, we go to church, but we whine and complain; we talk about others; we are selfish, and we have priorities that top God on our list. Does this kind of Christianity glorify the One who died for us? Is our behavior acceptable to Him?
No, the Bible is clear on this point. Revelation 3:15–16 states God’s opinion on our spiritual temperature:
“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”
Child of God, we need to turn up the heat. God gave us our lives and His salvation. He deserves our allegiance! Let’s repent and ask God to relight His flame within us.
What About You?
If you measured your faith with a spiritual thermometer, what temperature would it show? God wants you to seek Him with that same zeal and passion you had when you first invited Him into your heart. Do you remember that moment when your sins were forgiven? Did you recognize the instant He renamed you Child of God?
Pray with me that God will relight a fire within your soul, that you might burn for Him. Your Jesus-glow will be as bright as a campfire on a summer night. That’s the temperature God loves to see. HOT!
Forgive me, Lord. I’ve allowed the circumstances of life to distract me from my commitment to You.
I’m sorry for the times I charged through my day, ignoring You and making self-centered decisions.
You wait with open arms to welcome me back.
Thank You. I’m glad to be home.
Amen.
Your Turn! Share your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you!
For more blog posts like this, visit Val’s Stage at www.valsstage.com. If you’re on Instagram, check out my TUESDAY TICKLE and FRIDAY FUNNY posts [@valdagoudie]. Send me an email if you’d like these to go straight to your Inbox. I’d love to connect with you! Valda.goudie@gmail.com