Lukewarm

Halfhearted, partially committed, safe, balanced. These are some of the words that Francis Chan uses to describe a "lukewarm" Christian. The definition of lukewarm is: Lacking conviction or enthusiasm. At first it may seem weird to compare the word lukewarm and the word Christian but after it is explained in this book, it makes so much sense. 


Some of the things Chan uses to describe what the life of a lukewarm Christian who just is not fully into their faith or on fire for God are given in this chapter. A lukewarm Christian may attend church regularly because its the "right thing" or what is expected of them. They might give money to charity or the church as long as it doesn't hurt their way of living or make them feel uncomfortable. They desire to fit in and care more about what other people think of them then what God thinks of them. They do not do extreme things for good because those are only for the "extreme" Christians. They rarely share their faith because they do not want to be rejected or feel uncomfortable. They compare themselves to other people to feel satisfied about how "good" they are. They only give Jesus parts of their life and not all of it and do not love Him with everything they have. They think about life here on earth much more then eternity in heaven. These are just some of the examples that Chan uses to describe the so called "lukewarm" Christian.


 He makes it very clear that he is not saying all these things to make people feel guilty or bad about themselves but simply to help people examine their own lives and see what they could change. He wants this to move people to not just be part way in love with God but fully, all out, deeply in love with Him and show it by the way they live their lives. Jesus says in the bible that he will literally spit out lukewarm Christians. Wow, thats pretty powerful. Again Chan says that this chapter is not to make people feel bad or judge the lives of others. We are all lukewarm in some ways and we are all sinners. Nobody on this earth is perfect. As I read through some of these things I related greatly. Some parts of my faith and walk with God are lukewarm and not where they should be. This helped me to evaluate myself again and think about how I could be pleasing God more by being on fire for Him and not lukewarm. I don't know about you but i surely don't want to be spit out of God's mouth! So I will do all that I can to live for him and love Him and others with all I have.