The Desire to be on Fire

If we call ourselves Christ followers, there is no room for being lukewarm.

That's a hard pill to swallow. 

When I think of Christ, I think of someone who is worthy of so much more than I could ever give. If this is true, I am slacking big time. Christ is worth all of my life, and more, yet I have the audacity to choose sin over Him. I choose to only give some of my time to Him instead of all of it. I choose to do more of what is convenient, than radically living for my Creator. I often find myself in a place that is lukewarm, when I should be on fire. 

When we are lukewarm, we are half-heartedly loving the One who willingly sacrificed Himself for our freedom. When we are lukewarm, we are saying that Christ is almost enough for us, but not quite. When we are lukewarm, we are not honoring Jesus in the way we should. When we are lukewarm, we aren't making Jesus our first priority. The bottom line is, as Christians, we shouldn't accept the act of being lukewarm.

Galatians 2:20 is a great reminder to us all. The verse says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

In this verse, Christians are told to surrender their lives, and let Christ have complete control so that everything is done for His glory. When we accept Jesus into our hearts and lives, we are taking on the very words of this verse. "...I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." This life does not belong to us, it all belongs to Him. Therefore, we need to do what He has called us to, denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him. (Matt. 16:24)

One of the greatest causes of lukewarmness (is that even a word?) is when we let the love dwindle. We forget how great and mighty our God is. We forget how much He loves us, which is enough to send His Son to die for us (John 3:16). We forget what loving Christ does in our own lives, and what a difference it makes in the lives of those around us.

When we are pursuing and loving Him above all else, we set an example. When we obey His Word, His commandments, and give our flesh up, we grow closer to Him. When we strive to be more like Him through everything we say and do, we are drawing others in, because they want to know what makes us different. When we share what He has done in our hearts, how He has answered prayer, and how He has shown up in our lives, some people might become interested, and desire to know the Creator personally.

If we remain lukewarm, the eternity of those around us remains on the line.

Christians, it is up to us. We need to pursue Jesus with everything we have, continuously surrendering ourselves completely to Him. We need to remember that we are not called to be passive, but to be passionate. We need to be eternally minded, so that people might have a chance to know Jesus personally and intimately. Step up, Christians. It's on our shoulders. Be so on fire for Christ that no one can miss your light.

There is no room to be lukewarm in a world that is dying for a Savior.

-Gracie