I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of God.
That’s what Jesus said to a group of first-century disciples at Sardis (Revelation 3:2). It’s not the best news in the world, but it’s not the worst. It’s kind of a good news/bad news scenario. It says, You were headed in the right direction but you stopped. You need to get moving again and finish what you started.
For most people, if they’ve heard about any of the churches John writes to in Revelation, it’s Laodicea. They were the lukewarm church that Jesus wanted to spit out of His mouth. I think Laodicea gets the lion’s share of attention because their situation syncs with the lukewarmness that is prevalent in our culture, as witnessed by the many who profess Christ, but make little effort to learn or practice what He taught. I suppose that’s fair enough—those who casually follow are certainly in danger of becoming a casualty.
But I gravitate more toward Sardis and the situation there. For one thing, things there weren’t as simple. At Laodicea, everyone comes under Jesus’ indictment. At Sardis, there were some who were worthy. Then there were those who needed to wake up. This corresponds more to what I’ve experienced in the congregations I’ve been part of down through the years. From my perspective, I don’t think of any of the groups as being lukewarm (although there were a few individuals who would qualify). They were much more Sardis-like in there were some there who were models for me and then there were some who needed to be awakened so they could complete the things they had started.
In my earlier years, when I had of much more zeal than discernment, everyone who wasn’t a model for me was usually relegated to the lukewarm category. With some growth, I came to see how wrong this was. The truth was that while there were a few who were deserving of that designation, most weren’t. They had noble intentions but had gotten bogged down in the mire of one thing or another and were now spinning their wheels. They were part of the community of faith because they cared and wanted something more even if they didn’t know exactly what it was or how to make it happen. I hadn’t honored their intentions or their struggle.
I believe this describes many people in the kingdom today. For one reason or another, they’ve been spiritually shut down for so long they’ve become numb to their situation. Their flame is on pilot and their hope has gone into hibernation. If something doesn’t happen, they will go to their grave this way.
What needs to happen is they must come out of their coma. They must stop living in the past and finish what God has started. He has purposes for their lives that aren’t being fulfilled. They need to rekindle their intimacy with Him so there can be an urgency about their calling.
John didn’t publish a sequel to Revelation so we don’t know what happened to the sleeping disciples at Smyrna. I’d like to think they woke up before it was too late and experienced the joy of living all out for Jesus.
Whatever else we do in this life, let’s make sure we don’t miss out on knowing that joy.
This is adapted from The Thrill of Hope—a look at the book of Revelation. It is available through Spiritbuilding Publishing.
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 