NOTES for Rev 3:14-22
Today we read the message to the church in Laodicea, which has become perhaps one of the best-known passages in the Apocalypse. Neither cold nor hot—this is how our inner state can be described throughout almost our entire life. We give ourselves wholeheartedly to nothing; we are neither evil nor good; we neither love God nor struggle against Him. This is precisely why it is practically impossible to build a close relationship with us. Someone who hates, such as Paul, can be met on the road to Damascus and asked, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads, is it not?” But someone who is indifferent will not be found on that road. And the Lord warns us that indifference, lukewarmness, and unwillingness to seek the Truth lead to a state in which an indifferent person cannot remain where God is. A meeting is impossible if we do not strive toward it.
For His part, the Lord does not abandon us and continually calls us to Himself. Unlike the beginning of the chapter, where He opens the doors to the world for us, here He Himself stands at a closed door, which we may choose not to open. But we may also open it.