you make me sick!
"Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of My mouth!" —Revelation 3:16
Jesus said that the lukewarm Christians of Laodicea made Him feel like throwing up. Then He knocked at their door and wanted to have supper with them (Rv 3:20). Isn't it contradictory to want to have supper with people who make you sick? Yet Jesus loves us so much that He is willing to be sick, to suffer, and to die so as to share His life with us.
Zacchaeus, the little tax collector, was another sickening person. Tax collectors, because of their complicity with the oppressive Roman government, made Jews sick. The Jews didn't throw up, but they would sometimes spit at the tax collectors. Jesus also was repulsed by the sins of Zacchaeus and by the thought of having to atone for them on Calvary. However, Jesus reached out to Zacchaeus, invited Himself to supper, and brought salvation to Zacchaeus' house (Lk 19:5, 9).
We have been or are sickening in our sins. Even when we can't stand ourselves, Jesus is knocking at the door. Open up to Him.
Prayer: Jesus, come into my life this very hour.
Promise: "I will never erase his name from the book of the living, but will acknowledge him in the presence of My Father and His angels." —Rv 3:5
Praise: St. Paul rejoiced when the gospel of Christ spread to others, even when that meant physical suffering for himself (Phil 1:17-18).
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape on Spiritual Anorexia on audio AV 101-1 or video V-101.)
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, May 1, 2008
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