“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16). I looked up the definition and etymology of the word lukewarm. The warm part is fairly obvious, but I’ve always wondered where the luke part came from. Like, was there just some guy named Luke who liked to keep everything at eighty-two degrees? It turns out, the luke in lukewarm comes from Old English hleow, which meant warm, sunny, sheltered. This is also the source of our word lee, which means a sheltered place protected from the wind. So, in essence, to be lukewarm, as John is talking about in Revelations, is to be sheltered from the fierce winds and harsh realities of life. What could possibly be wrong with that? Being nice and warm and sheltered in a bright, sunny lee with no wind or rain assailing us seems pretty dang good. But we were not placed upon this Earth to live a sheltered, carefree life. John A Shedd once said, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were placed in a nice, sheltered, lukewarm paradise of a walled garden. There were no thorns or thistles. They didn’t have to sweat to earn their bread. They were completely safe. But God did not create Adam and Eve and He did not create each one of us only to stay in the lukewarm harbor. Joseph Smith taught “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” We often talk about trials and tests of faith. These tests aren’t so that God Himself can see if we have what it takes. It’s not like God has a clipboard and is standing over our shoulder giving us points or taking them away and then at the end of the test He will tally everything up and see if we passed or not. God created us. He knows that we can handle it. He knows that we have the capacity to overcome and triumph over any and all of our tests and trials. But we don’t know that. We have an imperfect knowledge of our own capabilities, and it is only as we make our own trials of faith that we can prove to ourselves that we have the power to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation. It is perfectly pleasant to stay in the lukewarm comfort zone. It is totally safe in the harbor. But we were not built to stay in the harbor. We were not designed to be limited to the finite and passing pleasures of this mortal life. As John goes on to say in Revelations Chapter 3, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Revelations 3:17-21). Sometimes when Jesus stands at the door to knock, it isn’t because He has something nice and easy and lukewarm for us. But if we are brave enough to open the door and let Him in, and sup with Him, even if that means drinking from the bitter cup, when we have overcome, He will grant us to sit with Him on His throne, even as He also overcame and sat down with His Father in His throne. However nice the lukewarm sheltered harbor is, we were not built to stay in the harbor. There is a whole wide ocean of beauty and wonder for us to explore, and no, not all of it will be safe, but when we have overcome our tests, and proven to ourselves that we have enough faith, we will be welcomed to join the ranks of the overcomers, who have bought gold tried in the extremely hot, decidedly not lukewarm fire.
