Falling Flat

Revelation 3:16 -- "So because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

The big bold drops of cold condensation dripping from the side of the bottle made the anticipation of that first punch of sharp crisp flavor all the more great as I popped the top on my soda. The hiss made by the bottle cap as it came off was all part of the experience.

It was movie night at the Dalton house. Nothing says movie night like my fresh stove-top popped popcorn [hold the butter] and a cold soft drink to go with it. There is nostalgia oozing from the lightly salted snack followed by the tingle of cold cola. 

Immediately, Steven's face scrunched up in a strange and unhappy expression as he tilted his head back and took a big gulp from his bottle. A fraction of a second later, mine did the same. Imagine the shear disappointment of the moment as our eager taste buds came to the startling realization that the pop part of our soda-pop was missing. Ick. Just .... ick.

I managed to swallow mine but Steven took his mouth full of very flat soda to the sink where he deposited it into the drain, chasing it down with the remaining contents of his bottle. 

"I'm not drinking that." he declared. "THAT is terrible."

"Yeah, I'm not drinking mine, either." I answered. 

How can an entire six pack of just purchased soda be flat? I will probably never find out the answer, but it most certainly REALLY, really was very, very flat. 

Resigning ourselves to drink anything else with our popcorn we sat back down on the sofa to resume our movie. Enjoyable as it was, it just wasn't the same. 

The experience left me thinking of Revelation 3:16. The soda was palatable, I guess. I mean, it didn't make us gag or anything - but it was NOT good. So, while it wasn't so awful that - if we were left on a desert island and that was all we had to drink we would die of thirst - it certainly wasn't something I would dash right out to buy again. In fact, I wanted my three bucks back.

Maybe that's what the writer of this passage in Revelation meant. To the church, he wanted to express that he recognized a lack of pop. A lack of sizzle. It's not that the congregation was terrible. But they certainly weren't on fire. 

The daughter of two very incredible people who've demonstrated all that comes with growing a very strong marriage, I've learned that passion in a union requires attention. It requires cultivation - even work sometimes. Our relationship with Jesus isn't any different. Our growth in our Lord and the deeds that fruit from it aren't going to blossom brilliantly if we don't put some time into it. We can make it a hot relationship or even a cold one. But perhaps it isn't really a GREAT one, unless we maintain it's fizz. We don't want to be spit out like a very flat soda. 

I really, really don't want to be spit out.

One of the things that strikes me about this verse is the fact that it says: "I'm about to .... spit you out." It doesn't say I'm going to. Or I have already decided to. It makes me think we have the opportunity to change the outcome of the situation. We CAN choose to be different. To make a difference. We can choose to be HOT. Enjoyable. Sustainable. Pleasant. 

We can cling to the word of our Lord. We can decide NOT to be fall flat.