Reading: Revelation 3:1-6

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched the cinematic masterpiece, The Princess Bride; but there’s a scene when the hero (Westley) is captured and tortured and presumed dead. So his two friends take him to Miracle Max and they bring in his body and they lay it on the table and they’re like, “You’ve got to help our friend. He’s dead!” And Billy Crystal looks at him and says, “He’s not dead, he’s mostly dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.”

That’s kind of what’s happening here with the church in Sardis. People are gathered, people sing, people know Scripture, they’re going to group—they had all sorts of activities; but spiritually they were dead. They were just going through the motions. And the divine coroner Jesus Christ pronounces it for what it was. Death. But. There were still some among that group that were not all dead. They have a chance for revival. A miracle could happen. They just needed to wake up (verse 2).

I can’t help but wonder if we as Americans haven’t found ourselves in a similar position. We have a reputation for being alive, but what are we actually doing? If you’re a Christian you should memorize verse 3 and live your life by it: Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. Repent just means to change your direction. So as you look at your life, who are you actually following? What are you actually holding fast to? Are you awake? Jesus said, “You will know my followers by their deeds."

With Gratitude,

pLJ