This lesson is very important to understand. Please examine it carefully and, if possible, read it several times until you understand why it is so significant.
In the message to Laodicea, our Lord addresses His church and describes the true condition of His children during this period. There is no church after Laodicea. Jesus calls my condition by its proper name. He declares that I am lukewarm and that I do not even realize what I am like in His sight. Revelation 3:17 says: “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.” This is indeed my condition. Yet merely acknowledging this truth does not solve the problem of my lukewarm state. What does this mean? I am rich, but Jesus says that I am poor. He cannot be mistaken.
The Spirit of God draws me to the events at Calvary, and in their light I see myself as a great sinner in need of a Savior. I have an immeasurable debt. I repent and receive forgiveness. My debt is paid; I am free. According to the riches of His mercy and His love for me, the Lord paid my debt and brought me out of slavery to sin. I have truly become free.
Let us try to picture this through an illustration. Suppose that throughout my life I took out loans to pay for the services of this world. In order to pay the interest and partially repay my old debts, I took out new loans at higher interest rates. If the amount at first was only a small million, it doubled with every passing year and eventually exceeded a billion. Even if, with a good job, I might somehow repay a million over the course of my lifetime, repaying a billion would be out of the question. Then I learn that there is a very rich Man Who is willing to pay off my loan. I become acquainted with Him, and because of His love, He pays all my debts on the condition that I also forgive everyone who owes me. I agree. The bank sends me a notice stating that my debt has been paid, that I owe nothing, and that the balance in my account is zero. What joy!!! I am free!!! I am forgiven!!! My debt has been paid! Now I can live freely. In my joy, I invite guests and go to the store to buy food for a celebration, only to discover at the checkout that I have no money to pay for my purchase. The zero in my account is not enough to pay the bill. I call the bank and ask them to extend me a loan of one thousand. They gladly agree. Surely I can earn enough to repay a thousand. The bill is paid. The celebration takes place. The guests go home, and I go out to tell everyone about my new Friend Who paid such an enormous debt for me.
Life continues, and new purchases must be made and new services paid for. I work like an ox at two jobs, yet this is not enough for me to become rich. I am accustomed to living in debt and spending money as I see fit, taking everything I can from life. I decide to turn to my Friend for help again, and He assures me that He will cover all my debts and that He has sufficient means to help me. This reassures me, and I continue living without thinking about my spending. My lamp is always burning, although I can see that it contains enough oil for only a short time. I constantly have to borrow money in order to repair my lamp. Yet this does not trouble me, for with such a rich Friend, I have nothing to worry about. I have become wiser than others. My life is filled with much useful knowledge; I have gained many different experiences; and with such an abundance of blessings, I look very rich compared with other people. No new purchase troubles me. I know the One Who will pay all my debts, so I move forward boldly, telling everyone about my rich Friend, Who is very generous to all poor people. But when I look at my possessions, I no longer consider myself poor. A luxurious house, a new car, the shield of faith, the shoes of readiness—all these things delight my heart. From early morning until late evening, I praise my Friend and thank Him for everything.
Sometimes I wonder how I will repair my lamp if my Friend stops paying for me and the bank refuses to lend me money. Then I will be unable to buy or sell. My lamp will go out, and my whole house will be plunged into darkness at night. I begin to think more seriously, and I become afraid. I remember other people who died believing in my Friend. They never became rich, but neither did they have any debts. All their bills had been paid and their debts settled. Yet I am troubled by the approaching crisis. I understand that things will not continue as they did before, and the future holds uncertainty. Moreover, my Friend has sent me a warning that I must have oil in my lamp and a reserve of oil for the time of crisis. But oil cannot be obtained on credit. My Friend offers to sell me certain treasures so that I may become rich, possess means of my own, and no longer live in debt. Unfortunately, I simply do not have time to examine and understand what He wishes to sell me or what I could use to pay for it. My Friend also makes it unmistakably clear that there are serious flaws in my thinking and that I need to change something in my life. He has also taken to coming to my house and knocking at the door, not understanding that I am busy and cannot let Him in every time. Still, I sometimes open the door to Him. We have supper together, and He tells me how I can become truly rich. How weary I am of His instruction and advice! Although some of it is not entirely bad. But I cannot send Him away. What if He becomes offended? I have so many prospects for growth, so much more to accomplish, and someone must pay for all of it. Only one thing discourages me: although I am rich, the largest number in my bank account is zero.
I go to my friends, and they are sleeping peacefully amid their wealth. Yet many of their lamps are still burning, and they seem to have reserves of oil for the crisis. I think that a little sleep would not hurt me either. Then the knocking at the bedroom door begins again. Once again, I hear advice to buy something so that I may become richer, be clothed, and receive my sight. No one has ever insulted me like this before! But perhaps I really should try it. I look for advisers. Some say that nothing serious is happening, while others urge me to heed my Friend’s counsel. But the price set for these goods is very high. Why not simply give them away? Yet somewhere in my heart, I understand that this message is very important for me. My Friend says that I am very lukewarm and that I need to come out of this condition.
My friends tell me about the gold that made them rich and how wonderful it is to be truly wealthy. I begin to think that this really is the easier way. There is no need to live in debt. One always has the means to pay for any service. And this wealth comes from the same Friend Who pays off my debts. But the prospect of true treasure and clean clothing brings many trials with it. The world and the people among whom I live simply will not understand me. They already laugh at me, and in this case they will hate me altogether. But my Friend assures me that He will be near and support me, and that I will have oil. I must think carefully. But I will certainly make a decision.
The world attracts me with its goods and services, but it has become foreign to me. I am now not of this world. The crisis is approaching; it is inevitable. There is hope that I will die before this time of trouble and will not have to worry too much. But what if I do not die? Oh, if only someone would show me the future. Then I would know what to do. As it is, I can only believe, relying on the words of my Friend and His promises.
Homework 77
Please read this lesson once more in the light of Revelation 3:14–22. What did you understand from this lesson? What condition are you in? Do you consider yourself part of Laodicea? How do you understand this symbol? Is Jesus’ message addressed personally to me? What constitutes true wealth? What should I do about this?