INDIFFERENCE
WHEN CAN WE NOT AFFORD TO BE INDIFFERENT?
BIBLE READING: Mark 15:21-32
KEY BIBLE VERSE: The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself!” (Mark 15:31)
WE CANNOT BE INDIFFERENT TO CHRIST’S SACRIFICE FOR US.
Many of those who watched Jesus die had a hard-hearted indifference to everything he had said and done. Jesus could have saved himself, but he endured this suffering because of his love for us. He could have chosen not to take the pain and humiliation; he could have killed those who mocked him-but he suffered through it all because he loved even his enemies. We had a significant part in the drama that afternoon, because our sins were on the cross too. Jesus died on that cross for us, and the penalty for our sins was paid by his death. The only adequate response we can make is to confess our sin and freely accept the fact that Jesus paid for it so we wouldn’t have to. Don’t insult God with indifference toward the greatest act of genuine love in history.
BIBLE READING: Romans 13:1-14
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God’s requirements. (Romans 13:10)
WE CANNOT BE INDIFFERENT TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.
Christians must obey the law of love, which supersedes both religious and civil laws. How easy it is to excuse our indifference to others merely because we have no legal obligation to help them, and even to justify harming them if our actions are technically legal! But Jesus does not leave loopholes in the law of love. Whenever love demands it, we are to go beyond human legal requirements and imitate the God of love. (See James 2:8-9; 4:11; and 1 Peter 2:16-17 for more about this law of love.)
BIBLE READING: Revelation 3:14-22
KEY BIBLE VERSE: I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! (Revelation 3:15)
WE CANNOT AFFORD TO BE INDIFFERENT IN OUR OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST.
Lukewarm water makes a disgusting drink. The church in Laodicea had become lukewarm and thus distasteful and repugnant. The believers didn’t take a stand for anything; indifference had led to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ, the church had become hardened and self-satisfied, and it was destroying itself. There is nothing more disgusting than a halfhearted, in-name-only Christian who is self-sufficient. Don’t settle for following God halfway. Let Christ fire up your faith and get you into the action.