This 7th letter to the 7th church of Revelation, the church of Laodicea, is the most stern and the most tender of the 7 letters. Jesus first shares his disappointment with their attitude of compromise. They didn't zealously stand for for Christ & Jesus lets them know that he sees it.

As strongly as Jesus admonishes them, he offers them hope by letting them know how beloved they are. No matter what is in our past, Jesus offers grace, mercy, hope, and love. Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are. He is always knocking on the door of our heart...waiting for us to hear and respond to him.

In the book of Revelation (chapters 2 & 3), John shares Jesus' words of encouragement and challenge to 7 churches. In this mini-series, "Whoever Has Ears...", we are learning about what Jesus saw in these 7 churches and how his encouragement and challenge applies to us today.

Some suggest that the challenges facing these 7 churches show the chronological development of Church history and the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church over time. One could make an argument that the regression of the faith, devotion, and commitment of the Christian Church is simply a reflection of that same regression of the individual/collective members of the church family.

As we learn from these 7 churches, an important (& very difficult) thing for us as believers to do is to ask ourselves how many of these boxes (stages of faith regression) can I check, for myself, in my life of faith?