Today, I finally got around to fixing the heat in my truck. For the past few months, I’ve had 2 constants as I’ve traveled around town in my truck: 1) The temperature gauge never rose about 130 and 2) The heat didn’t function in my truck. After talking to some brothers (and believe me I need the help of others when it comes to fixing vehicle problems) we pinpointed the problem to what might be a faulty thermostat. Today $5.50 later, a new thermostat and gasket had been swapped for a fully heated cab with the temperature in the 180 range. My thermostat helped measure the heat.
Spiritually speaking we have a thermostat of sorts…our affections. If you have never read Jonathan Edwards on the Religious Affections, you simply must. One great tool to understanding this great work (which is helpful since Edwards isn’t exactly the easiest to understand) is Sam Storms excellent book, Signs of the Spirit. In it, Storms writes of the affections:
Spirituality is actually of little benefit to anyone if not characterized by lively and powerful affections. Nothing is so antithetical to true religion as lukewarmness. Consider those many biblical texts in which our relationship to God is compared to “running, wrestling or agonizing for a great prize or crown, and fighting with strong enemies that seek our lives, and warring as those that by violence take the city or kingdom.”
Scripture assumes that we will have functioning affections, spiritually speaking. Therefore, what’s your thermostat reading?