牧者心聲
冷水和熱水
周曉暉牧師
2022 年 5 月 21 日／22 日
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有位頗具人氣的居港日本人以廣東話拍了一段短片，介紹香港餐廳令她驚訝的幾件事，其中包括「餐廳提供的水是溫水」和「凍飲要加錢」這些在我們看來平常不過的事。原來在她的原居地，餐廳提供的是加冰的開水，若端上溫水，客人就會覺得杯裡的水是不新鮮的。
在啟示錄中，主耶穌指老底嘉教會不冷也不熱，好像溫水，所以主必從祂口中把其吐出去（啟三 16）。但近代釋經學者認為，這裡不是指斥信徒失去了追求靈命成長的熱忱，教會生活不夠熱鬧，事奉沒有熱誠。
留意主也說：「我巴不得你或冷或熱」（三 15），即是說：「冷或熱都好！」但偏偏這教會既不冷也不熱，是難以下嚥的溫水。這好比走了氣且不再冰凍的可樂，或是不夠滾熱的檸樂，這樣的飲品，你大概也不會想喝下去吧？
主用上當地日常可見的事例——冷水、溫水、熱水——作教導。老底嘉地區的供水不穩定，因而建有兩條高架羅馬引水道，從兩個水源把水引入城裡。第一個水源，是北方山區的溫泉區希拉波立，那裡的泉水據說有治病減痛的效用。第二個水源，是在東南方鄰近歌羅西的雪山，那裡的水冰涼清純。記得兒時曾因某某蒸餾水廣告，一直以為這水的味道就是清純，直至有一次到冰川旅遊，就地喝了冰川融化的水，才真正嘗到一種甘甜和透心涼的「清純」口感。
老底嘉城有這兩個水源，本是得天獨厚，但可惜引水的路途遙遠，使得好水變得虛有其名。一方面，熱辣辣的溫泉水經過前段的水道，具療效的礦物質早已沉澱不少，真正流入城裡的，只是沒甚效用的溫水。另一方面，本來清純的雪山水，途經沒遮沒擋的引水道，兩旁的樹葉沙塵被風吹到水裡，加上太陽的照射，水已不再冰涼。故此老底嘉城所得到的溫泉水不夠熱，雪山水不夠冷，表面上看不出來，但一喝下去便知道得物無所用。
主警示老底嘉教會，不要作有形無實、虛有其表、東抄西襲、內裡質素欠奉的基督徒。讓我們一起省察：我在教會裡正經營著一個怎樣的形象？另一方面，在日常待人處事和獨處的時候，我又是怎麼個模樣？
主又說：「我知道你的行為」（三 15），英譯本 The Message 這樣翻譯："I know you inside and out"，主知道你和我裡裡外外的本相。但願我們覺醒過來，或作冷水，或作熱水，無論如何，就是不要作一杯失卻屬靈質素的溫水。
A pretty well-known Japanese resident in Hong Kong has made a video in Cantonese introducing a few things about Hong Kong-style restaurants that surprise her. These include "the restaurants serve lukewarm water" and "extra cost is charged on cold drinks." All these look so ordinary to us but where the lady came from, restaurants provide boiled water with ice. If lukewarm water is served, customers will think that it is not fresh.
In Revelation, the Lord Jesus says the church in Laodicea is neither hot nor cold – it is lukewarm, and so the Lord is about to spit them out of His mouth (Revelations 3:16). According to contemporary exegetists, the Lord is not reprimanding believers who have lost zeal in their pursuit of spiritual growth, nor does it mean that church life is too quiet or that ministries lack enthusiasm. It is not so.
Note what the Lord also says: "… neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!" (3:15) In other words, "either cold or hot is good!" But this church is neither hot nor cold but lukewarm, which is difficult to swallow. It is like coke that is no longer sparkling and ice-cold, or lemon coke that is not boiling hot. You probably would not want to drink it, would you?
The Lord illustrates His teaching with everyday examples from the local area – cold water, warm water, hot water. The water supply at Laodicea was unstable and so two elevated Roman-style aqueducts were built to bring in water from two sources. The first was the hot spring district of Hierapolis in the northern mountains. The spring water there is said to be curative and anesthetic. The second water source is in the south-east snow mountain near Colossae. The water there is ice-cold and pure. When I was young, the advertisement of a certain brand of distilled water made me think that its taste was what pure water is supposed to be like. It was not until one day when I traveled to a glacier and took a sip of the water from the melted ice there that I truly tasted the sweetness and refreshing taste of "pure" water.
The town of Laodicea is unique in having these two water sources. Unfortunately, the water is faraway and so the good water lost the quality its name denotes. On one hand, the boiling hot spring water with curative function had a lot of its minerals precipitated in the first part of the conduit. What flowed into the town was lukewarm water without much use. Likewise, the pure water from the snow mountain flows through uncovered conduit where leaves and dust on the two sides were blown into the water. In addition to that, the sun warms up the water along the way and so the water was no longer cold. Thus, the hot spring water Laodicea got was not hot enough and its snow mountain water was not cold enough. This may not be evident on the surface. But once you drink it, you will know it cannot fulfil its function.
This is the Lord's warning to the church at Laodicea: They should not be believers on the surface but hollow inside. They should not be Christians who copy something from here and there but who lack godly qualities within. Let us all reflect upon ourselves: What sort of person do I appear to be in church? And what am I like in relating to others in daily life and when I am alone?
The Lord goes on to say: "I know your deeds" (3:15, NIV). This is translated "I know you inside and out" in the Bible version called The Message. The Lord knows what you and I are truly like inside out. May we all be awaken and be either cold water or hot water. In any case, we should never be a cup of lukewarm water that has lost its spiritual qualities.
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