Strengthen What Remains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnkeoFu7QFE

Comfort rarely announces itself as danger.

Most of the time, it shows up quietly, disguised as stability, familiarity, and success from a previous season.

Kodak didn’t fail because it was weak. For over a hundred years, it dominated photography. It set the standard. It shaped an industry. But when the future arrived, Kodak didn’t strengthen it. They delayed it. They protected what worked yesterday instead of preparing for what was coming next.

They didn’t collapse overnight. They drifted.

That same danger exists in the church.

2,000 years ago, Jesus spoke to a church that looked alive on the outside. It had a strong reputation. It had history. It had activity. But Jesus saw something far more serious beneath the surface. He said, “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains.”

That wasn’t written to unbelievers. It wasn’t aimed at a corrupt empire. It was spoken directly to the church.

The book of Revelation was never meant to scare God’s people. It was written to steady them. When John received this message, he was the last living apostle. Old, isolated, exiled to Patmos. Forgotten by the world, but not forgotten by Jesus. It was there that Christ appeared and told him to write what he saw.

And when Jesus addressed the church in Sardis, He didn’t say, “You’re finished.” He didn’t say, “It’s over.” He said, “Wake up.”

That tells us something was still alive.

They hadn’t lost everything yet.

What’s striking is what Jesus focused on. He didn’t dwell on what was gone. He pointed to what remained. “Strengthen what remains and is about to die.” In other words, don’t waste time mourning what you lost. Don’t romanticize former seasons. Act on what’s still in your hands.

Then comes the mercy.

Jesus tells them to remember what they received and heard. To keep it. And to repent. They didn’t walk away from the faith. They drifted. And drift is often more dangerous than rebellion because it feels harmless while it slowly weakens everything underneath.

Repentance isn’t punishment. It’s rescue before collapse.

And Jesus doesn’t end with condemnation. He ends with hope. He promises white garments, not to the flawless or the impressive, but to the one who conquers. The one who doesn’t quit. The one who doesn’t shrink back. The one who remains faithful when comfort would be easier.

This is the warning and the invitation.

If something still remains in you, strengthen it now. Don’t delay. Don’t protect what’s familiar at the cost of what’s faithful. This is the year we refuse to settle!