7/19/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs: those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

(Revelation 22.14-15)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

As I have gotten older, I see the path behind me more clearly. It is clearer because I have a better perspective of what is ahead of me. This, I believe, is one of the purposes of Revelation. As Jewish apocalyptic literature framed for presentation with the literary and theatre elements of Greek tragedy, the eye is caused to look at the world around us in contrast with the kingdom that is before us. The more I see what is happening in the world around me, the more I become convinced of the course which has been chosen to move through all our days into these days toward that Day. Mighty ones of God, that Day is coming. It is promised. It is assured. It is as certain to appear as 2 + 2 = 4. We can talk about “x” and “y” or even “z” but in the final measure the sum of all things is inescapable. As the resurrected and glorified Jesus now addresses John (the beloved disciple, the commissioned friend, the apostle of the gospel, the elder and presbyter of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor), the measure of all things becomes quite clear. It reflects what was presented at the beginning of this Revelation to those same seven communities of faith in Asia Minor who professed their commitment to being “ones of Christ.” The word proceeded to them about the word that was testified by them. They were all of two realities: strength and weakness, positive and negative, truth and justice. We even remember that haunting reminder given to the church in Laodicea, “Be hot or be cold but do not become lukewarm; such tepidness is spew-worthy and not for consumption.” We have heard preachers and teachers speak of “fence sitters” or “rail riders.” They do not take their stand for or against. They can argue for both points without making a commitment as to which is wrong or right. They are swayed by the popular opinion of the moment without standing firm. We hear such thinking in today’s culture and climate framed as “let’s agree to disagree” or “you can believe what you want to believe” or “I would rather not say because everyone is entitled to their own opinion.” It becomes easier to stand in the gray than to embrace the darkness or run into the light. The gray seems to be more appealing because it serves the self better while the perceived known of living in the light or in the dark strikes chords of fear and dread. In the final assessment, the reality will be clear: you must choose and to “not choose” is unequivocally a choice.

What is it we are called and challenged to choose? Ultimately it is life or death and not just life and death in this world. I am saddened by those who seek validation in their lives based on living without a future. Their vision does not see past the “end of their days.” They have a sense of “this world is all there is.” To say that means they are not only not seeing a future beyond “those days” but they deny that there were “those days” which preceded them. The lessons of history are ignored and thus the axiom becomes true: those who fail to learn from the past are committed to repeat them in their future. What kind of sorrow must there be to believe that your life is just a moment and nothing more. I have heard it explained in this way: “The ocean is made of droplets of water. As a wave rises and begins to fall, droplets of water are released into the air. They exist for a moment and then return to the vast ocean from which they came. They live in that moment as a separate entity. They dwell forever ‘lost at sea.’” What a strange way to live one’s life: lost at sea. The sea of forgetfulness and the sea of forgotten-ness. And yet, many seemingly choose this way of life as if it were the only life there was. I wonder as I mull that image in my mind “Where did the ocean come from?” And in that moment, I remember the story of Creation found in Genesis, chapter 1. Moses tells how it was, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Of course, God made the waters and the depth of those waters was seemingly unfathomable except to God. And it stayed that way until “the third day of creation” when God not only had separated the “waters of the earth” from the “waters of the heavens,” but separated the water from the land that was beneath them. It was then that the land appeared and “life” was called into being and becoming. There was and always has been that dynamic and dualistic relationship. It was there in the beginning as God created “the heavens and the earth.” It remains at the end when God recreates “the heavens and the earth.” And life remains in a dynamic and dualistic reality. That reality is seen as “those in the city” and “those outside the city.” We are seeing the population of both in the world today. Sadly, one of those populations seems to be increasing exponentially while the other seems to exist more silently. One seems like a tsunami of turmoil and chaos whose purpose is to rush to the dry land and consume life. The other is becoming more and more like the Dead Sea into which the waters of life flow but then only evaporate. And the Dead Sea is shrinking not growing. It maintains its saltiness but for how long until it is but dust and trampled underfoot only to have lost its saltiness.

Mighty ones of God, the choice is clear as it stands before us. There are only two options of “life”: living in the city or living outside the city. That city of which I speak is that which is presented by Christ to John. It is the future New Jerusalem where righteousness exudes in praise and eternal life filled with promise and blessing as all things are new. Life will be measured by this moment in time when it appears as it was prepared to be presented. It is the dry land of hope standing as an island in the ocean of forgetfulness and forgottenness. But, it is not an island that was raised up from the midst of the waters like a volcanic island such as Hawaii. No, it is an island come down from Heaven and established in the midst of the New Earth. I can’t help but see the gospel of resurrection framing this image as Jesus was buried in the earth but raised up only by the word of God. It is the resurrected Christ who ascended into Heaven to sit again at the right hand of His Father, the God who raised Him into life abundant and everlasting. It is that same Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain and raised to life who will then descend and claim those who believe in Him as His own. Yes, the same Christ who descended into the pit of Hell and preached the gospel to the captives there and offer the glimmer of hope for life baptized in His name by the power of God’s word.

And then there is that vast ocean of those who have forgotten God and who are forgetting themselves. They are given to the darkness where sin dwells in a consuming way as “those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” They are called “dogs.” That word itself speaks to those who prostituted themselves with one another and with those of foreign nations and unrighteous living personally, politically and theologically. And we can see their legacy move out of the shadows and more into the light of awareness. They no longer fear the light but stand boldly and with great acceptance in the midst of the troubled waters. They project themselves as islands of acceptance, tolerance, inclusion and (having exchanged the truth for the lie) the way of authentic living. We see it now. We can, as I mentioned at the beginning for myself, see the path which had been chosen that lead them to this moment in time. There is still time for repentance, redemption, healing and being brought into the Kingdom of God. But, the time is running short as the wave is cresting and will soon fall on the land consuming everything and making it its own. Take the high ground, mighty ones of God, and be saved by “looking to the hills from whence our help comes…it comes only from God.”

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, ready us, steady us and by Your Holy Spirit which Christ has promised us strengthen us to accomplish Your will on earth as it is in Heaven. Let the glory of the Lord be upon us. May Your Face look upon us and give us peace. May our declaration of the way, the truth and the life give comfort, aide and courage to those who are still in need of a Savior. May we introduce them today to Jesus who is the Christ and in whose name we live, pray and serve. AMEN.