Living in the Spirit
November 23, 2018

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8

Look! He is coming with the clouds;
   every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
   and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen. 

 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. –Revelation 1:7-8

The book of Revelation masterfully uses imagery to get its point across. Some think that was out of necessity because of the persecution of Christians. While that is possible, I tend to think that human attempts at describing God must rely on imagery because we are trying to explain the unexplainable. We experience the absolute nature of God through faith that the writer of Hebrews describes as Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (11:1)

Acts 1:9-11 describes Jesus as ascending to heaven on a cloud following his resurrection. It would seem to follow that he would return the same way. Jesus’ role in Kingdom building began with his resurrection and will come to full fruition with his return, which is the premise and the purpose of the book of Revelation as stated at its beginning.

I tend to be what I call a pragmatic optimist. Once I am tasked with a job, I am compelled to complete it. Now that does not mean we should slam into brick walls making no progress when advances can be made in other tasks toward the same goal. Yet, we may never know what a difference we make toward a goal that is attained after our work is done. Indeed, for two thousand plus years, Christ followers have kept their commitment in that sure and certain hope that our work serves God’s purpose.

History tells that at times we have veered off course on occasion and thus we must repent and find the narrow way to the Kingdom of love once again. There are also many barriers set before us trying to block our progress, which only drives us closer to God as the one who can overcome the world.

Prayer: Lord, guide us as we journey through hope in establishing your world ruled by love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.