And, "Where is this going?"
Where does this daily living lead us? One says, "I'm alive and alert and ready for this new day." Another says, "I'm tired and weary and ready for Jesus to return and make everything right." Both heart places could be summarized this way. "Where does this daily living lead us?"
Just reminding myself of this today. I need to be reminded.
The bible book of Revelation, chapter 7 starting with verse 9 and going from there....
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God,who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
We belong together, the nations. I'm sorry for how separate I have lived over my 49 years. EVERY nation, tribe, people and language. It will all make sense. It will all be right.
"All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
Hold on a second. God doesn't need any of this stuff. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, strength. He IS all those things. But it says praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power and strength BE TO OUR GOD....Wait...even though He IS all these things....He's also getting them from somewhere, from......someone? Yes. He makes it so He can receive praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power and strength......FROM US. Silence..........really? From us? Really. From us. Really.............from YOU. I can't explain how or why He chose to make it this way, but He receives from us. He gets these things from our broken, needy, messy, redeemed lives. Silence.............WOW!!!!! Quieter wow. Stunned.
So, where is this going?
"Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.”And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
Where this is going is that we finally and forever get clean. Our robes will be washed. Washed white from red blood. Only God can transform color this way. It doesn't make sense. How do you get fresh, spotless white from a dark, crimson wash? From the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the sin of you, the sin of me. Stunned.
I chose the above picture because there is really no image that can represent what I could ever imagine this scene will be like. I want to imagine though. I want to try. I think it's healthy. And so I close with the word of God. Not my words.
There's more. The more is the shepherd Lamb of God. There's more.
"Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."