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Scripture for the day: Revelation 10:5-7 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.
Thought for the day: John must have been overwhelmed; here he was, standing where he had a clear view of everything going on about him in heaven, and watching a thousand things happening all at once and having no idea what they all meant. He’d seen the four horsemen, heard the warnings provided to mankind, and watched as the trumpets sounded and the vials were poured out on the earth. He couldn’t possibly have known all that these events were meant to reveal.
Nothing’s changed in all these years. There are still so many things we don’t understand about the God who created and sustains us. Often I wish this were not so, but there really is a list of things to ask about when we reach heaven. Let me give you an example or two.
First, I don’t understand the Trinity; I’m not convinced we were ever meant to fully comprehend how God could be One God and yet three persons. I’ve heard all the explanations, I think, and none of them are adequate to provide complete understanding. I’ve heard the analogy of the egg. In the egg you have three distinct parts, the yolk, the white, and the shell. Each are separate and yet together they make up the egg. Other scholars much more learned than I have used other analogies to try to make sense of the Trinity. Some have argued that there simply is no such thing since the Bible never uses that word; the Father Son and Holy Spirit are merely ways in which God revealed Himself to His followers so that we might better understand how He works. This isn’t the place for a long treatise on this subject; let me just say that, if the Lord had wanted to make things simpler, I don’t think He would have introduced three aspects of His personality; He would have shown us only one so that we could get it.
The second thing I have trouble understanding is the incarnation of Jesus, the Christ. Most reputable scholars will tell you He is both human and divine. He is 100% God and 100% man. How can this be, within the confines of a single individual? I don’t know, but something within my soul affirms the truth of His divinity, even as I gaze upon the helpless new-born child lying in a feeding trough and wrapped in strips of cloth.
Finally, I don’t understand how I, a sinner of the worst kind, an enemy of God, bent upon self-destruction and rebellion, can be made into the image of Jesus Christ through the atoning work of the Holy Spirit in my life. I was too far gone, too damaged ever to be repaired. But then came the Savior, born in a stable, raised in obscurity, crucified on a cruel cross, and raised to life to provide the power needed to transform the worst offender into a staunch ally.
I don’t get it; I don’t think any of us really can. But look again at today’s scripture. Verse 7 tells us, “In the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.” The song-writer was right! “I’ll understand it better by and by.” As Jesus promised: “There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Matthew 10:26). And as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, “Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”
Rather than trying to figure out the greatest mysteries of the faith, perhaps we’d be better off trying to live out the realities of that faith.
Now go take on your world. - Bill