ONE OF THE GREATEST REVELATIONS we receive in our newly created identity in Christ is a gut-level appreciation of truth. Most of our lives prior to this major shift in belief—not thinking, but belief—is spent in the anxious or cynical assessment of everything that happens with everybody that surrounds us. We’ve learned the hard way to dubiously examine peoples’ speech. We listen to their words, tonal inflection, and phrasing; we watch their body language as defensive or open, passive or aggressive; and we search for numerous other subliminal cues to assess motive and trustworthiness as we decide how to engage. We are jaded watchers of words, actions, and outcomes. And we’ve learned the hard way to be consistently satisfied with being constantly let down; it’s one way not to be disappointed.
But then Jesus shows up, and our criteria for human interaction is changed. Not immediately, because we’ve been burned too many times, but we test, and test again, and then again, and begin cautiously to trust. And we notice with Jesus that when he speaks, his promises are directly revealed in life outcomes. And so, the intentional journey begins—still cautiously, but with the faintest hint of optimism. Cynicism begins to dissipate, and a certain sense of trust begins to be established. Some circumstances and time go by, and without really having noticed it so keenly, we progressively come to an intuitive point of trusting that we will no longer be disappointed, and this seems a welcome surprise despite ourselves. And when he says, “These are the words of him who is holy and true” (Rev. 3:7a), we find that this is what we’ve been longing for and needing to hear all our lives.
Once belief has been emboldened by realized promise, our minds begin to fall in line with the now-welcome sequential changes wrought within us by whatever process of trials the Lord has initiated. It is, after all, his purpose to do so; in fact, this was always his purpose, despite our obtuse and unwilling rebellion. (c.f. Rom. 8:28; Eph. 2:10). We are finally ready to listen, and perhaps to obey. When he says, “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Rev. 3:7b), our heads, even to our own surprise, nod in agreement. We begin to believe that there is a path through the chaos, confusion, and mis-direction of this life, and that there is also a desirable destination past this life. At some point, we even begin to believe that the difficult journey between the start and the finish is worth making.
In fact, we no longer see the start and finish as finite, but merely as markers in a linear continuum. His words, “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut” (Rev. 3:8a) are more than words to us; they are not just a promise, but a personal assurance. We turn to the wider body of scripture, and find that he is “the author and the perfecter of our faith,” (Heb. 12:2) and that “he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion.” (Phil. 1:6)
And, having proven himself to us time and again, our new-found belief, faith, and thinking, are ready for ever-deeper truths. There are two kingdoms, that of God, and that of Satan. This makes sense to us now. He warns us that Satan engages in the affairs of men, and that some men will actively oppose us, and that we “have little strength.” (Rev. 3:8a) We love and trust him when he promises, “I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.” (Rev. 3:9b) It is such a relief to know that we can trust that the promise of his power, presence, and protection are our salvation in this present time, and our eternal safe haven in the time to come. His praise, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently” (Rev. 3:10a) is wonderful to hear, but even more so his promise, “I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” (Rev. 3:10b)
His encouragement is broad and deep across the expanse of our world, and reaches as high as heaven. Against the travails that loom so ominously, his promise of protection is sweet to our spirits and establishes high walls of protection around our souls. “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it.” (Rev. 3:11-12a)
One day, brothers and sisters, we shall wear robes of white, be called by a new name, and dwell eternally in “the city of my God, the new Jerusalem.” (Rev. 3:12b) Until that time, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev. 3:13)
Q. Do I hear what the Spirit is saying to me?
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