Tuesday,
April 27, 2021
Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:13-17
It has always fascinated me, this strange image welling-up in
my mind of white robes, having been cleansed by blood. Blood creates a stain that is hard to
remove. And that is as it should
be. Scripture tells us that the life of
every creature is in the blood.[1] It is fitting that life
should not be easily washed away.
As a side note on a callous attitude towards life in this
nation (and in much of the world’s countries) today, life is too easily
discarded. There is a mood of violence
in our land, and it makes my blood go sour to ponder just how far we have
travelled from Pilgrims escaping the persecution of religious intolerance four
hundred years ago, to the daily doses of murder and manslaughter in our day.
Jesus told his disciples that in this life they would have
tribulation.[2] That is so for
everyone who follows Christ. There are always
difficult decisions to make. We are
called to a life of obedience, and that requires accepting some things beyond
our comfort zone, and rejecting those things which our natural
appetites crave. But, the toughest of
all is standing against the tide and swell of public opinion when they come
crossways with clear Scriptural mandates.
One of the most difficult pills to swallow is how lightly we
tread around the choice to abort life. In
the name of personal freedom, the laws of this land permit infanticide. This stands in direct opposition to the
teachings and commands of the great Life-giver, Jesus
Christ, who said:
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10
The callous attitude which disposes of life is not going away. Scripture points to a time of awful tribulation,
where lust for power will supercede virtue and kindness. Death will be the penalty for lack of
conformity to the rule of human idolatry.
Those who openly worship Christ will be terminated. What we see today in barbaric displays of abortion,
genocide, terrorism, and travesties of justice will be minor playground
skirmishes compared to the Great Tribulation.
But that is on earth. In heaven a
different story is being worked out. Evangelist
Leighton Ford wrote the following about his son Sandy:
During the months following Sandy's death, to cope with my grief and sense of loss, I kept a journal. Through a series of "conversations" with Sandy, I continued to express my grief and bring our relationship to a close. In one of those chats, I said,
"Sandy, you've been dead two months earthtime."
"I feel as if I have been alive forever, Dad. It's a lot like one big long today."
"It's not a matter of time, Sandy, except that time heals. It's more a matter of nearness. I guess I'm concerned that as our time goes on, we will lose any sense of nearness."
"But why, Dad? You're moving closer to eternity every day. You're no longer moving from, but to me! And besides, the 'Wall' between is so thin -- you would laugh if you could see it."
"I think more of you than when you were at Chapel Hill."
"Sure! I know you do. I hear those thoughts."
"Night,
son! Enjoy the stars!"
"It's morning here, Dad. Enjoy the light!"
My friends, only the nearness of Jesus can provide the kind
of peace that can be called eternal. The world is looking for peace, talking of
peace, and imagining peace can be had on a worldwide scale; they are
wrong. But there is a peacemaker who is
coming.
For You Today
Peace is an
eternal thing that is offered by the Prince of Peace, one person, one human
heart at a time. It is offered to
you. It is for those who have washed
their robes in the blood of the Lamb. And
it means the eternal presence of Jesus. Are
you washed in the blood?
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
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