Today’s Devotion
Topic: Beyond Description
Text: Revelation 1: 12- 16
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, 13 and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. Amen
Our Lord Jesus-in-glory is beautiful beyond description. He is purer than light and shines brighter than the paintings of Him that hang in our living rooms. From generations till now, no one has been confident to describe Him to the fullest. HIS DESCRIPTION IS NEVER DEFINITE, not even with the help of several adjectives.
John the “revelator” is no exception, he could only describe the beautiful ONE he saw by making comparisons with natural impressions that we are familiar with. Even so, he was careful to use “like” as a preposition to imply that the description he gives is only similar to the actual revelation he saw; not the exact. Let’s have a closer look at John’s description:
i. someone “like” a son of man, (John is careful to use “like” to demonstrate his lack of confidence to fully claim he has seen and fully comprehend the Lord).
ii. Dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. (The Lord is decent in His appearance. He “dresses to cover up”; He doesn’t “expose” Himself indiscriminately as we try to do – Let us emulate our Master)
iii. The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as snow (His hair looks so pure and white that “John” employs the two best known synonyms used to describe how white a thing can be to describe his hair. He said the Lord’s hair was both “as white as wool” and “as white as snow”.
iv. His eyes were “like” blazing fire. (The eyes John saw were not fire, it was LIKE fire. Not just ordinary fire, but BLAZING FIRE)
v. His feet were “like” bronze “glowing” in a furnace, (The Lord Jesus-in-glory does not have bronze feet. His feet were only “LIKE”, not just any bronze, but one that is GLOWING in a furnace)
vi. His voice was “like” the sound of rushing waters. (His voice is as strong and powerful as the sound of several rushing waters)
vii. In His right hand He held seven stars. (That signifies authority and power)
viii. Coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. (The sword from His mouth represents the “WORD OF GOD”). It is alive and active. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:1)
ix. His face was “like” the sun shining in all its brilliance. (His countenance is so bright, making it even more difficult to see and comprehend His nature)
What a God! What perfection! What beauty! What excellence! What a relief to know our God is not as “unkempt” as some lesser deities crafted by human hands and soiled by sprinkled animal blood, concoctions, powders, oils and dust. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is”. (1 John 3:2)
Begin to thank God that He made you in His image and is gradually drawing you closer and closer to becoming like Himself. Not just in conduct, but in appearance, speech and deed.
NB: 64 days to 4JBAND’s MUSICAL FIESTA dubbed MORIAH PRAISE @ THE FORECOURT OF THE ACHIMOTA RETAIL CENTER (That’s Saturday, 28th Dec). Time is 3pm on the dot. Come let’s celebrate our Savior in praise, worship and heavenly ministrations. The presence of the Lord will be all over the place. Your life will never be the same again
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