God Knocks, Reflects, Reveals

"Growth is the only evidence of life." – John Henry Newman

Growth; what an ironic topic. I looked at myself in the mirror this morning and, indeed, I found signs of life. Ugh!

It is ironic because my goal these past few years has been to do anything BUT grow. I have been striving to reduce, and while I was successful for a while, I hit a wall I’ve not been able to break through – yet.

The key word, for me, is “yet.”

Being an impatient sort of person, I prefer life in the here and now. I don’t want to wait; I don’t want to be patient; I (especially) don’t want to work particularly hard to achieve my goals and objectives. I definitely want progress, but I want it to be painless.

However, if there is one thing life teaches us, it is that there is no short-cut to success. Oh sure, one may be able to cut corners here and there for a while and get away with it, but at some point the law of averages catches up and the corners we cut will cost us dearly.

During this season of Lent, I’ve returned to the Bible’s book of Revelation. At the risk of oversimplifying a text that has baffled the brightest and best for centuries, I think it’s safe to say there are at least four things worth pointing out, followed by a warning:

First, God is sovereign and ever-present. Consider for a moment what that means. In our world, power is defined by remoteness. People in power separate themselves from those “below” them. The more people you have to go through to gain an audience, the more powerful the potentate.

But God’s power is different: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” God doesn’t simply sit on a throne directing the affairs of the universe; God comes a-calling. God is so big he chooses to spend time with YOU. Wow!

The second thing I see in the Book of Revelation is that God is the source of all hope. We may feel helpless and hopeless in the face of the many challenges and circumstances that befall us in life, but God does not dither about what to do or abandon us. Whether we see God at work or not is immaterial; God is at work, building his kingdom and restoring his universe. We are “shovel-ready” projects already bought, paid for, and under construction.

The third thing John points out is that the choices we make have consequences. Those who choose wickedness will be found out and dealt with. Those who make good and honorable choices will be vindicated. God knows his saints and embraces them.
Fourthly, justice belongs to God. We are called to be just; we are called to confess our sins and offenses and to make reparations for the evil we do (and being creatures of this mortal world, we definitely do bad things at times); we are called to amend our lives, to love God, neighbor, and self as fully as humanly possible; and we are called to challenge injustices whenever and wherever we see or experience them.

But that leads me to a fifth and final point: a warning. God is God and we are not. We run a grave risk when we read the Book of Revelation and presume ourselves solely to be among the saints – innocent souls surrounding God in glory. That IS us, to be sure.

But the story is incomplete and incomprehensible unless we also take time to stand in the shoes and sandals of the other characters – and tremble.

Maybe you don’t really consider yourself an oppressor, or think yourself filled with malice or violence, but unless you at least ask the question, you cannot truly know yourself.

Revelation is a mirror reflecting the human condition in all its Ugh-liness.

In that reality, though, a gift is revealed: God does not reject us for the imperfections we strive to hide, but embraces us for the beauty of who we are IN him. It is God who cleanses, beautifies, and heals.

There’s a knock at the door; what say we open it and have a look-see.

We may well discover that God’s desire is to reveal himself to us and us to him in this, our world. What power; Wow!