“On turning I saw…one like a son of man… his
eyes were like a flame of fire,… his voice was like the roar of many waters…
and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” - Revelation 1:12-16
This is John’s description of Jesus when he encountered Him
during his exile on the Isle of Patmos. John then received from Jesus the
amazing vision we call the book of Revelation. Fascinating as the vision is in
its entirety, it is this passage that grabs my attention. This is hardly the Jesus pictured in most
Sunday School material. There is nothing wrong with the gentle Jesus in a white
robe carrying a lamb on His shoulders. Jesus is humble and kind. This is the
Jesus that draws little children to Himself. I’m grateful for the gentle Jesus
that I learned of in my childhood.
Today, however, it is the Jesus whose eyes are like a flame
of fire that I need to see, or rather that I need to see looking at me. It is
the voice like the roar of many waters that I need to hear. It is the face that
shines like the sun in its full strength that I need to see.
Why? I too often lapse into a comfortable, easy Christianity
that is self-serving, long on grace, and short on holiness and godly fear. He
searches mind and heart (Revelation 2:23), uncovering compromise,
unforgiveness, hardness of heart, impatience, unbelief… not to shame, nor to
wound, but to cleanse, to heal, to restore, and to fill afresh with His love
and peace. Don’t be afraid. He can be trusted. Our hearts are safe in the hands
of the one whose eyes are like a flame of fire.
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