“Faithful, in life and in death”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, May 8, 2022
Revelation 7:9-17 (Forward, p. 10) CEV p. 1301
Certain religious groups have tried to put a limit, or at least, number just how many people will be privileged to enter into God’s kingdom, into heaven. But here we learn that the crowd, the multitude, is such that no one could count or number. And furthermore, that this group comes from every race, tribe, nation and language that there is on earth. This says something of the inclusivity and breadth of God’s kingdom. However, it also says something of the task that lies before us: no one group is to be excluded. That then, raises a profound question: have we reached out to everyone on earth? Are there any people that we have hitherto missed? I think that there are some that have never heard the Gospel in words that they can understand. Indeed, I think that some of them are right here in our own community. So, what then, are we doing to reach them?
Coming back to our passage, it tells us that this great multitude were all dressed in white robes and bore palm branches in their hands. While in our present passage we learn that these are the ones that have gone through the great tribulation, the time of suffering (v. 14), earlier on in chapter 6, verses 9-11, we are told that they had been killed for speaking God’s message and telling about their faith. They had been faithful to our Lord Jesus, even at the cost of their own lives.
In that earlier passage, they shout, they cry out to the Lord, ‘how long, Lord, will it be before you judge the earth and punish these killers?’ Interestingly, they were told to be patient, to wait for the full number of those who would be martyred for their faith. Even in death, they were to remain faithful, trusting in God and in His timing.
But that is not all: in today’s passage we hear that group—the same group presumably—joined in one glorious, tremulous hymn of praise to God the Father and to the Son. And they are praising God, not for what He has already done, but for what He can do and will do in the future. “Our God, who sits upon the throne, has the power to save his people, and so does the Lamb” (verse 10).
And that is not all: “The one who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again, and they won’t be troubled by the sun or any scorching heat. The Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to streams of life-giving water, and God will wipe all tears from their eyes” (verses 15c-17).
So, we are not alone in having to wait and persevere, in having to put up with things and conditions that are not exactly to our liking. We have to endure things and conditions that quite honestly are unpleasant, uncomfortable and even downright scary at times. But, we have not had to endure the trials that many people have had, trials that, in some cases, resulted even in their deaths. So, whether us or them, whether alive or dead, we are called to hold on, to wait, and to trust. We are called to trust in a loving God who knows what He is doing, who can and will save us, and who has the best in store for each and every person who puts his or her trust in Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’” (verse 13)
“John has just experienced a vision of a vast, uncountable multitude from all nations, languages, and races, and they are all robed in white. He sees the church—the followers of Christ—totally wrapped up in the Word. In this vision, the people are completely immersed in God’s healing and cleansing grace, and they all rejoice.
“John sees the church steeped in extraordinary, blessed grace. A few times in my life, I have experienced that exuberant joy, often at the end of a Christian retreat or a Cursillo renewal conference. When I return to the rigors of daily life, the memory sustains me and, guided by the Good Shepherd, I walk through death’s shadows to the springs of living water.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Is it possible for you to join a special intentional time with fellow Christians in a retreat or weekend?”
