When I think of being Undone (courtesy of the Alpha and Omega) what comes to mind is a cinematic memory from Raider’s of the Lost Ark. I thought Stephen Spielberg did an admirable job of undoing a greedy Philistine who thought he might co-opt the Ark’s power to his own end. Silly boy. Turns out that made Mr. P.’s version of Yahweh very angry.
Things do need undone though don’t they? Mankind does need a super hero to deliver him from his super-problem – sin. We actually have our hero in Jesus Christ who came to undue what the world the flesh and the devil have constructed and mislabeled as civilization. Listen to the apostle John as he describes Undoer.
I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. (Revelation 1:13-16)
John, who had once laid his head upon Jesus’s chest, appraised what he was seeing and decided to not try this again, just now anyway. Instead, he…
fell at His feet like a dead man (from 1:17)
Is John’s revelation of Jesus the same as ours? What are we to do with another’s revelation of Jesus when we must have a personal relationship with Him, requiring, preferably, a personal revelation of Him? We must live by faith. Our spirit’s can grasp what our eyes have not seen and our ears have not heard. The Spirit-filled heart will say “amen” upon hearing John’s account. It may just initially be an agreement with what another has experienced but it will not remain second hand.
Eventually God will share with us kingdom circumstances through which we must persevere. We won’t be on Patmos on the Lord’s Day; we will be wherever God has placed us, walking in the Spirit, confident that in each new day His mercies and presence are as fresh as they were to John. Undoer simply has chosen to not to frighten us out of our wits. Nevertheless, I believe we will eventually say, if we persevere;
And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18)
We won’t have to reference McArthur, Piper (or whoever) for our revelation because it will have become our own, no less effectual than the apostle John’s. God doesn’t light someone up just because he’s a favored son. He simply chose John as a reference point for us who have the added benefit of living by faith in harmony with benchmarks such as himself and Paul.
Behold, God still stands at the door and knocks. Those who open this door ultimately discover the same awe and intimacy that the great men of scripture knew. Our reborn spirits have the capacity for communion with God in Christ. The Holy Spirit is central to this revelation. For those of us who have not been taken up into the third heaven, there is our hearts, where Christ lives. Our understanding of what God has done in that space, making us temples and new creations, has the potential to transform us into the lights of the world we were called to be.
It is our place to be still. If we are, we will eventually hear a voice. It will likely not come from behind but from within. It may not blair like a trumpet, it may be the softer notes of a flute. It may even be a very quiet whisper but it will come. We won’t have to necessarily report what we have heard to any churches (or we might). We will simply share our lives with those on the islands where we have been exiled (excuse me; I mean sovereignly placed), those in our households, our neighbors, our friends and co-workers.
Father, please light up our hearts with Your life. Breath upon the embers. Fan them into flames of awe and intimacy, for Your Name’s sake. Amen.