The book of the living - 15 June 2023

Can anyone become a president, king or political ruler? If we take the promises in the letter to Thyatira very literally, it does seem so, because it says we will get authority over the nations. We all know this is not what Jesus meant, but the believers who suffered heavy persecution under the Roman emperor knew what Jesus meant by this promise. What Jesus wanted them to understand is that although they were experiencing bodily suffering, in the spiritual sense, they would always have authority, even over the power of the emperor himself. Nothing could ever deprive them of their spiritual well-being.

This idea is further enhanced by the promise of the morning star. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus refers to himself as the bright morning star. The morning star has always been a symbol of hope. When it becomes visible in the early morning, we know that the night is over. So also, with the spiritual night. When we see the true Morning Star, we know our night of separation from God is finally over.

As a child, it really worried me to hear that everything you do is written next to your name in God’s big book. Will all the naughty things that my parents didn’t know about, suddenly become general knowledge one day? Fortunately, as an adult, I know that I need not worry about something like that. When I have received my white clothes as a symbol of the forgiveness of sins, any such entries are wiped out. The most important about the book of life is that my name is entered and it will never be wiped out again. Jesus said this himself in the letter to Sardis. He goes ever further and promises me that he will declare openly before his Father that I belong to him.

Prayer: Lord, how can I ever thank you that my name is written in your book of life with the blood that you shed on the cross for me, and nobody, but nobody, can ever wipe it out. Amen