March 6th

Heartburn
Revelation 10:1-11

William Green

God makes things possible, not easy. Faith can be hard, doubt real--"sweet as honey in my mouth, but... my stomach was made bitter".

The book of Revelation shows this. Written for early Christians facing persecution, its puzzling symbolism is often code language drawing on imagery from the Hebrew Scriptures known to believers but impenetrable to imperial authority. The fundamental message can be summed up in two words: "God wins!"

But before the last trumpet sounds marking this final triumph, the good news of Christ is judgment against all that violates the love of God. We're better with the love part of this than the judgment.

We're not asked to be judgmental. We're asked to be honest. The "sweetness" of faith becomes bitter when we consider all that ignores or denies God's justice and mercy. Remembering that we ourselves are complicit in this, we can confront it more credibly in the world around us. Self-righteousness is hard to take.

Honest faith aims to tell the truth because it is less concerned about feeling good than turning to God, however we feel. Inspired by the love of Christ, we try to live true to that, knowing no failure can ultimately block its victory.

Prayer: Eternal God, lead me to look beyond how I feel to who you are, and to trust your love which embraces us all, now and forever. In Jesus' name. Amen.