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Saturday, August 8, 2020

The Throne in Heaven

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Revelation 4:1-11
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REFLECTION

The Throne in Heaven
by Mary McGinnis

Have you ever experienced something that you just could not put into words?  Going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was one such experience for me.  Sitting on the rim of the Canyon right before sunrise, the canyon was dark, gray, and lifeless.
And then as the sun rose, it was like God took out His paint brush, and splashed color all over the rock faces of the canyon walls.  

It was stunningly breathtaking!!  It was so overwhelming; it is nearly impossible to fully describe.  I look back on the pictures of those moments, those snap shots of time we tried to capture, but even those photographs do not do the scene nor the experience justice.  The beauty and awe of it all is far more than even a picture could grasp. 

When I read today’s reading from Revelation, I tried to put myself in John’s shoes. God allowed John to see and experience things that were far above our human understanding. He took him out of his current circumstances (being exiled for his faith on a tiny island) and drew back the curtain of something bigger. 

That vision John got to see was not the beauty of this earth, not the extravagant kingdoms of this world, but a vision of HEAVEN. And not just heaven, but the One who sits on the Throne of Heaven, in all His glory and majesty. 

When I have gone to the top of a mountain and looked down, the awe and majesty of it all has been overwhelming, breathtaking, awe striking.  How much more it must have been to experience being in the presences of the God of Heaven, the One Who Sits on the Throne! 

Even though the language John uses to describe what he saw seems strange and obscure to us, it is only because words could never hope to grasp it. The snapshot of what John saw was so immaculate, so magnificent, so transcendent, no human being would be able to fully understand it.

Why does God share this vision with John? Why did God tell him to write it down so he could share it with us? God wanted us to get a taste of how vast, immeasurable, and indescribable He is! 

He wants us to get a tiny glimpse of His Glory and see that high above this microscopic, insignificant, seemingly out of control planet, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, is the One who sits on the Throne. He is the One who reigns above it all.  

And the most beautiful thing of all?  That majestic, indescribable, transcendent King loves you and me. He wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him. That is why He stooped down, laid aside all His Glory for a time and walked this earth. He came to suffer and die so we could know Him and live with Him in all His majesty!

Prayer Practice Just as the letters to the churches showed the spiritual reality of things taking place on earth, today’s text shows the reality of things taking place in heaven. As you read this description of heavenly worship, look for what it can teach you about what it means to worship and praise God here on earth.

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