Seeing Jesus afresh

Revelation 1:4-8

⁴ This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia.

Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; ⁵ and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world.

All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. ⁶ He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

⁷ Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
And everyone will see him—
even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

Wow – what rich language and imagery to describe Jesus: “the faithful witness”, “the firstborn from among the dead”, “the ruler over the kings of the earth”,  “the one who loves us and has set us free from our sins at the cost of his own blood”, the One who “has appointed us as a kingdom, as priests serving his God and Father”.

I am drawn to the thought of how I describe Jesus.  Is it as rich and diverse as this snapshot from the beginning of Revelation, or is it more limited?  Do I engage with Jesus with such large and magnificent thinking, or do I limit myself to more mundane and perhaps only personal descriptions?  The challenge to me is clear – lift your eyes, perceive afresh Jesus in His majesty and magnificence!

Father, would you fill me with a fresh vision of Jesus, a vision that better and more fully captures who He is in His breadth and depth and weight and width!

Written by Ps. Richard Botta