Sealed!

"Therefore, to be sealed with the seal of the living God is to have the character of the living God written into our minds and hearts. Tobe sealed with the Lamb is to have the character of the Lamb written into the fabric of our being. On the "forehead" implies that this new character is obvious to on-lookers. People see something different about us. They look at us and, yes, see our brokenness; but they also see the Lamb and his Father. They see something of the goodness and holiness of the Father and something of the sacrificial love of the Savior" (188).

I think of Reid's "I want people to think well of me, but more so I want people to think well of You, Jesus [the You they see sealed on my forehead]."

"The seal of the living God is the Holy Spirit of God! "Seal of God," says John. The "of" implies something that is from God, out of God. That something is the very life of God, his Spirit - who reproduces the name, the character of the Lamb, in us; who reproduces the name, the character of the Father, in us; who protects us from the ultimate consequences of the great tribulation; who enables us to not compromise when the pressure intensifies; who enables us to go through it all and keep the faith." (189).

I have been growing increasingly in love with and thankful for the Holy Spirit in the last 18 months or so... he is SO necessary, and SO worthy of my devotion and following... just like the Father and the Son!

"These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb... love the contrasting visual! Since when does anything dipped in blood come out any color other than blood red?? It reminds me (forgive the juvenile illustration) of those magic markers I had as a kid... remember them? You'd color with, say, blue... and then you'd take the "clear" magic marker, and all of a sudden the blue became orange! i LOVED it as a kid! Same idea, on a way deeper and spiritual level. No matter the color of my robe, no matter the stains that are left on it by the time I "come out of the great tribulation"... all it takes is one dip in the blood of the Lamb and like "magic" (grace?!), my robe is white as snow!

And the image of the Lamb in the center of the throne being our shepherd... When I first read that on Monday, I literally pictured the Lamb walking out from the Revelation 4 throne and down to Psalm 23 quiet waters that are the spring of life, with the sealed (myself among them) following behind. ...And then it hit me: I am following not just a lamb, but the Lamb who was slain! I am walking through the blood that the Lamb is still dripping as He leads me to the water of life! Oh crap... uh... no thank you, not so much... is that an option? We're already following him... Shoot! (I hear the words of my friend Gob Bluth, "I've made a huge mistake!")

I want to follow the Lamb, but I still really don't want it to be at the cost of my comfort, at the expense of my agenda! How do you think the Lamb gets from the throne to the springs of the water of life? I have only one guess, but I'm pretty sure it probably involves (again) some degree of self-giving, sacrificial, being slaughtered on behalf of the team, servant love (again... and again... and again). Ooof, the cost of discipleship is so high! No thank you! And then, as I drag my feet in this processional out from the throne (which, by the way, I am SO grateful for the brothers and sisters around me, wearing their own white robes, who are willing to take either arm and keep walking forward, despite my deeply dug heels and temper tantrum - I think of Robbie Seay's "We Are Not Alone"), I remember that this path that I don't always (more like ever) want to walk leads to the water of life, to a God who wipes every tear from my eyes, and to unhindered intimacy with the Triune God for eternity... and my muscles get a little less tense and I dig my heels in a little less vigorously.

Sorry, Lord, for so resisting Your way of life... but thank you for sealing me anyway!