The Key To Life

Read: Revelation 5

I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. Revelation 5:6

IN WORD

Imagine being in John’s position. In the Spirit, you’ve entered a portal into heaven and witness firsthand the epic vista of God on His throne and creatures covering Him in worship. It’s sensory overload, with all the power of a galactic storm and all the beauty of an otherworldly dream. Your heart is pounding, captivated by the wonder of it all. Excitement, fear, awe . . . it’s more than you can process. Then suddenly you see a figure that’s both familiar and like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

Slain but standing. That’s the jarring vision John sees of the One he leaned comfortably against at a supper years before. Two millennia of Christian history may have taken all the surprise out of this picture for us, but let the full impact sink in. At the center of the throne—which is at the center of the universe in a realm usually unseen, in this pulsating place from which all life and energy flow—stands the majestic figure with mortal wounds still visible. With all power at His disposal, the King’s own Son was executed by twisted, finite human beings. Yet having been dead, He stands surrounded by glorious beings who worship Him. It’s a stunningly incongruent picture. And it sums up God’s plan perfectly.

IN DEED

The Lamb is at the center of everything. Never forget that. Not only is He preeminent in the nerve center of the universe, He’s central to our existence. If He had remained dead, life as we know it would have been snuffed out. If all things exist through Him (Colossians 1:16), His death without resurrection would have been like pulling the plug on the universe. But nothing could take life from the source of life. And nothing can remove Him from the center of His own creation. Only when we see Him there—and think, speak, and live accordingly—do our lives make sense. Cultivating that vision every moment of every day fills us with energy, purpose, and power.

ADDITIONAL READING: Daniel 7:13-14

The ascension of Christ does not represent His removal from the earth, but His constant presence everywhere on earth.

WILLIAM TEMPLE