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Word of the Week

Word of the Week: Picture

A picture’s worth a thousand words – or so the saying goes anyway. If a picture’s worth a thousand words, how much is it worth when you see something for yourself? Five thousand words? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand?

I went on vacation a few weeks ago on the west coast. While I was on this trip, I got to see many beautiful sights. I saw the spectacular ocean views in San Diego. I saw the towering Redwood trees in northern California. I saw the titanic Mount Rainer in Seattle. Of course, I took pictures…but each of them fails to capture the fullness of seeing the subject in person.

The Bible gives us pictures too, powerful and detailed descriptions of things designed to print a picture in our imagination. That’s what the Book of Revelation is, after all: a picture book. It’s a series of images, strung together to tell us the story of Christ’s triumph over sin and death once and for all. I’ve been thinking about those pictures this week and I was especially drawn to the description of God’s throne in Revelation 4:3-6:

“And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.”

Can you imagine what that sight must be like? All the colors – I count at least three different gems, not to mention a rainbow. All the sounds, with peals of thunder cracking all around. It’s a bit overwhelming to take it all in. But I can tell you at least this much: it’s impressive. John gives us a picture of a throne the likes of which we’ve never seen anywhere else. Our God is just that kind of king, worthy of a throne like no other.

The gospel comes with many promises, but one of them is that we don’t have to settle for the picture. Jesus is going to take us where he is and, when he does, we’ll see this throne in person. What a sight will that be? If you find yourself bogged down this week, mired in the mundane trials of day-to-day life, take a moment and let your imagination wander. Come back to this picture of the glory that’s going to be revealed to us. Imagine the day that you’ll see what’s pictured in person. What a day that will be!

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