REVELATION 1:17-18: “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

OBSERVATION: What do we see when we look at Jesus? Do we see a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger? Do we see a lowly carpenter? Do we see a man who performed miracles and spoke of the Kingdom of God? Do we see a teacher of parables? Do we see someone who was unjustly crucified? Do we see someone who rose from the dead? What do we see when we look at Jesus?

All of these pictures of Jesus were true, but they are not true now. Jesus is no longer a baby, no longer a carpenter, no longer an itinerant preacher. Jesus is not still on the cross and He is no longer walking on the earth. Jesus is now glorified and sitting on the right hand of the Father awaiting the culmination of all things. He is the First and the Last, the living one. He holds the keys of Hades and of Death! When John saw the glorified Christ he fell before Him as a dead man, overcome by His magnificent glory!

I am afraid that we do not see Jesus the same way that John did. We have endeavored to bring Jesus back down to earth. We have made him our “buddy”, our “friend”, and we have failed to see Him as our Sovereign Lord. His call to friendship takes on an entirely new dimension when we see Him as John saw Him. It is not one human extending the invitation of friendship to another. Rather, it is the Sovereign God, the Creator of the Universe, extending His friendship to those who cannot even stand in the presence of His glory and holiness. And what does He do for us? He does exactly what He did for John. When we place our faith in Him – He reaches out his right hand and lifts us up to stand before Him and says – “Do not be afraid!”

Only when we see with our spiritual eyes the glorified and all powerful Christ will we fully trust Him with all the areas of our life. He is alive forevermore! Nothing is too difficult for Him, and nothing is outside of His Lordship. He rules over all the affairs of man and He has conquered the one thing that no man can conquer – Death and Hades! He is coming back again to complete His redemption of His creation. As the song aptly says -“One day every tongue will confess You as Lord, one day every knee will bow, STILL THE GREATEST PLEASURE REMAINS FOR THOSE WHO GLADLY CHOOSE YOU NOW!”

Lord, open my eyes today to see You in all of Your Power and Glory! Let me run to You in full surrender and assurance of faith. You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. Most importantly – You are my Lord! In Jesus Name!