Face to Face
5 min read
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Revelation 1:17-18
I know this guy, and his dad was a pastor. There was a time when his dad was terminally ill. The family was praying for a miraculous recovery, but then his dad died. … And then he resuscitated to life.
The dad told his son that he saw Jesus. Jesus addressed him, moksanim (pastor). Jesus told him, “Well done, Lee moksanim, but it is not your time.” And then he came back to life.
If I had seen the vision that John saw, I too would probably have fallen at the feet of Jesus, as though dead. I think that we are all so accustomed to the transactional nature of human relationships that when we do meet Jesus, we would all have a some measure of fear in our hearts. We all know that we sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
That may be why the most common thing that God or His angels say when they accost a believer is “Do not be afraid.” It’s because, on human terms, we have every reason to be afraid.
Of course the vision of Jesus Himself would be enough to incite tremendous fear—even without knowing that it is Jesus. Who knows, maybe that is why Jesus appeared behind John and spoke to him first. He might have had a heart attack, otherwhise.
Anyway, it is interesting and instructive that Jesus did not say, “Do not be afraid. You are this. You are that. You have done this or that, and so you are OK by me.”
No, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid. [Because] I am ….”
When I come face to face with Jesus, I hope and pray in the very depth of my being that Jesus would say those precious words to me: “Well done, pastor Sang, good and faithful servant.” And yet, I must understand in the very depth of my being that it is because of who Jesus is and what He has done for me that I need not fear.
Father, Your ways are higher that our ways, Your thoughts than our thoughts. Your love, grace, and mercy are beyond human comprehension. Who am I, a wretched, mortal sinner, that You would be mindful of me? Who am I that You would love me and save me? My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and His righteousness. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
