Day 100

“Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” Rev 5:4 NASB. 

We are often reluctant to identify with the positive characters in the Bible. We assume that people like John was on a far higher spiritual level than we are. Yet the Bible invites us to model our lives on the characters in it (Heb 6:12). Paul, for example, encourages the members of his churches to imitate him (1 Cor 4:6-7). One of the best ways to apply the Bible’s moral lessons to our lives is to give careful attention to the positive and negative examples we find in their stories. 

In this and other verses, John becomes part of his own vision! It is encouraging to realize that John does not portray himself as a great saint, but as one who makes mistakes and is even a bit clueless at times. In Rev5:4 John weeps because he has no idea what is going on in heaven. He sees but he doesn’t understand. In Rev 7:14 an elder asks him a question and he has no idea how to answer it. In Rev19:9-10 and 22:8-9 he falls down to worship an angel only to be rebuked for it. Now to do this once might be understandable. But to do it a second time, a short while later really looks foolish! Apparently, prophets are not automatically smart in all areas. 

The good news is that people like you and I can identify with John and other biblical characters in their weakness. Elijah was easily discouraged and depressed, yet at God’s command, he could make it stop raining! David murdered, yet God found a way to forgive him! John the Baptist questioned whether Jesus was really the Messiah yet Jesus called him the greatest of the prophets (Matt 11:1-13)! Job and Jeremiah wished they had never been born (Job 3:3; Jer 20:14-15)! It is encouraging to our desponding hearts to know that through God’s grace they could gain fresh vigour to again rise above their evil natures; and, remembering this, we are ready to renew the conflict ourselves.