Devotion for April 4, 2016

Monday: “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9; NIV).

            Revelation is a relatively straightforward book. I know that sounds weird but it’s true. In many ways the terrifying images of the book are just ways to describe what we all experience—that life is not perfect, that we have spiritual enemies, that the world is fallen.

            John notes this from the very outset when he describes himself as a companion in suffering and notes that he was on the island of Patmos. John writes around the year AD 95 and persecution is becoming more and more common. Around that same time other historical sources are telling us that Christians are being imprisoned and occasionally executed simply for being Christians. (Why the Romans thought Christians were worth punishment is an interesting study for another time.) John himself is on Patmos because he has been exiled from his home in Ephesus.

            Revelation will never candy coat the struggles of life in a sin-fallen. You don’t overcome trial by denying that you’re under pressure. It’s important to confront the brutal realities of a fallen world. And that kind of realism will equip you to endure and live in hope