When I was younger, I used to love going for walks in the rain. After the torrents came down, the slick asphalt would reflect the world upside down. I used to imagine that the upside down image on the road was right side up in another world. If only I could find a way to slip into this other world brought close through the cleansing rain.
While this was merely the creative musings of a small child, it’s symbolic of God’s heavenly kingdom making its way upon an earthly existence. Throughout all of Revelation, the author continuously presents a choice to his readers. He paints a stark reality of a real war being raged on both a physical and spiritual level.
Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. Revelation 12:10
Praise be to God! The real war over the power of sin and death has been won! Satan holds no power. The dragon has been dealt a fatal blow. And yet as he falls, he makes one last desperate attempt to bring humanity with him.
A choice still exists. Death does not have the final say. But upon this earth we have the choice to choose life or to choose death. We can live as agents of chaos, embodying the dragon. Or we can live as agents of life, spreading the peace and hope of the gospel. Neither option is passive. By not choosing one, you inherently decide for the other. Constantly throughout the New Testament, believers are called to stand firm, to press on towards the goal for which we’ve been called (Philippians 3:12-4:1). For if we do not actively pursue God’s Kingdom, we will be overcome by the dragon and his kingdom (Revelation 12:13-17).
Take a moment to reflect on your day: What emotions or desires are dominant? Is anxiety crippling? Anger abounding? Unclean thoughts raging? The experience of emotions is not sin in and of itself, but what we do in response: Thought is the seed of action. In Philippians 4:6, we are called to present every situation, thought and emotion to God, to surrender before the throne. If we do this, we are promised peace in the midst of chaos.
As a child, I could never quite figure out how to slip into this other world brought close through the rain. But through the cleansing blood of Christ, we are now given the choice of walking out into God’s Kingdom on earth. The key is whether or not we love our earthly existence more than Christ (Revelation 12:11). Read Philippians 3:12-4:9 and ponder on whether you are living as agents of chaos or agents of life.
by Kristen Rummel
