August 31st, 21

At first Look, you might weep. But you need to look again. And again. We look for the answers to the rebellion that's borne out in each heart, to the destruction that comes in its wake, to the cruelty and violence that are seemingly everywhere. When we take that first look, we're gonna weep. Because we don't have an answer for it, and john doesn't have an answer either. He weeps because he realizes that even within himself, he has no answer for all that's wrong, no answer for sin, for death, the grave, nothing at all. No one has been found worthy. No one has stepped forward on behalf of this broken and blind, rebellious world. JOHN weeps for himself and for his people. He weeps for you and for me. But an elder stops him from weeping. He's told by this elder to stop weeping. And to take a second look. In this second look, he's going to see what he hadn't seen before. He's going to see an answer. And the answer is not what you would think. The answer is the Lamb. And when john looks, this lamb steps forward to take the scroll that represents the judgment for all that is wrong. All that we have no answer for, all of life's cruelty and violence in judgments, its injustices', its dishonesty, all of its selfishness and greed and pride. This lamb is not led or pushed, he steps forward because of the love he has for this broken and blind and rebellious world. For people like me and you. This lamp steps forward to take the scroll. That scroll was nailed with him on the cross. And on the cross, he absorbed all of our fury, all of our violence, the sins of the world, were unleashed upon him, he absorbed death itself, in order to break its curse, so that humanity might once again know his life. He answered it all with self giving, radically forgiving, co suffering love. That's what we are asked to look at, again, then just told to look a third time. This third look shows him all that the Lamb has accomplished by stepping forward. He sees a vision of people from every tribe and tongue and language, countless millions around the throne, worshiping and adoring the lamb. Keep looking. When you don't see an answer in the midst of your tears, your shame, your regrets, your blindness? Keep looking. If you look, you will see a Lamb who alone has the answer you're looking for? The answer to your despair, shame, blindness, brokenness. He has an answer for it all. He steps forward for you out of love to do what he alone can do. JOHN says that we shouldn't stop looking. We need to look again. And again. Then we'll see that the Lamb has been stepping forward for countless millions of others of their broken rebellious blind people like us. He's making them new to he's restoring their hearts, drawing their tears and giving them a new song. Worthy is the Lamb. May God give us this new song today? And may He cause us to look and look and look again and sing out with his new song. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family for my wife, my daughters, my son. And that's the prayer that I have for you may be so

You are loved!