The First and The Last
DAY 51 WRITTEN BY: Katie Grogan-
Revelation 1:17
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last”
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When we think about what is happening in Revelation chapter 1, the apostle John is given instructions from God to record everything he sees in his visions in a book to deliver to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. The book of Revelation gives us a summary of who God is, what He is doing, what He has done and what He will do in the time that is to come. When the apostle John sees the glorified Christ in this verse that we read, it says “when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”
I can only imagine the awe that the apostle John felt and the magnificent wonder of the risen Christ in which he had seen. His eternal presence was with John as He said, “I am the first and the last.” The gentleness of his right hand, and the reassuring comfort to “fear not”, represents the loving character of who Christ is. He is the first and the last, He is eternal, and He reigns on His throne forevermore. He is the beginning and the end; those who have placed their faith in Him are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:17). We have an eternal hope in Jesus that one day, we will see him face to face and experience the awe and wonder of our eternal Savior.
We can have confidence that in this life there will be many challenges and things that distract us and turn our affections away from God. However, He calls us to live a life that honors Him and that means putting Jesus at the helm and all other distractions aside. When we think about the sinful world we live in, 2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us to “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” This means that we are to live with an eternal perspective: that the things of this world are temporary and will fade away, but we are to live holy and godly lives as we wait for the day when we will live with Christ for eternity.
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God, even now as I pray help me to put all other distractions aside. That nothing would come before you in my life. You are the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the author and perfecter of my faith. Thank you that one day you will make all things new and that I can look forward to the day when I will spend eternity with you. For as long as you have me here on this earth, give me the desire to live with an eternal mindset, to focus on the things above and living a Christ-honoring life.
