All Saint's Day - (Revelation 7:9-17)

As I look to this Sunday's worship celebration I am overloaded with emotions:

-We celebrate Holy Communion this Sunday and any chance to celebrate the Lord's

Supper is a gift as we remember the gift given to us in Christ Jesus and the sacrifice

made on our behalf to forgive our sins. We are receiving communion in a couple

different ways to keep people safe during this pandemic time. However, the

significance and blessing of the meal and the sacrifice made are every bit as valid

and holy.

-We also celebrate All Saint's Day, a day set aside to honor and remember all those

saints who have gone on before us and are now in God's hands. So many people in

my life have been saints of God and I know have gone to be with God in heaven.

It is the thought of these saints of God from my life that bring me to my reflection of the revelatory vision of John in chapter 7, vs. 9-17.

Revelation 7:9-17 paints an expansive picture of the throne room of god that is added to previous picture of the 144,000 from the jewish tribes of old who are already sealed and have their place in heaven around the throne. Picture them all gathered around the throne with the angels, the elders, the heavenly creatures, the Lamb, the Father, all in the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is where our vision for us kicks into high gear! This is really where it gets exciting! Because, gathered all around that throne in addition to all those listed above, are those people who have lived their lives faithful to God, and have washed their robes clean in the blood of the lamb! Even better, there are people there from everywhere in the world, every nation, every tribe, every language, EVERYWHERE! This is the YOU and ME part of the assurance of God that there is a place reserved for us in heaven!

I love this painting of a crowd scene and I believe it is a good representation, although not meant for this by the artist, of a crowd that is uncountable, inclusive of people of all colors and places, and it is impossible to determine a smaller group of people in the mix of the whole. This is what I believe heaven will be like! The particulars that seem to mean so much here on earth and are used to separate us and draw us apart, will simply be abstract subtleties in comparison to the unifying love of God that draws us together in endless praise and thanksgiving and worship to God!

Thanks be to God for the uncountable saints in God's throne room in John's vision from God. This gives me hope and excitement for my loved ones who have died in Christ. It also gives me hope that I will be reunited with them and all of you who are living life for God every day! I look forward to the day when we can all be in the throne room together and praise and worship God without ceasing. Let us also take the opportunity to hear the example given to us in this vision and make it our aim to unify people around us in the Love of Christ and seek to become that vision of God's people from EVERYWHERE united in Worship and Praise!

Grace and Peace! ~~~ RevMoll