Don't Be Afraid: Revelation 1c

By the time John had his encounter with Christ, on the Isle of Patmos, he was an old man. The sole surviving Apostle from the Original Twelve, he also was the only one to die a natural death. The Lord had a special mission for him. He was the one whom "Jesus loved." He was the one entrusted to care for Mary, mother of our Lord, after Christ left this earth. Martyrdom was the fate of all of the Twelve, except for John. As the one that wrote so much about love, and light, John became the one most suited to receive these visions.

Jesus had seen, and done, it all. We do not know what happened during the silent years of his life, between boyhood when he was left behind at the temple, and his adulthood, when he began his ministry by turning water into wine. Perhaps he had been taken on a fantastic voyage of discovery, fellowshipping with the Father, being trained and prepared by Him.

At any rate, Christ's knowledge of eternity, and of the universe, was by then complete. He had even experienced death, and rebirth. One who has died and then come back to life has nothing more to learn. What more could there be?

And so he was able to say, with confidence:

Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last and the most alive.

Standing as he did, before John, and Heavenly splendor, struck fear into John's heart. Here he was, next to a man whose very presence channeled eternity into John's finite, time-based realm.

But Christ had full knowledge, total courage, and complete love. He was and is everything. And he spoke words to John, and across the centuries, to us. Follow someone like that. This is exactly the one thing that we need.