Skip to main content

Amen!

             “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. (Revelation 3:14)

             Amen: Affirmation of truth; “So be it.” A statement that adds the strength of the speaker to what has been said.

             Witness: One who sees or has seen and therefore has knowledge.

 

            As I look at the definition of Amen, I have to chuckle. We say “Amen” at the end of most prayers. We say and even shout, “Amen!” when we agree with something someone says. What possible good would it do for you or me to say “Amen!” to anything? What strength have we to add to what has been said? Some people could say “Amen” and have it mean something, but I’m not one of them.

            But the passage isn’t about our saying “Amen.” It’s about Someone who is the Amen. He adds strength to what has been said – to Scripture.  And He can do so because He has seen God and knows Him. Not only does He have knowledge, but He has power. An “Amen” from Him means something. And if we are saying “Amen” with Him, then while we lack the power to make the word mean something, He has all the power and authority necessary and may add it to our powerless proclamations.

                The illustration is old and classic. A weakling is picked on by a bully. The bully knocks him down and happens to close his eyes as he laughs at the weakling. As he opens his eyes, he finds the weakling back on his feet, and a large, strong protector standing immediately behind him. It’s not that we add our strength by saying “Amen.” It’s that He lends us His Amen when we speak in accordance with His will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more