Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 8 verses 8 through 11:
8 ‘And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the first and the last, who was dead and came to life:
9 ‘I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death.
This morning’s Lesson comes from a letter written to a church which is wealthy, but whose wealth in fact creates challenges in the way of faithfulness.
A great crisis is about to grip Rome. The Church will be tested. It will struggle because it has so much to lose. It’s riches will become a burden and hindrance to faithfulness. This is part of the “poverty” of the church; for just as it is difficult for a rich man to enter into heaven so too is it well-nigh impossible for a rich church.
But with God all things are possible. John the Seer calls the church to impossibility made possible with God. “[Y]ou will have affliction,” he says, “Be faithful until death,” and God “will give you the crown of life.”
Just as a person must lose his or her life to gain it, so also the church must be willing to die in order to live. In other words, it must be willing to risk, to lose, to get smaller, to renounce all its measurements of success, and empty itself that it might remain faithful.
For there is only one thing that is necessary now; and John says the church must chose the better part. It must choose the hard way. It must chose the eye of the needle. It must chose faithfulness.
And by its faithfulness it shall save its soul.
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