A multi-tasking God — Fearfully & Wonderfully Jo

In the small group I’m leading for my campus ministry, Epic, we decided to tackle the book of Revelation this semester. (More about how this decision came to be and how it’s going in a later post.) This past Thursday, we kicked off the series with study of chapter 1 of Revelation, essentially the prologue of the entire book. As I was preparing for the study, I came across a couple verses that I thought were a little odd.

“In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 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…” Rev. 1: 16-17

In this particular scene, John (the author of Rev.) is describing the glory of God as seen through the description of a “son of man”, which includes an image of what he is doing with his right hand. What struck me about these verses was the fact that his right hand was already occupied with holding seven stars, yet he was still able to use the same right hand to lay a comforting hand on John’s shoulder. How was that physically possible?!?

After consulting commentaries, I realized the meaning behind this whole image went far beyond just a physical abnormality, and it left me awe-struck.

Let’s talk symbols for a sec. In scripture, God’s right hand is meant to symbolize His favor and protection. The fact that everything in this scenario is done with His right hand means that that’s something He really wants to convey to us here. But what does that have to with the 7 stars and the laying of His hand on John?? In Revelation, the 7 stars symbolize the angels of the 7 churches. Revelation was addressed to 7 churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea) in a time of intense trial and tribulation for Christians. It was God’s intention to use Revelation as a way to comfort Christians, as represented by the 7 churches.

Now let’s start to break down the situation. So first, we’re told that this “son of man” is holding seven stars in his right hand. Now that we know what each of these symbols mean, we can interpret this to be God protecting the 7 churches, and consequently, the entire Christian body. Next, we’re told that He lays His right hand on John after John appears to be awestruck and in fear of seeing God. We can interpret this to mean that God is protecting and reassuring John.

This brings us to the main question: How is He physically doing both at the same time with the same hand?? Given the two interpretations above, this scenario is meant to demonstrate how God is able to simultaneously care for the entire Christian body (7 stars) while also taking care of each of our individual needs (as represented by John).

This scenario should be one that makes us wonder. As humans with limited capabilities, we can’t grasp how God is able to do both because that’s something we can’t do. How amazing is it that we have a God who is able to lavish His love on the Christian body as a whole AND provide for the needs of you and me and our friends ALL AT THE SAME TIME?!?! For me, it’s a really comforting thought because even when I feel lost and insignificant, even when I feel like one teeny tiny pixel in this photo of life, I can be confident that God DOES see my needs and DOES provide for them, all while still taking care of my brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ. And that’s so, so COOL!

~jo