June 29, 2001

THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True" (Revelation 19:11, NIV).

In the book of Revelation, John the beloved decorates Christ with an elaborate array of names and titles. Here He is identified by the double title, "Faithful and True."

Christ is appropriately called "Faithful and True," because of His role as the sole champion of His beleaguered people, Ridiculed, accused, and persecuted by the forces of evil, God's people have waited, prayed, and longed for ultimate deliverance and vindication. They have built their hopes on the Saviour's personal promise, "If I go... I will come back and take you to be with me" (John 14:3, NIV). They have clung tenaciously to the promise, "He who is coming will come and will not delay" (Hebrews 10:37, NIV). At last their patient waiting is rewarded. Heaven is split wide open, and Christ, the long-awaited, delivering King, appears in power to claim His faithful people.

In this eschatological setting, Christ is fittingly described as "Faithful and True." He is called faithful and true, because He has faithfully kept His promise of keeping His people faithful to the end. He is faithful and true, because He has faithfully kept His promise to come back for His waiting people. He is faithful and true because He has finally come to eradicate sin from our planet and inaugurate His everlasting kingdom. Here's a gripping description of the One who is faithful and true: "Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror... He comes, victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead... No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor... His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun."--The Faith I Live By, p. 349.

My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to be faithful through Your faithfulness. Amen.