Rich in the Midst of Suffering

Revelation 2:8-11 || Sunday, August 30

Last Sunday, we looked at the Church of Smyrna. This church had been through great hardships. John writes that they have experienced “Tribulation, poverty, slander, and some are about to be thrown into prison.” Despite all this, Jesus says, “They are rich.” How could Jesus say, in light of everything, that this church is rich? Because of their union with Christ, this church is blessed in many ways, but John highlights two things that should bring great comfort to any struggling believer. John writes in verse 8, “The words of the first and last, who died and came to life.” In the midst of turmoil, the church can read, “Jesus defeated death and came back to life.”

What a word for us today that, despite our circumstances, Jesus defeated the very thing Adam and Eve were told in the garden would happen if they disobeyed God: “they would surely die.” And Jesus promises them that, despite the effects of the fall and suffering, if they endure this, they “will not be hurt by the second death.”

One of my favorite pastors is the late Tim Keller. At the end of his life, dying from cancer, his wife Kathy asked him, “Are you ok, Tim?” Tim responded, “Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead?” To which she responded, “Absolutely, Tim,” and Tim said, “Then I could not be doing better.”

Your friend,

Austin Hamilton