And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and
the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the
spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have
this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the
cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake
that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:6-8
This bit of
Scripture describes those who will inhabit the coming new heavens and new earth
- and those who won't. It makes sense for God to talk about those who will
conquer. That makes sense especially in this book of the Bible. Everything here
is about dealing with another obstacle, another enemy. Success is to be defined
as the conquest of such things. So, that's no surprise.
But what is a bit
surprising is that other descriptor: the thirsty. Of all the adjectives to use
to describe His successful saints why did God choose this one? And yet, it
communicates something worth noting. Those who will enjoy the coming heritage,
those who will conquer and overcome all that stands in their way, are those who
thirst for something that they do not have enough of: life. If anything is true
of this age it is this: everything has been touched by death. Everything. Those
who conquer know this and feel it. They want to be rid of this death. And that
is why they work hard to conquer. They want to enjoy life in its fulness.
That's what motivates them. It is this thirst that will make them keep at it
until they succeed.
But what if this is
lacking? What motivates then? What will keep a person at it, dealing with
obstacles and enemies, both human and demonic, if not this thirst? Whatever it
is, it won't do the job. Having this thirst is necessary. And that's why God
chose this adjective.
Your homework: Who
is God talking to when He warns about being 'cowardly'?
