The Vertical View

In Teen Sunday School this weekend we looked at Revelation 1:9-20. I guess this is the proper introduction to the revelation he has received. He talks about who he's writing to, where he is and who he sees. He talks about his point of view, about why he's in exile.

Why is he there? Because of the testimony of Christ and the Word of God. Why is he stuck on Patmos? Because he has a vertical view of the world, not a horizontal one. It was his vertical view of life that got him into trouble, his view of Jesus, and His Word and His church, his refusal to say that Caesar is Lord, because of his view of Jesus. Jesus is Lord.

We need a vertical view of the world, if we are to thrive and grow as Christians. We are constantly surrounded by temptation to forget about the word of God and about His glorious Christ and give up a vertical view for a horizontal one. But what does a vertical viewpoint look like?

A vertical view sees the church as an unquestionable priority. We find, join, serve and give to a church that preaches the Gospel. We see the church as beyond the wisdom of the world, as more than a gathering of people with shared morals. We see the church as the most precious thing on earth, the bride of Christ bought with His blood.

A vertical view sees reading the Bible as an unutterable privilege. That God has spoken, not in a special language or code, but in a way we can understand should astonish us. A vertical view of the Bible will do that. This view sees the Bible not as a collection of ideas written by men, but as the Word of God spoken to us, as that which is necessary for instruction and growth.

A vertical view sees Jesus as the glorious blazing centre of the universe. The Reality upon and around which all reality exists. A vertical view sees Jesus as the Son of God, not as a philosopher or a good guy. A vertical view means that Jesus Words have a weight that others' don't, that we obey Him without question and follow Him closely. A vertical view is the view that will lead us to sing with the multitude in Revelation 'holy, holy, holy.'

So, simply, what is a vertical view. A real view, a view that sees the world as it really is, with priorities in their place. In the world of temptation, where the horizontal cries out for attention we must give ourselves to the vertical view, because, in reality, it is the only view there is.