My Bookends

Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore... (Revelation 1:17-18)

I have been clinging to this scripture for a while now. When I came across it, I was searching and studying all the places in the Bible God said "Fear not". These words were spoken by Jesus and are meant to provide comfort as they did to John, the writer of Revelation.

What is it about these words that offer comfort and hope?

Let's discover the richness of Jesus' words together.

I am the first

Before the world existed, Jesus existed. All things were created through Him. God spoke and life sprung up from the ground, the earth was covered in emerald green and embellished with radiant flowers. Sparkling waters were given boundaries and filled with creatures that would take lifetimes to discover. Diverse biomes were built, some mountainous and cold, others like seas of sand, scorching and sparse. Then came God's greatest work, man and woman. God's breath coursed through their lungs. Created in God's image, they were set apart.

Before us, Jesus was. Like Adam and Eve, we were made by a masterful Creator. He intentionally and intimately knit each one of us together in our mothers' wombs. He knew us before we were born. He is our beginning, the miracle of our first heartbeat.

Not only is Jesus the beginning of life on earth and life in the womb, but He is the start of a new life for all those who rest their faith in Him. Jesus entered the world he created through Mary's womb. A womb He knitted together. He lived a faultless and perfect life and willingly surrendered to God's plan. His naked body was nailed and hung on a criminal's cross to pay the price for our sins.

I am the last

"It is finished", Jesus declared right before He died. The payment complete, God's wrath satisfied. Jesus was the last sacrifice, holy and whole. When we rest our faith in Jesus, we abandon the idea that our right standing with God can be earned. We reject our righteousness and step into the righteousness Jesus provides.

I am alive forevermore

Jesus' bloody body was removed from the cross, anointed, wrapped in linen, and placed in a tomb. But Jesus didn't remain in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. His body didn't decompose in the clean linen shroud. That was not the end of His story. Three days later, He walked out of that tomb full of life. Eternal life. Jesus is alive and seated at the right hand of God, and the same eternal life He has is extended to us.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-6)

I have been clinging to Revelation 1:17-18, especially when I fear because it reminds me that Jesus is my Bookends.

He is my beginning, physically and spiritually, and He is my end, my entrance out of this world into life eternal. Until I step into heaven, I can rest in this assurance: He is present on every page of each chapter, both seen and unseen. He reads every thought, spoken and unspoken. He rewrites the ugly plots and teaches me how to surrender my pen to His story for my life. The story He writes for me is and will always be beautiful because of Him.

Since God made me, He knows what is best for me, and since He settled my deepest and greatest need with His blood payment, I can trust Him. He is with me in every line, in every chapter, until the last page is complete here on earth. He will succor me in suffering, teach me in trials, and refine me in fire. Not one stroke of the pen is wasted in Him. He makes all things beautiful in His time. I can be comforted and filled with hope because I know how my story ends. He is my first and my last, my Bookends.

I hope these scriptures and words encourage you today and remind you that you are not alone. When you belong to Jesus, He holds your future and our future with Jesus is far more glorious than what you or I could ever think or imagine.

Sincerely,

Amy