Falling Down and Wanting To

Read Revelation 4:1–5:14

2. I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.
3. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
4. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.
5. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.
6. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. . .
8. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.” Revelation 4:2-6, 8

Suppose you won a Nobel or a Pulitzer prize, or some equally prestigious honor. Would you feel worthy to receive such an award? What would you do with all the praise and acclaim? Suppose then, after the shock wore off, you had it revoked. “Not worthy of it after all,” the committee decided. How then would you feel?

In this reading, the award winners do something that would be considered unusual in our culture. They willingly give back their awards without anyone asking them to do so.

In his vision of heaven around God’s throne, John saw the twenty-four elders cast their crowns before God and worship him, proclaiming the Lord to be “worthy . . . to receive glory and honor and power” (Revelation 4:11). God’s awesome greatness compelled them to cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus. And why shouldn’t they? Jesus has done more to be worthy of the glory, honor, and power he claims than human beings can ever comprehend. Is not Jesus’ birth proof enough of that?

Those who find it difficult to accept God’s authority or claim of glory have the wrong god in mind. They have forgotten the total sacrifice he made when Jesus, the Creator of all, came down to earth as a tiny baby in the home of a simple Jewish couple. Their concept of God does not match the reality of his victory over sin and death, either.

Give God the glory and honor he deserves. Take your “crown”—your claim to fame, or whatever your “glory” may be—and cast it at Jesus’ feet by praising him. Fall down and worship, as the twenty-four elders did. What could make more sense at such a time as this?