Revelation

Revelation 12:1-5

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.


What a marvelous passage this is. I was reminded of it this morning when Tony Marseglia, the pastor of Hope Church in Carbondale, used this verse as part of an illustration of the drama of Redemption.


The dragon is the darkness that threatens to overwhelm us at every turn. As a writer I play with that darkness, and work to keep it from getting inside me (or at least to keep what is already inside me within careful bounds). But without having knowledge of the light, of a God who is on guard, a God who will snatch me back from the dragon’s mouth when I get too close, I would be consumed. And I am grateful.

I wish you a year filled with blessings and light. You are a part of the light in my life. Thank you!

See you in the new year!