“Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Remember the movie called “The Gods Must Be Crazy”?

This strange little movie from the early 80s told the story of a pilot flying over a third-world country, and he threw an empty Coke bottle out of the window. The bottle dropped into a tribe outside of all civilization. What was this thing? They had never seen a Coke bottle. 

They all thought it was from the gods, but they had no idea what to do with this. Some worshiped it, thinking it was from the divine. Others thought it might be a useful tool, so they used its rounded edges for a rolling pin or its thick bottom for a hammer. Still, others considered it to be a weapon, which then, in turn, led some to fight over it. But no one considered it to be a Coke bottle. Because the gods never told them its purpose. 

Unfortunately, many of us treat our one and only life this way. We think we are from God but don’t know why we are here. What on earth are we to do? So, we take our only life and worship it by obsessing over trying to prolong our time on this earth or perfecting our bodies. We use it for obtaining things and pleasures. And some of us even weaponize it with our words and our choices. And in the end, we fight over our lives and preferences and wake up one day and realize we’ve wasted our lives. God must have been crazy for giving us this life without any instructions… right?

John had to be feeling this way.

At first, John knew his place. He was a fisherman. He worked with his brother and their father and kept the family business going. Get up. Go fish. Sell fish. Eat. Go to bed. Repeat. It was his place, but he lacked purpose.

Then Jesus came along and said, “follow me, and I’ll make you a fisher of people.” And the adventure began. Every day was different. He was traveling, teaching, serving, feeding, and leading people to Jesus. This even kept going after Jesus had left. The church exploded. John was leading. He was teaching. He was healing. And then it stopped. He was arrested. Now, what was his purpose? 

Sitting alone in a penal colony known as Patmos, he once again knew his place but not his purpose. His place was in prison. His place was far from his church. His place was reminiscing on his time with the Lord. But he longed for something more.

We do the same thing.  

We often know our place. We know our role. We know our job and the hats we wear. But we long for purpose. Something meaningful. Something that lasts. And there’s a part of us that wonders, I know Jesus can save me from my sin, but can he save me from my aimlessness?

John would say yes.

At just the right time, when John was feeling lost. Jesus reveals himself and says, “Write this down.”

“Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When John feels useless for his churches, Jesus shows up and empowers him for one final mission. And He has a mission for you as well. 

Today’s prayer: Jesus, what can I do for you today?