Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, (Rev 1:12 ESV)
The tendency of the human heart is always to craft God into our own image rather than to allow him to shape us into the image of his beloved Son. The constant danger that our souls always face is that if we are not careful, we will read our favorite texts in the Bible and ignore the ones that we dislike. Left to its own devices, the heart wants a Jesus who is our yes-man— a Jesus who is never cross with us no matter what we do and never has hard things to say to us. Yet, this is not the picture of Jesus that we see in the Scriptures. Certainly, we see a compassionate Lord whose heart was so filled with pity for the shunned lepers of his day that he healed them in an instant (Mark 1:40). But we also see a Jesus whose devotion to the will of his Father was so complete that he rebuked his close disciple and friend, Simon Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matt 16:23).
Jesus is not a blonde-haired, blue-eyed North American. He is the eternal Son of God whose hair shines with the luster of a white that no human being has ever possessed. It is not the dull, wispy grey of the elderly that is coupled with the feebleness of old age, but rather, a brilliant white that gleams brighter than the sunbeams reflecting and sparkling off a carpet of the purest, freshly, fallen snow. It is a white that signals the divine combination of unlimited, boundless energy and also the unrivaled wisdom of One who has seen the rise and fall of countless millennia but is himself untouched by the ravages of time.
The eyes of our Lord and Saviour are not some shade of blue or any other earthly color. They are not fleshly eyes that can gaze only at the outward appearance, but rather, they are divine eyes that burn with a life of their own. No person on the planet has “fire” for their eye color—except the Lord Jesus Christ. It is these eyes of fire that sweep through the whole earth, observing the movements of the angels and demons that inhabit the invisible spiritual realm, and discerning the very thoughts and intentions of the hearts of all his children. No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Heb 4:13)—especially the household of the living God. “All the churches will know,” says the Lord, “that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works” (Rev 2:23).
Believer, do you believe that the head of your Lord and Saviour is crowned with white-haired splendor and wisdom? Do you believe that it is the divine wisdom of the Lord who loves you that has placed you exactly where you need to be in life at this moment? Christian, do you know that the eyes of fire always see not just the actions of your body but also the hidden thoughts of your heart? If you are in secret sin, turn from your evil ways, for the Lord of all the earth sees. If you are suffering unjustly, take heart, knowing that though no one else might care or see, your Lord sees and has not forgotten you. If you are laboring for the Lord in secret, rest assured that your labour is not in vain, and that your Father in heaven who sees that which is done in secret will reward you on that final Day.
Church, let us not worship a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jesus of our own making who can offer no lasting comfort nor counsel in our deepest struggles. Let us worship the true Jesus whose white-haired wisdom has hand-crafted our life’s circumstances and whose blazing eyes always see and will ultimately vindicate us as we obey and follow him throughout the trials of life. He who promised is faithful and will never leave us or forsake us!
Article by: Samuel Chua
