Who Else

Envision this:

The door of Heaven is opened.

The throne is occupied.

There’s a radiant display of vibrant colors surrounding the One who sits on the throne. It’s encircled by a glassy expanse, shimmering like a sea of crystal.

Your senses awaken at the rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning.

As you draw near, you see that the throne is surrounded by four living creatures.

The space is filled with light, and the air is continually flooded by a resounding sound: day and night, ceaseless praise is poured out…

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8)

All that you see and all that you hear inexplicably directs you to the King on the throne.

The creatures’ refrain ignites another anthem by twenty four elders also seated nearby.

They cast their crowns before the Holy One, singing,

"Worthy are You our Lord and God,

To receive glory and honor and power,

For You created all things,

and by Your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

You catch sight of a scroll grasped within the Lord’s hand.

An angel’s voice pierces the air, questioning who could possibly be worthy to open the scroll, for no one in all of heaven or earth or under the earth has ever been able to break its seals.

Bitter tears stream down your face, but beyond your weeping you see a figure emerge. The angel shouts,

"Look! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory! He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals!” (Revelation 5:5)

As He wipes the tears from your face, you behold the Lamb of God – the Anointed One.

The symphony of Heaven again increases, and you join an innumerable chorus, singing,

"Blessing and honor and glory and power

Belong to the One sitting on the throne

And to the Lamb forever!” (Revelation 5:13)

Instruments of Exaltation  

"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” (Colossians 3:1)

What a glorious reminder to the believer: we have been raised to new life with Christ! And because of this, we are called to seek the things that are above, reconciling our present reality with the realities of heaven. The One who is seated on the throne, reigning in the heavens, is also the Creator and Sustainer of all things on earth. It is by His will and for His glory that you were created.

The opening lyric of “Who Else” stirs up a powerful perspective for us as God’s created ones: we are instruments of exaltation. You were intricately crafted for the purpose of lifting up the Name above all names.

In Genesis 1:27, we learn that humanity was made in the image of God, and in 1 Corinthians 6:19, the believer’s body is referred to as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Your body – meticulously and intentionally knit together by the will of God – is a temple through which a divine melody has been uniquely designed to flow, from His image on earth to His throne in Heaven.

Not only were you created with the capacity to experience God, you were also given the ability to respond to Him. Your mind can know the Infinite One; your heart is embedded with an insatiable longing for intimacy with the Heavenly Father; your voice was designed to offer a song of praise unique to the very vessel from which it pours. As the Lord supplies breath to your body, the sound that is produced is extraordinarily particular to you. When God created your inmost being, knitting you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-14), He created an eternally distinct instrument of exaltation – unrepeatable and irreplaceable, woven into the very fabric of your existence to join in the chorus of heaven.

He longs to hear you – His intentionally crafted instrument – join in creation’s symphony as it resounds in the throne room. And who else is worthy of the praise that you offer? Who else could be worthy of the praise that echoes from the image of God on earth into the throne room of God in Heaven? Only Jesus! For,

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3)

So, you who have been raised to new life through Christ Jesus, are called today to reconcile your earthly reality to that of Heaven. As His instrument, let the Father gently tune your heart to experience Him and respond to Him.

Look to Jesus – the exact representation of God’s nature. Behold the Lamb of God – the Anointed One – seated at the right hand of Him who we declare as holy and worthy of all blessing, glory, and honor.

Lift Him high today and always, just as you were made to do.