- So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” Revelation 10:9 – The gospel is sweet to those who embrace it, bitter to those who reject it. For John, this idea of eating the scroll was to symbolize him taking in this message. The sweetness of communing with God was there, the bitterness of knowing this message was one of judgement and condemnation was there as well. For those of us who follow Jesus we too are told to “eat the scroll.” We are to take in the message of God and share it with others. For some it will be a sweet experience because they’ll embrace the message of forgiveness. For others it will be a bitter one because they’ll reject the life God is offering them. We can’t dictate how the message will be received, we can though determine if it’s delivered. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1578
- And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. Revelation 10:10 – As there was a pause between the sixth and seventh seal, so is there a pause between the sixth and seventh trumpet. Within this pause we see a mighty angel (possibly Jesus, possibly just an angel) coming down from heaven with a little scroll opened in his hand. The angel declares how the events that were still to unfold were to come without delay, and John is then told to approach the angel and ask for the scroll in his hand. The angel then gives the scroll to John, tells him to eat it, and John does. While we aren’t given the details of what was written on the scroll, what we know is that John was commanded to continue prophesying to the world what he was seeing. As it was with John, if we are wanting to be faithful in the command to spread the word of God accurately and boldly, we too must be willing to fully consume the message of the Lord. Too often believers “consume” the word of God like a toddler with vegetables. They just move it around on the plate, taste little bits, and eat only what’s forced. If though we desire to useful to the Lord, we must fully consume His word. While like with John, the message for us is sweet, yet when we see how those who we share it too don’t always embrace it, the bitterness of it all comes into view as well. While in a chapter like this there is so much we can’t fully know or understand because it wasn’t revealed to us, let us be about consuming the Word that has been revealed. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2794
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