Revelation 10:1-11: a reflection

1I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 2He had in his hand a little open book. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land. 3He cried with a loud voice, as a lion roars. When he cried, the seven thunders uttered their voices. 4When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don’t write them.” 5The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to the sky 6and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there will no longer be delay, 7but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his servants the prophets. 8The voice which I heard from heaven, again speaking with me, said, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” 9I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” 10I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. 11They told me, “You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

In John's vision, he is given a little scroll to eat, and told that it will be sweet as honey in his mouth but bitter in his stomach; and so it proves. Take it and eat it, the angel says; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey. And John ate it, and it was sweet in his mouth, but when he had eaten it, his stomach was made bitter. The word of God John was to take in and then proclaim was both sweet and bitter: sweet to receive, for it is God's word; but bitter too, for it contained hard things, warnings and judgments and costly truths to bear and speak. This shows that God's word can be both sweet and bitter, sweet to receive yet with hard things to bear. God's word is both sweet and bitter to take in. Sweet in the mouth, bitter in the stomach: God's word has hard things too. God's word is sweet to receive but contains bitter, hard truths. The word of God carries both sweetness and hard, costly things.

Notice the double experience of the scroll: sweet in the mouth, bitter in the stomach. God's word is sweet; it is a delight to receive, for it is God's own word, full of his truth and promise and grace. And yet the same word can be bitter too, hard to digest, for it contains not only sweet promises but also hard truths, warnings, judgments, costly demands, painful realities. To take in God's word fully is to taste both its sweetness and its bitterness. This is honest about what it means to receive and live by God's word. We can want only the sweet parts, the comforting promises, the encouraging truths; but the whole word of God includes hard things too, truths that convict us, warnings that sober us, costly demands that stretch us, realities that grieve us. To receive God's word truly is to take in both the sweet and the bitter, not picking only the pleasant parts. And to proclaim it, as John was called to do, is to speak both its sweetness and its hard truths, not softening away the bitter. We do well to receive the whole word of God, sweet and bitter alike. God's word includes both sweet comfort and hard, bitter truth. Receive the whole of God's word, not only its sweet parts. To live by God's word is to take in its bitterness as well as its sweetness. Do not soften away the hard truths of God's word.

That is worth taking to heart, for God's word is both sweet and bitter, and to receive it truly is to take in both, not only its sweet parts. We can want only the sweet, comforting parts of God's word, avoiding its hard truths, warnings, and costly demands; but John found the scroll sweet in his mouth and bitter in his stomach, for God's word contains both. To receive it fully is to taste both. Do not pick only the pleasant parts of God's word; receive the whole of it, sweet and bitter, and let it do its full work in you. Receive the whole of God's word, both its sweetness and its bitterness, not picking only the pleasant parts, as John was given a little scroll to eat that was sweet as honey in his mouth but made his stomach bitter, for the word of God he was to take in and proclaim was both sweet to receive, being God's own word full of truth and promise and grace, and bitter too, containing hard truths, warnings, judgments, and costly demands; for we can want only the sweet parts of God's word, the comforting promises and encouraging truths, avoiding the truths that convict us, the warnings that sober us, the demands that stretch us, and the realities that grieve us, but to receive God's word truly is to take in both its sweetness and its bitterness, not picking only the pleasant parts, and to proclaim it is to speak both its sweetness and its hard truths without softening away the bitter, so that we do well to receive the whole word of God, sweet and bitter alike, and let it do its full work in us.

Lord, in John's vision, he is given a little scroll to eat, and told that it will be sweet as honey in his mouth but bitter in his stomach; and so it proves. Take it and eat it, the angel says; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey. And John ate it, and it was sweet in his mouth, but when he had eaten it, his stomach was made bitter. Your word John was to take in and then proclaim was both sweet and bitter: sweet to receive, for it is your word; but bitter too, for it contained hard things, warnings and judgments and costly truths to bear and speak. This shows that your word can be both sweet and bitter. Show me the double experience of the scroll: sweet in the mouth, bitter in the stomach. Your word is sweet; it is a delight to receive, for it is your own word, full of your truth and promise and grace. And yet the same word can be bitter too, hard to digest, for it contains not only sweet promises but also hard truths, warnings, judgments, costly demands, painful realities. To take in your word fully is to taste both its sweetness and its bitterness. This is honest about what it means to receive and live by your word. I can want only the sweet parts, the comforting promises; but the whole of your word includes hard things too, truths that convict me, warnings that sober me, costly demands that stretch me. To receive your word truly is to take in both the sweet and the bitter. Take that to my heart, for your word is both sweet and bitter, and to receive it truly is to take in both. Keep me from picking only the pleasant parts of your word; help me receive the whole of it, Lord, both its sweetness and its bitterness, its comfort and its hard truths, and let it do its full work in me rather than softening away what is hard.