If I were a rich man

Of all Tevye's dreams of becoming rich--and he had a vivid imagination--his most precious wish was to be rich enough to sit in the synagogue and pray, to discuss the holy books with learned men instead of scratching a living for his family out of the dirt of impoverished Russia.

Today was a rich man day, a day spent in the company of long-ago friends John and Beth Reese (the first people we worked with in Africa) and at the feet of a Bible teacher of my formative years, Mike Cope. Mike took us through the book of Revelation in 90 minutes, an experience not unlike standing in front of a fire hydrant to quench your thirst. I should have taken a bucket to catch all the insight and information that sped past my ears.

Here's what I did hear:

• The battle of Revelation was not close. In fact, it was over before it started. The blood on the battlefield was the blood of the lamb.
• God's wrath in Revelation is not against us, but for us, a jealous anger against anyone or anything that would harm his precious children.
• Revelation is a story of victory, of praise and honor, of the unspeakable joy of living in the presence of God.

I'm thankful to these friends for breathing the joy of past and future days into this day.