Sometimes you can get so caught up in the details that you miss the big picture. Sometimes you can focus so much on the specifics that you look past the “low hanging fruit.” So busy “slicing and dicing” that you never sit back and behold the stuff that’s just laid out for you to feed on . . . to marvel at . . . to respond to. Such was the case for me this morning as I continued reading in the first part of the book of Revelation.

I’m working through the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. And what drives you so quickly to “taking apart” this passage, is the obvious pattern of these mini-letters to each church. There is an introduction of the Savior . . . there is commentary on the character of each body of believers . . . sometimes commendation, sometimes reproof, always exhortation on how to either get back on track or just hang in there and keep on keepin’ on. And each letter concludes with a promise for those who “overcome” along with the exhortation to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” So with this pattern so apparent, it’s easy to focus on taking note of the pieces and asking how they apply to you and to your church.

But what hit me this morning . . . what caught my attention . . . and fueled my awe-o-meter . . . were two words . . . five letters . . . which show up in each letter . . . “big picture” stuff . . . in some aspects it’s the “duh, . . . you wouldn’t have any of Revelation 2 and 3 if these two words were not so” . . . but two words, nevertheless, which cause me to pause and reflect.

Two words spoken by Jesus to each of the seven churches . . . two words with, I think, profound implications. Two words found 9 times in the ESV . . . “I know.”

These letter are from Jesus. Jesus who describes Himself as . . . He who walks among the seven golden lampstands (2:1) . . . He who is the first and the last (2:8) . . . He who has the sharp two-edged sword (2:12) . . . the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire (2:18) . . . who has the seven spirits of God (3:1) . . . the holy One, the true One (3:7) . . . the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness (3:14). (Just noodle on that a bit and the awe-o-meter goes into the red!)

And at the heart of each letter is that fact that Jesus knows what’s going on in those assemblies . . . He is intimately aware of the tone set by leadership in each of the congregations . . . He has taken careful note of the overall character of each gathering of believers . . . He has an opinion of the earthly good being done by those who are heavenly minded . . . in two words, Jesus knows.

And I think about our gathering yesterday at LTCC . . . and how we viewed His presence among us. I wonder if we might have considered inviting His presence more as receiving a welcome “guest” then as recognizing Him as Lord of the Church keenly interested in what we did and why we did it. If we perhaps thought of Him as more of a casual observer of our meeting rather than some who “takes notes” and has an opinion. And beyond just the Sunday morning services, do I ever really consider that He continues to “walk in our midst” as we depart the building and go “be the church.” What does He “know” about that?

Does He see some of us put our Christianity back in the closet as we leave the church building? Does He see brotherly love for the family of God left in the church parking lot as we drive away to again engage in the “real world?” Does He wonder at how our passion for Him between 11 and noon can so quickly dissipate after we’ve had our coffee, eaten our cookie, and shaken a few hands? Or, does He know that we love Him 24/7? . . . that we are serious about knowing Him and pursuing Him — that the Word opened to us from the pulpit is but a small portion of the meal we’ll eat throughout the week as we invite Him to reveal Himself to us . . . that we are submitted to serving Him throughout the week — wanting everything we do to witness to His grace and be done for His glory.

“I know,” says the King. Oh, to be amazed and in awe of such intimacy with the Savior! O, to also be humbled and reflective . . . to consider, “What is it that Jesus knows about our church body? What is it He knows about me?”