NOTES for Rev 10:1-11

A new book is given to the apostle. It is the Word that must be chewed, digested and made part of oneself for ever. The Word nourishes the human person as a being created in the image and likeness of God. It tastes sweet, for nothing is sweeter than knowing that nothing can separate us from God’s love, that nothing in the world can divide us from Him unless we ourselves choose separation and an existence without God. But as we receive this Word and fill our whole being with it, we must be ready for the bitterness that follows the sweetness. It is the bitterness of being able to see the world without rose-coloured glasses, the bitterness of knowledge and wisdom, the bitterness of a heart opened and compelled to understand the answer to the eternal question, “Why is everything like this?”