ARRAYED IN WHITE

 

The sheer contemplation of eternity overwhelms me. What in pre-mortality was a concept so plain to my understanding, now begs to unravel the mystery that plagues me. The treasures in the Book of Revelation just keep giving. Nowhere in the holy writ do I get a glimpse into eternity like I do in this book. The picture this book gives us of the throne of God the Father surrounded by His exalted children, arrayed in white apparel, praising Him because their robes had been washed in the blood of the Lamb is beyond breathtaking. It was explained to John that these so arrayed ‘came out of great tribulation’ and that they ‘shall hunger no more….for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes’ (Revelation 7:9-17). When you put this into the context of our exaltation being His work, you can understand how His exalted children also become His glory (Moses 1:39).

And here is another glimpse into our eternity. John saw animals and people not only praising God the Father but worshipping Him ‘forever’ (Revelation 4:8-11). This truth stands: we will continue to worship Heavenly Father in the eternities to come because He will ALWAYS be our God. It gives you a clearer picture of how we glorify God through the lives that we live, because that glory lives on.  (see New Testament Institute Manual for clarification of these quoted scriptures and Neal A. Maxwell’s “From Whom All Blessings Flow”, Ensign, May 1997, p 12).

The most supernal glimpse into the splendor of eternity would have to be John’s vision of the book of life with the seven seals revealing the history of this earth. And here is the tenderness of it….John says he ‘wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon’ (5:4). Why did John weep? Because the book contained the history of every living soul upon this earth and souls matter, they matter very much. And then hope…..John was told not to weep because the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, who was slain and had redeemed us was worthy to open the book (5:5,9). And John heard ‘every creature in heaven and on earth, and under the earth saying: Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever’ (5:13). Imagine the spiritual energy, the rapture, the ecstasy of this moment in the celestial realm. This glimpse would be overwhelming to a mere mortal. But it was a moment of love to John who sat alone at Patmos and who would live through all the tribulations of this world until the last day when the King of Kings comes again and greets him exclaiming: John, my Beloved!

If you want to ‘think celestial’ like President Nelson advised, study the Book of Revelation.

Our exaltation would never be possible without the condescension of Christ. The birth was the beginning of the end. Without the birth, there would be no salvation, no exaltation, no glory. The glory begins with the lowliest of all births amongst animals of this earth and lambs in the field witnessing the greatest act of humility in the arrival of the King. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

DIVINE SUBMISSION

 

As Christians our primary focus should be the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and rightly so because it relates to our salvation. As much as I believe in it, revere it and constantly express gratitude for it, my ultimate admiration for the Saviour lies in His condescension. This, more than anything tells me about the man and His life. It represents in my mind divine submission at every turn of His earthly years, in small and great ways. It suggests renewed commitment every time He was reminded what His purpose was and where His life would end. Imagine the determination, the commitment, and the integrity that defeated retreat.

I imagine that his upbringing from the very beginning, in heavenly realms, was fostered with acute sense of responsibility for His younger siblings.  He would have been tutored and molded by Father’s perfect character to be like Him. A God yet a man, no doubt with His own desires, His own vision, His own destiny, submitted to the responsibility of the Firstborn in His care for those less than Him, His primary focus doing the will of the Father rather than His own.

This is what Christ’s condescension tells me of the man we call our King.  You would have to be devoid of the least degree of pride to lay aside a godship that you had so diligently earned through impeccable obedience and lower yourself to a corruptible, mortal body and painstaking mortal life. This selflessness is the kind that seeks only the wellbeing of others even if they do not want it or deserve it.  For this He exchanged ‘the dominion of a god for the dependence of a babe. He gave up wealth, power, dominion, and fulness of His glory – for what? – for taunting, mocking, humiliation, and subjection. It was a trade of unparalleled dimension, a condescension of incredible proportions, a descent of incalculable depth. And so, the great Jehovah, creator of worlds without number, infinite in virtue and power, made his entry into this world in swaddling clothes and a manger’. (Tad. R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 69)

And what of the Father He so valiantly defended when the Son of the Morning sought to usurp His power and glory? The depth, the width, the entirety of His devotion to the Father in whose shadow He walked and into whose image He grew cannot be overlooked or overstated. Ultimately the price of His willingness to descend to a mortal life unworthy of Him, was to preserve and add to the glory of the Father. It was the ultimate expression of perfect love only a god could bestow upon another. The selflessness is beyond compare.

This is Christ the King, the Saviour of the weak, the Babe of Bethlehem. Glory be His forever and ever.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Born This Day by Liz Lemon Swindle)