THE WEIGHT OF THE CROSS

 

I carried my cross to the foot of Calvary,

While you carried yours to the top.

I cried bitter tears over the injustices of my life,

While you bled valiantly for all that was lost.

I carried my hurts like a badge

So scornfully proud and spiritually poor,

While you rose to the heights of your exalted throne:

Perfected, ennobled and infinitely more.

You are so high

And I am so low;

I consent to climb to Calvary’s top,

I consent to be lifted to Thy throne.

 

 

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The Saviour’s mandate to the true followers of Christ to deny themselves and be like Him, takes His gospel of obedience to the next level. 

 

Prior to this reference to individual cross, the Saviour spoke to His apostles of His imminent death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21; Luke 9:22; Mark 8:31). Not fully understanding Christ’s mission of redemption, Peter was outraged to hear such talk and began to rebuke Jesus saying, “Lord, this shall not be unto thee” (Matt 16:22,23). Being wounded by the suggestion of His unfaithfulness to Father’s trust of Him to fulfil His earthly purpose, the Saviour’s reply to Peter was forceful and suggestive of Satan’s temptation to evade the sacrifice and suffering that lay before Him (see Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p 364). It was unthinkable to the Saviour that He would not take up His cross and carry it to Calvary. This speaks volumes of His character and integrity, does it not?

 

I have contemplated a lot about something I have noticed this year during my study of the New Testament. The Saviour’s focus on His mission to atone for us and to bring honour and glory to the Father has at times left me breathless and in awe of this man we call Jesus who has become our Saviour, our God and our King. This, above all of His examples He has given us, should be the greatest. Whether our cross is one of denial of appetites and passions and worldly pursuits; or one of avoidance of obedience and good works, that we find difficult to do, our cross should be strapped to our backs every day, never losing focus, to the end of our destination.  If we, unlike the Saviour, fail to carry our cross to the foot of Calvary, He will not help us walk the rest of the way to the top. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Crucifixion by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE POWER OF ENDURANCE

 

I am amazed at the Saviour’s resistance to many temptations He encountered in mortality to invoke His godship so He could be worshipped for who He truly is. I consider this His greatest trial second only to His Atonement. Consider just three examples:

 

1.     Whilst in the wilderness being tested, the adversary tempted Him to cast Himself off the pinnacle of the temple. How easy it would have been to prove His divinity to the throngs of worshippers below if He had cast Himself down and allowed the angels to save Him. What proof that would have been that He was the Son of God! What a beginning to His ministry it would be have been if people could have seen immediately who He truly was. They would have flocked to Him accepting Him as the awaited Messiah. Seductive as the temptation was, He resisted. (Matthew 4:5-7)

2.     The miracle of feeding 5,000 produced a profound impression upon the masses who saw in Him the awaited Prophet like Moses who would feed them manna from heaven. Not only could He feed them like Moses, but He could also deliver them like Moses. Their recognition of the King that stood before them fanned the fire of the Messianic prophecy.  All the Saviour had to do is take up the sword against the Romans and defeat them with not only the Jews who were ready for the uprising but with His legions of angels. He could have there and then sat on the throne of David as the rightful king that He was. This the Saviour resisted to do. (John 6:3-15)

3.     With the hour of His immense suffering approaching, the ruling class of the people who sought to kill Him demanded He produce a sign from heaven to prove that He was the Son of God. Once again, how easy that would have been for Him to do so and avoid going through the worst suffering imaginable. How easy it would have been to instead assume His role as the God of this earth and all the earths He had created. (Matthew 16:2-3; Mark 8:12)

 

The Saviour was completely devoid of pride and focused entirely on the one true thing that could ennoble His godship, His Atonement. Nothing else mattered. Enduring to the end was the ultimate act that would glorify Him and His name. So it is with us, whether we are here simply to be proven worthy of our final destination or to achieve something of great significance on the way, we must not be derailed because the reward is only in endurance. Endurance is power and that power is in Christ. By virtue of our discipleship we have access to that power. The crown awaits for all who desire it, pray for it and work for it. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Lion of Righteousness by Greg Collins)

NURTURED BY HIS WORD

 

Daily I stand in my holy place

As I feast upon Thy holy word,

Ever hopeful I will meet You there;

Thy Spirit to embrace

And the cares of this world to arrest.

I reach for You in darkness

And step up to heaven’s door;

I am bathed in light

And am granted entrance to Your heart.

In studying the New Testament this year, I have become enthralled with Jesus’ fame among the common people during his earthly ministry. His popularity became so great  that wherever He went great multitudes followed and at times so thronged that they impeded  the Saviour’s movements. It often made it impossible for Him to effectively deliver a discourse. Such was their desire to hear the new doctrine and words of eternal life He could give them. The multitudes that pressed upon Him so eagerly made it necessary for the Saviour to preach to them from a ‘small ship’ which was kept in readiness on the beach in Galilee (Mark 3:8,9). 

 

This has made me see how eager we should be to hear the Saviour’s words so readily available to us through the scriptures that sit on our shelves and do not necessitate that we even leave our house let alone sit on the shore of some sea. Yes, listening to the Saviour in person would be the next level of spiritual feasting, as Nephites of old could attest, and this is something to look forward to. However, we are not there yet. When Christ travelled on the road to Emmaus post resurrection, He simply expounded the scriptures which testified of Him (Luke 24:13-32) to two of His travelling companions, after which the two men proclaimed: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32). As much as it would be wonderful to have Him with us, this for now is the next best thing. 

 

I testify to you that our hearts can burn within us as we study the scriptures.  I testify that He lives and He is all that the scriptures claim Him to be. I pay homage to the Holy Ghost who enlightens my mind and who increases my capacity to understand the words of eternal life and who brings me to the throne of God to reverence Him now and forever. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Nurtured by the Word by Greg Olsen)#

THE LORD'S PRAYER

 

“Our Father who art in heaven. God is our Father, the father of our spirits, we are his children, his offspring, literally. We lived in his presence, dwelt in his courts, and have seen his face. We were as well acquainted with him then as we are with our mortal fathers now. He is a holy man, has a body of flesh and bones, and dwells in a heavenly abode. When we approach his throne in prayer, we think not only that he is the Almighty, by whose word the earth, the sidereal heavens, and the universe came into being, but that he is a gracious and loving Father whose chief interest and concern is his family, and that he wants all his children to love and serve him and to become like him. Perfect prayer manifests our personal relationship to him who hears and answers the petitions of the faithful. 

 

Hallowed be thy name. ‘We approach thee in awe – reverentially – in the spirit of worship and thanksgiving, and we praise thy holy name. Thou art glorious beyond anything we can envision; all that is good we ascribe unto thee, and we desire to consecrate our life and being unto thee, for thou hast made us, and we are thine’.”

(Bruce R McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 2, p 148-9)

 

You see me Father, 

Despite heaven’s vast expanse,

You hear the burning beat of my heart

Amidst the numberless host of heaven.

You cherish me, 

More than the stars that encircle Thy throne;

Thy greatness is endless,

Thy power sublime.

In my appointed hour,

Carry me home

In the strength of Thy loving arms.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Lord's Prayer by Liz Lemon Swindle)