THE BITTER CUP

 

“The scriptures tell us that Christ was ‘sore amazed’ at how exquisite the pain whilst in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-34). When we come to the moments in our lives when we ourselves are ‘sore amazed’, we are lifted to higher ground, the ground the Saviour stood on. It is in these moments in life that we connect to the reality of His suffering. Once we have made that connection, we become empowered to endure sorrow and pain and triumph over every foe of this earthly life, even as He did. The Saviour then becomes real and the Atonement becomes active in our lives.”

The above quote is something I wrote years ago when understanding of suffering came upon me. It is always a sobering moment when an idealist meets a challenge to their ideals though. I am that idealist. I believe in the ideal but living without it in this life has been a struggle for me. I am still trying to grasp the meaning of suffering on an emotional level. Understanding something intellectually and understanding it emotionally can be worlds apart. Understanding emotionally involves experience and experience sometimes means pain.

Consider Job. The most endearing thing about him was not his persistent endurance, as admirable as that was, but that his suffering caused him to be ‘weary of life’ and wish he had never been born (Job 3:3; 10:1). What an exquisite blend of excellence and humanity. Maybe Job teaches us that there is as much honour in pressing forward despite our lack of desire to do so as there is in cheerfully bearing our misfortunes without any complaint. I applaud those who can do the latter for in my opinion they are not many. Most of us don’t find joy in suffering. The honour is in not giving up rather than believing that we should be strong enough to never complain and thereby beating ourselves up from ensuing guilt that comes from such an expectation. I have known such guilt, I am an idealist.

The Saviour has had the hardest life of any of us. Even He asked for ‘the cup’ to be removed from Him (Mark 14:36) but His integrity did not fail Him and He drank the bitter dregs and thereby paved the way for us to do the same (John 18:11; 3 Nephi 11:11; D&C 19:18). Job endured and was rewarded with double of what he previously had (Job 42:10). The Saviour endured and He became the God of Heaven and inherited all that the Father has. May we be valiant in doing the same and follow the path to glory that awaits us.

Teach me dear God to look upward

And hope for the glories

That will one day be mine.

Help me to rise on wings of faith;

Lift me above valleys,

Mountains and seas

That I might forsake this world of suffering

And fly with haste to Thee.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Come and See by Tyler Anderson)

OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL

 

I recently watched a British Jewish woman explain to a show host the history of Israel and her Jewish heritage. The show host was of the opinion that the state of Israel was given to the Jews in 1948 to make up for the Holocaust. She explained that this was not so, that the Jews existed as a nation and possessed the land of Israel long before the time of Christ and that they lost that land due to various ruling powers that took them over and took it away from them. The only thing she omitted to explain is why in actuality the land was lost. We never learn….

Had the southern kingdom of Israel taken serious notice of the northern kingdom’s demise and captivity by the Assyrians in 724 B.C., they would never have been ousted and scattered from their homeland. Had the kingdom of Judah not abandoned the worship of Jehovah and turned to idolatry, the golden age of King David would have been preserved and they would never have lost the promised land. They would not now need Armageddon, which will come, to be converted to Christ who will come to save them, the Messiah they long ago awaited and 2,000 years ago rejected (Ezekiel 38, Zechariah 14, Revelation 16, Isaiah 34). What a  heart wrenching history for a favoured and chosen people of God.

I rejoice in my place in modern day Israel. I rejoice in my rich heritage grounded in the tribe of Ephraim, the son of the righteous Joseph, the heir of the Abrahamic covenant of exaltation. I rejoice in my knowledge of the Messiah. I rejoice that I was sent to this earth in this day and age when the knowledge of Him is flooding the earth. I am grateful that the believing blood of Israel courses through my veins. This blood I consider my greatest blessing because it was atoned for by the King of Glory and redeemed on the cross of Calvary. I look forward to the day when we, the covenant people, will gather from all the nations of the earth and come to Zion singing songs of everlasting joy (D&C 45:71).

Let us never forget who we worship and follow, so that we will not be removed from our place,  and let us do all we do in His name ‘giving thanks to God the Father by Him’, our God, our Saviour, our King……..(Colossians 3:17).

We, Israel, Thy chosen seed

Bow before Thee on bended knee.

Strengthen us in the hour of our need

That we might never stray again

And cause Thee sorrow;

And help us wait for Thee

In the dawning of tomorrow.

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Midjourney and Greg Rutkowski)

PRESS TOWARD THE MARK

 

Pressing forward is what I learnt from Paul.

In his valiant efforts to convince the Gentile converts that salvation does not come by conforming to the law of Moses, Paul used himself as an example of someone who by all means should believe in the law above all else being an educated man, ‘circumcised the eight day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of all Hebrews, a Pharisee’….(Philippians 3:5). Imagine the prestige, the respect, the grounding he had in the Jewish way of life. But then something marvelous happened to Paul. He met the true source of salvation and abandoned his faith in ‘the law’ (Acts 9:1-5). And not just his faith but ‘the loss of ALL things’ for ‘the excellency of the knowledge of Christ’ [(don’t you love how he put that?] (Philippians 3:8). No doubt the ‘the loss of all things’ included his wealth, respect,  family, friends, associates, fellow Jews…..in summation, his entire way of life.

What is the ‘excellency of the knowledge of Christ’? To Paul it meant two things: 1. salvation comes through Christ only and not through any law. If through the law, we would be capable of perfect obedience, but we are not hence the need for a Saviour (Philippians 3:9); and 2. because of Christ, we have hope of a glorious resurrection (vs 10,20,21). Paul gave up his everything that he ‘might know Him’ considering this knowledge to be of greatest worth of all (v10).

I was 17 years old when I was faced with an agonizing decision of leaving my family for the privilege of being baptized into the Church. It was an event in my life that created a tear in my family that has haunted me for more years than I care to admit. My close friend calls this ‘looking in the rearview mirror’…..but no rearview mirror for Paul, who joined in the fellowship of His sufferings, ‘forgetting those things which were behind’ reached forth for those things’ which were before him and ‘pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’  (vs 13,14).

Is not pressing toward the mark for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ the greatest worth??? He who gives life, illuminates us with light, offers salvation, freely gives resurrection, carries us in the palm of His hand….is He not worth the sacrifice of all????

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by Midjourney and Greg Rutkowski)

THE PATH OF GRACE

 

 

The greatest threat to Paul’s Gentile converts who started to embrace false teachings came not from outsiders but from a group of Jewish Christians called Judaizers. These Jewish Christians made it their mission to travel to places Paul had success in establishing the Church, to oppose his teachings and to convince the Gentile converts that they still needed to adhere to the law of Moses as well, most especially circumcision.

Paul spoke a lot about ‘the law’ vs the gospel. He claimed that by the law of Moses no man can be ‘justified’, that ‘justification’, or being brought back into alignment with God, can only come through grace for if righteousness came by the law, then Christ died in vain (Galatians 2:16-21). Very often, we as latter-day saints are focused on obedience more than on the enabling grace of Christ whom we follow. You might say, that we, like the early Jewish Christians, have more faith in the law of the gospel and our obedience than in the author of our salvation.

Because we presently live in the condition of weakness, meaning mortality, perfect obedience to the laws we live under is an impossibility. The whole purpose of this weakened condition of mortality is to bring us to Christ and His grace by which salvation comes (Ether 12:27). If we were capable of perfect obedience, there would have been no necessity for a saviour. Lest we think that we are good enough as we are (the narrative the world teaches) and need no improvement, it is imperative that we understand that grace is an enabling power of Christ which enables us to continue to repent and improve and which saves us after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23; Moroni 10:32,33).

General Conference is upon us. There is only one reason why we should flock to hear the leaders of the Church and that is to be edified through the teachings of the Saviour of the world and to be brought to the foot of His throne. Salvation does not come by President Nelson or anyone else we listen to, it comes by the way they bring us to Christ. When we come to Christ, obedience springs from motivation which comes by the Holy Ghost and the love of Him who has suffered that we might be saved, now and forever, in the Kingdom of our God.  

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: I Came to Call the Sinners to Repentance by Greg Collins)

THE PATH TO PERFECTION

 

“Whoever said that sin was not fun? Whoever claimed that Lucifer was not handsome, persuasive, easy, friendly? Sin is attractive and desirable…..Sin is easy and has a big company of pleasant companions. It promises immunity from restrictions and offers temporary freedoms. It can momentarily satisfy hunger, thirst, desire, urges, passions, wants, without immediately paying the price. But, it begins and grows to monumental proportions – drop by drop, inch by inch.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, p 229)

I recently saw a superb video by a Christian man that supports this statement perfectly. He claimed that Satan always offers us something good to distract us from something great that God can give us. It is only after our acceptance of the good that in time we come to see what we have chosen is bad, because nothing good comes of the adversary. Satan is the master of counterfeit blessings which only discernment and wisdom of good choices can counteract. He is the king of deception. He is a thief, here to kill, steal and destroy, therefore, whatever he offers cannot possibly have a good ending (John 10:10). He does not only want your life but your soul.

This life is not for the faint hearted. Resisting short term happiness and the ease of this life and choosing the refining fire of God that will in the end cast us in His image shows the integrity of heart some of us have brought with us. Those who have this integrity have long ago chosen Christ’s path to everlasting greatness of immortality. What Christ offers is perfection as opposed to Satan’s destruction. Consider Apostle Paul’s take on this (1 Corinthians 15:42-44):

We were born into:         We are raised to:             Immortality makes us:

Corruption                       Incorruption                    Indestructible

Dishonour                       Glory                               Glorified

Weakness                         Power                              Powerful

The Atonement and Resurrection of Christ brings about perfection of the righteous which is ‘the great gift’ that outstrips ‘the good gift’ that comes from the enemy of all righteousness. To this the Saviour testified when He said that He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). I bow before His sacrifice that makes my path to perfection and eternal life possible. His is the honour and glory and eternal flame of righteousness that burns forever…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

 

LETTERS TO THE WORLD

 

When I was on my mission, it was regularly emphasized to us that we were representatives of Jesus Christ and had to act and speak as the Saviour would. We were, so to speak, no longer ourselves, but were standing in for Christ in all things. It was a large order for a group of kids  considering our tender age.

Apostle Paul suggested to Corinthian saints that they were ‘epistles known and read of all men’ (2 Corinthians 3:2). The suggestion is that we, the members, represent the Church and Christ’s gospel and through our conduct the Church and the gospel are judged. And not only the Church and the principles we have committed to live by, but even Christ himself is judged by the lives we live (see New Testament Institute Manual for abovementioned scripture explanation).

The importance of example cannot be over-rated, however, there is one problem with that. When your friends and colleagues know you are a member, they watch you like a hawk to bear witness of your mistakes. They become your judge. I have been a witness of that. I think we are judged more harshly than members of any other Church. The challenge here is then not to emphasise our mortal ‘perfection’ as members of the Church to those around us but rather our mortal ‘imperfection’ and with it our spiritual dependence on Christ relative to it.

We, like all others, have been born into the weak condition of mortality. Those who know us need to know that when we have been called upon to endure trial, our strength comes from Christ to do so; when we transgress, our forgiveness comes from Christ who shows mercy to the penitent; when we find ourselves in lack, our reliance on Christ to bless us in our need is paramount to our survival. Our example as Christians should be grounded more upon our connection to the Saviour than upon our imperfect knowledge of the Gospel and our even more imperfect adherence to its laws. Our dependence on Him to succor us needs to shine brighter than all else because this is what the world needs the most.

Our connection to Christ is ‘written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart’ (2 Corinthians 3:3). It is in the heart that an anchor to the divine is forged to survive the weak condition of mortality. We are letters written to the world…..letters of hope of deliverance, of strength, of endurance. We are letters of love unfeigned, signed and delivered through the grace of Christ.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Divine Companion by Yongsung Kim)

JUSTICE AND MERCY

 

 

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

The resurrection is the greatest example of perfect balance between justice and mercy. Here is how it plays out. President Fielding Smith taught that no person who has lived and died on this earth will be denied the resurrection because “Adam alone was responsible for death, and therefore the Lord does not lay this to the charge of any other person. Justice demands that no person who was not responsible for death shall be held responsible for it….” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:274, New Testament Student Manual). This is fairness. Justice also, however, has demands which must be met.

When Christ appears to the world in clouds of glory, He will not come bearing a bouquet of roses. He will come to cleanse the earth of wickedness and subdue all enemies under His feet (D&C 76:61). This means all ‘fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers, thieves, drunkards, revilers, liars, extortioners, murderers’ (1 Corinthians 6:9,10). Herein enters mercy. Because of its existence, even the worst sinners, bar the sons of perdition, will be resurrected to a kingdom of glory, the telestial kingdom. When King David fell from his exaltation, he was assured his soul will not be left in hell.  This part of the resurrection is scripturally referred to as ‘the sure mercies of David’. (Acts 2:25-28; 13:22-37; Isaiah 55:1-4; Psalms 16:10; D&C 132:39).

Without justice, the faithfulness of the just would be of no value, and without mercy none of us could be saved for ‘we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). On judgment day the balance between justice and mercy will be so perfect that none of us will be able to question it. Had the Saviour not bought us with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), we would all be lost……something that is unthinkable to God the Father.  I give thanks that He provided a Saviour who was willing to sink into the unthinkable pit of human agony to save us all.

I have seen your sins

And the years you have lived with futile pride.

I bore your life with crimson drops

And sought forgiveness on your behalf

To pay the price of justice

And mend your broken heart.

I wait for you to come

Into the shadow of my wings,

I have paid the price,

Come unto Me,

Your God and your King. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Time Is At Hand by Danny Hahlbohm)