THE ONE

 

The One by Haley Miller

He is my Sovereign,

He is the king of all kings,

He is my wings of protection,

He is my everything.

 

-      Cathryne Allen 

THE VEIL

 

I stood at the veil

As You were about to leave

Sorrowing that not all would believe.

 

I prayed for Father’s power

To protect Your gentle heart

From the blow that might tear You apart.

 

I knew my soul You would save

And all Your promises You would fulfil

I stood at the veil, unable to leave,

Holding Your crown for You to receive.

 

I stood and waited that fateful day

In awe of what You did to pave the way.

I could scarcely comprehend

Your godly enduring might

I stood at the veil and gave You my heart.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Symphony of Suffering by Aeron Brown)

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) 

CROWNS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

The most famous of Paul’s motivational and inspirational utterances has been: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  Indicating that he had a personal assurance that his election and calling was made sure and that he will inherit eternal life, he followed that statement by saying: “henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (v8). What is the faith that Paul kept that assured him of eternal life? Throughout his epistles to early members of the Church, Paul reiterated over and over that the path to eternal life is not the law of Moses as so many converted Hebrews still clung to, and not any law, but Jesus Christ and His gospel, the adherence to which grants us His mercy and grace, the path to all salvation, after all that we can do (2 Nephi 25:23).

Today we tend to view the Gospel as the gospel of limitations or the gospel of liberty. I have heard it said: “I just couldn’t live with all those restrictions”. Needless to say, that view was derived from the desire to follow the world. How we view the Gospel lies in what rewards we want. Those who want the rewards of this life view it as the gospel of limitations and abandon its standards and commandments through the delusion that they will have freedom. If we want the rewards of eternal life, then the Gospel’s standards and commandments are viewed as the gospel of liberty because it saves us from spiritual death.

I am often surprised how some people do not learn by the consequences of their bad choices that it doesn’t pay to view the Gospel as the gospel of limitations. Consequences cannot be escaped even following repentance. Christ can forgive sins but He cannot wipe away the repercussions of our acts. Consequences are inevitable, whether the choice is good or bad. Consequences of bad choices serve to remind us of the advantage of good choices.

Deep down, we all want a crown…..this is why so many fight for the glory of the world, because it is easier to achieve. He who sits upon the throne is the only giver of crowns that matter. Crowns of righteousness are crowns of  ‘everlasting’ glory bestowed upon all who inherit exaltation and eternal life. The race is on……don’t settle for the crown which in the end won’t matter.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: AI generated by Unknown)

GOD THE SON

 

 

“Paul referred to Jesus Christ as ‘the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Referring to the Saviour as our Elder Brother is indeed accurate in a sense, but it may inadvertently minimize the reverence we should give Him as our Saviour, as the Creator, and as God the Son. President M. Russell Ballard explained: “Some Latter-day Saints have tended to focus on Christ’s Sonship as opposed to His Godhood. As members of earthly families, we can relate to Him as a child, as a Son, and as a Brother because we know how that feels….for some it may be more difficult to relate to Him as a God. And so in an attempt to draw closer to Christ and to cultivate warm and personal feelings toward Him, some tend to humanize Him, sometimes at the expense of acknowledging His Divinity. So let us be very clear on this point: it is true that Jesus was our Elder Brother in the premortal life, but we believe that in this life, it is crucial that we become ‘born again’ as His Sons and daughters in the gospel covenant.” (Building Bridges of Understanding, Ensign, June 1998, p 67) (New Testament Institute Manual Gospel Library, comment on Romans 8:29)

 

I was baptised when I was 18 years of age. My parents disowned me and I had to leave home. Shortly after my baptism, I had a dream I was in a high rise building with my parents when a great commotion arose on the street. When we came down to street level a white matter akin to snow fell on top of us. We burrowed upwards to the top. When I got there I did not see my parents again but I saw whiteness everywhere and the Saviour coming towards me with out-stretched arms saying: “Where are my children?”. I knew when I woke up that the whiteness represented my baptism. I also knew what it meant for me to take upon myself the name of Jesus Christ. I now belonged to Him and He was my spiritual father and my God. 

 

For years now I have been collecting the Saviour’s names and titles from the scriptures. So far I have 108. My admiration of His godship has improved and increased more than I ever expected. Because of those titles and names I have received understanding of who He really is. Each of them inspires within me awe and respect. Yes, He is our Brother, our Saviour and even our Friend but He is also:

 

The King of Glory

The God of Israel

The Prince of Peace

The King of Nations

The Great Amen

Eternal Head

Lord Omnipotent

Alpha and Omega

The King of Zion

The Rock of Heaven

The Word of God

The Great I AM

Most High God

Eternal King

The Lord God of Gods

King Immanuel

The Eternal One

Everlasting King

King of Righteousness

The Lord of Lords

The King of Kings

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Christ the King by David Beraru)