CONSECRATION

 

The Anointed One by Joseph Brickey

I kneel before Thy throne each day

Never knowing what first to say.

Then I remember what my soul foremost needs

Is my heartfelt devotion to only Thee.

 

My thoughts, my words, my earthly deeds

I consecrate as a memorial in prayer to Thee.

I spread my heart before Thy feet,

As the Sacrificial Lamb I come to see.

 

I see You smile, I hear You say:

You are in my heart today.

The sacrifice was mine to give,

Your soul I purchased that you might live.

 

-       Cathryne Allen

 

CONSECRATING SELF

 

 

The year I studied animal sacrifice in depth, I came to understand the Atonement at a deeper level. I was absolutely mesmerised by this practice and being a visual person I wished I could witness it in the flesh. Understanding animal sacrifice has made me see the necessity of the principle of consecration in my life.

This is what touched me the most: A part of the animal sacrifice ceremony included the priest applying a small amount of animal’s blood to the tip of the right ear, the right thumb and the great toe of the right foot of the person to be consecrated.  This is what it meant:

·         On the tip of the ear: sanctifying the organ of hearing God’s word;

·         On the thumb of right hand: sanctifying the organ of action;

·         On the great toe of right foot: sanctifying the organ of walking and following God.

When I read this I wondered how I could apply this symbolism to my personal consecration to God and it came to me that just as Christ sacrificed Himself totally and completely for my sake, my sacrifice to God must be equally so: through my thoughts, my speech, my attitudes, my beliefs, my desires, my intents, my actions.

I began to consecrate myself verbally to God in prayer daily through thought, word and deed and promised to walk in paths of righteousness. As I uttered those words, the image of the priest applying sacrificial blood to my ear, thumb and toe would come into my mind. That image of the priest became indelibly impressed upon my mind. I have been doing this for a long time now and it has made a significant difference to my daily conduct.

The Saviour expects nothing of us that He himself did not do. Consider His total consecration to the Father which made Him ‘the lamb without blemish’ (1 Peter 1:19): “Had there been one thought in the mind of Jesus which was not perfectly given to God; had there been but one affection in the heart of Jesus which was not yielded to His Father’s will; had there been one step in the walk of Jesus which was taken not for God, but for His own pleasure; then He could not have offered Himself or been accepted as a ‘whole burnt- offering….but Jesus gave up all: He reserved nothing. All was burnt, all consumed, upon the altar.” (Jukes, Law of the Offerings, pp 63-64).

I kneel before Thy throne each day

Never knowing what first to say.

Then I remember what my soul foremost needs

Is my heartfelt devotion to only Thee.

My thoughts, my words, my earthly deeds

I consecrate as a memorial in prayer to Thee.

I spread my heart before Thy feet,

As the sacrificial lamb I come to see.

I see You smile, I hear You say:

You are in my heart today.

The sacrifice was mine to give,

Your soul I purchased that you might live.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Lamb by Stephen Sawyer)

MARY, DID YOU KNOW?

 

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered,

Will soon deliver you.

 

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Will calm the storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little baby

You kiss the face of God.

 

The blind will see, the deaf will hear

The dead will live again

The lame will leap, the dumb will speak

The praises of the Lamb.

 

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy

Is heaven’s perfect Lamb?

That sleeping child you’re holding

Is the great, I am.

 

-      Written by: lyrics by Mark Lowry and music by Buddy Greene

-      Art: Mother of God by Lester Yocum

THE LAMB

 

“In the fields of Bethlehem, not far from Jerusalem and the Temple of Jehovah, there were shepherds watching their flocks by night. These were no ordinary shepherds nor ordinary flocks. The sheep there watched over, cared for with love and devotion – were destined for sacrifice on the great altar in the Lord’s House, in similitude of the eternal sacrifice of Him who that wondrous night lay in a stable….”

-          Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1, p 347)

 

On that fateful night

when shepherds watched the sacrificial lambs,

There was a shepherd child keeping watch

But one had gone astray.

He searched in vain the rich pasture of hay

And found Him peaceful

In the manger where He lay.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Tender Shepherd by Eva Koleva Timothy)

THE SACRIFICE OF YOU

 

A few posts back I wrote about my belief that we are not here for our salvation alone but for the salvation of the whole human family. Here is a more detailed account of that belief.

Some months ago it was revealed to me that I was a ‘sacrificial lamb’ of sorts for someone in my life some thirty years ago. This someone had derailed me from what I expected to become a picture-perfect life to something that became a total opposite and what I had never expected.

For thirty years, every once in a while, I was reminded that my life was unfair. I had done all the right things and my assessment was that I did not deserve what I got. This revelation, however, taught me something of far more importance than the value of my life. It taught me the unfairness and the value of the Saviour’s life.

Elder Dale G. Renlund spoke of this in his April 2021 General Conference talk, “Infuriating Unfairness”:

“I declare with all my aching heart that Jesus Christ both understands unfairness and has the power to provide a remedy. Nothing compared to the unfairness He endured. It was not fair that He experienced all the pains and afflictions of mankind. It was not fair that He suffered for my sins and mistakes and for yours……He understands perfectly what we are experiencing.

“….all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ overcame the world and ‘absorbed’ all unfairness. If we let Him, Jesus Christ will consecrate the unfairness for our gain. He will not just console us and restore what was lost; He will use the unfairness for our benefit.”

We may well ask how He will use the unfairness for our benefit.  When I look back over my life, I can see that it has afforded me growth and learning that I would never have had if my life was picture perfect. The person I am today is because God asked me to be the ‘sacrificial lamb’ thirty years ago. In gratitude for this sacrifice I testify of what Joseph Smith said on the subject:

“A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation…..those who have this testimony will have faith to lay hold on eternal life, and will be enabled, through faith, to endure unto the end, and receive the crown that is laid up for them…..” (Lecture 6:7, “Lectures on Faith”)

There is no greater sacrifice you can give than the sacrifice of self. There is one man who proved that succinctly and irrefutably……

 

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.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus is Lord by kBrake)

THE LAMB

 

Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, was famous for its’ unblemished lambs which were used for the temple sacrifice. The shepherds in the field ‘who watched their flock by night’ were in actual fact priests and the flock they watched over were atoning lambs.

The new born perfect lambs without blemish were wrapped tightly in cloth and placed in ‘the manger’ which was an animal feeding trough made of stone. They would be kept safe there until they were taken to the temple. They were lambs that were cared for with love and devotion ‘because they were destined for sacrifice on the great altar in the Lord’s House, in similitude of the eternal sacrifice of Him who would atone for the sins of the world. (see Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 1, 347)

When Jesus was born, an angel appeared to these shepherd priests and announced the birth of the Saviour ‘which is Christ the Lord’, he told them the sign, or proof of His birth will be finding ‘the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:9-12). This the shepherds would understand for they had wrapped many lambs in swaddling cloths and placed them in a manger. They knew that the baby they would find in there would be the perfect Lamb of God.

I am amazed how the whole life of Christ is associated with symbolism. One year as I studied the Old Testament I became fascinated with the rituals of animal sacrifice performed by ancient Israel. I looked at it in depth to satisfy my fascination but I did not expect it to take my understanding of the Atonement to the next level.

I learnt that the horns on the ark of the covenant symbolized the power of Jehovah and sprinkling the blood of the animal on them suggested forgiveness can only come through His power. My greatest fascination with animal sacrifice, however, became even more personal to me. It was the practice of applying the sacrificial blood of the animal, by the priest, to the right ear, right thumb and right toe of the person that was to be consecrated to God.

These three parts of the body represented hearing the word of God, acting according to it and walking in His paths according to His commandments, that thereby the consecrated person might be sanctified through the power of the Atonement (see Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 1:2:387-88 as quoted by the Old Testament Student Manual).

Learning of the significance of applying the sacrificial blood for the purposes of sanctification and consecration had a great impact on me. I incorporated the practice of consecrating myself to God, through thought, word and deed, in my morning prayers.

As I did so, the image of the priest applying the sacrificial blood to my ear, thumb and toe would come into my mind to accompany my words.  This practice of daily consecration was something that strengthened my resolve to obey the command of ‘practicing virtue and holiness before God continually’ (D&C 46:33) and my obedience became more exact and finely tuned.

I contemplated this week on the principle of ‘the sacrificial lamb’ and wondered why a lamb was chosen to represent the Christ. My research for an answer didn’t yield any startling results so I offer my own understanding here.

The Saviour was and is a dutiful Son. Did He not say: “I do always those things that please him”? (John 8:29). Even His power to lay down His life and take it up again was performed out of perfect obedience to the Father who gave Him the commandment so to do (John 10:18).

Every lamb has a shepherd. So does the Lamb of God who is Christ. His Father is the Shepherd who leads and the Son is the lamb who follows. He does this in perfect obedience because He is the perfect Son.

This Lamb has the greatest shepherd of all, the Eternal Father, the God of Heaven, the fountain of all love and righteousness. He is the Shepherd and the Saviour is the Lamb……the sacrificial Lamb of God given by the sacrificing Father for all His children, a worthy Lamb and a mighty Shepherd to follow.....

I watched from heaven

And heard the angels in the field

Sing praises to Your name;

And I sorrowed knowing, like holy water,

Your love would spill on sacrificial altar.

I will follow….

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Sweet Sleep In the Manger Lowly by Greg Collins)