IT TOLLS FOR THEE

John Donne (1572-1631) – Meditation 17

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent; a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less… Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Personal Challenge

All human life is precious. All human life is sacred. As followers of Christ, we believe and proclaim that all humans have been, and still are, created in the image of God. No matter what choices a person makes, whether good or bad, saintly or sinful, they are still special in God’s eyes and loved by Him. His expectation of His followers is that we love others as He would. So, it is possible to challenge a person for their actions in love and not diminish them. It is possible to mourn for a person who has had their life taken from them and still disagree with their actions or words that were contradictory to God’s truths. Godly love for a person does not require an acceptance of their ungodly beliefs and behaviors. As John Donne articulates here, we are all intertwined and interconnected. Division and divisiveness only kills us all with small, little pricks. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

COME!

Revelation 22:17

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ, we believe that our citizenship is not in this world but in God’s holy kingdom. As Paul puts it, we are ambassadors for God here on earth. We are not to be seeking to set upa Christian nation here on earth for this is contrary to God’s plan. We are to be looking forward to the second coming of our King, Jesus and crying out “Come! “to our Lord and King. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

THE TABERNACLE OF GOD

Revelation 21:3-4

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Encouraging Words

Throughout the history of mankind, people have built tabernacles, or places of worship for their gods. It is embedded within our hearts that we should provide a place to worship our God. In Revelation, we are informed that God Himself, in the person of the son, Jesus Christ, will be the living tabernacle amongst mankind. This Tabernacle will dwell with us. It will eliminate death, sorrow, and crying. There will be no more pain. This is what we hope for as we follow Christ. Glory be to God!

RESPONDING TO HIS VOICE

Revelation 3:20

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

Encouraging Words

God love us, all of us, so much that He was willing to become man, live a sinless life, die as an innocent man, and broke the chains of death to redeem us for eternity. In that love, He even goes to the extent of allowing us to reject Him. He stands at the door of our heart and knocks. He waits for us to open that door and let Him in. He does not force himself upon us. That is unconditional love. Glory be to God!

THIS IS LOVE

2 John 1:6

This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Personal Challenge

Do you proclaim to be a Christian? Then are fruit of your life showing that? What does that fruit look like? Love! As followers of Christ we are given two commands that we must adhere to. They are to love God and love our neighbor. Our love for God can only be demonstrated by how we love our neighbor. Then many will ask the age old question, “Who is my neighbor?”. According to Jesus, your neighbor is everybody. It is easy to love our family, our friends, those who love us and are kind to us. How about those whom you disagree with? Those who believe and do things that you abbor? Those who you perceive as your enemies? If you are choosing to not love, and most importantly show them that love, then stop besmirching the name of Jesus and calling yourself a Christian. If we desire to bring this world to Christ then this is the only way that we can live. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner, and forgive me for not truly loving my neighbors as you have loved me.

LIFE

1 John 5:10-12

He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Encouraging Words

God promises us life…eternal life. We can do nothing to gain this eternal life other than believe it, accept it, and receive it. Only God knows the hearts of all of us and who has met His qualifications for salvation. I am not the judge of that. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Saint of the Week

St. John of Kronstadt

ABOVE REPROACH

Daniel 6:5-6

Then the ministers and satraps tried to find grounds for accusation against Daniel regarding the kingdom. But they could not accuse him of any corruption. Because he was trustworthy, no fault or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said to themselves, “We shall find no grounds for accusation against this Daniel except in connection with the law of his God.”

Personal Challenge

The culture that Daniel lived in under King Nebuchadnezar does not sound that much different than our culture today. Men in leadership were doing everything that they could to please their king. They all lived corrupt lives and expected that everyone else be corrupt as well. Daniel was elevated by the king because of his devotion to his God and his unwillingness to be corrupt. His peers were jealous to the point of doing everything they could to find fault in Daniel. By living his life above reproach, nothing could be found that could be used against Him. This is what we need today…more Daniels. Glory be to God!

HATE FOR ANOTHER

1 John 4:20

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

Personal Challenge

We live in a day where false Christianity has become rampant. This is not about denominations or faith practices. John is very clear here. If you say that you love God and yet hate another human being, then your profession of faith is a lie. Lord, have mercy! We cannot be hateful to immigrants and claim to love God. We cannot be hateful to people with different political perspectives, opinions, or beliefs and claim to love God. If you belong to a faith practice that pronounces or supports any kind of hate, then you are part of a heretical group and need to flee. Strong words, but words directly from the very scriptures that you profess to follow. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

BLESSED

Daniel 3:95 LXX (3:28)

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”

Personal Challenge

It takes guts to stand up for what you believe, especially when all the olds are stacked against you. Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego knew that they would be thrown into the fiery furnace for defying the king. They trusted that their God would take care of them, even if that only meant being with Him after their death. This is true martyrdom. We must always be ready and willing to lay down our life for our God. This is a given for any true follower of Christ. We are also called by Jesus to be willing to lay down our life for another. That may mean standing between an immigration officer and the foreigner. It may mean protesting the autrocities that an authoritarian government perpetrates against its citizens. It always means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the infirm, protecting the widow and the orphan, and just plain loving our neighbor, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!