Condemned to be thrown to the beasts to entertain spectators, a Christian (Ignatius of Antioch [c. A.D. 100]) wrote:
I am God’s wheat
and shall be ground by the teeth of wild beasts,
so that I may become God’s pure bread.
Pray to Christ for me….
The time for my birth is close at hand.
(Link, Mark S.J., The Seventh Trumpet, Tabor Publishing, Allen, TX, pg 5)
What a tender moment to contemplate. How beautifully this man described his laying all on the altar for God.
ReplyDeleteHow little is asked of us in comparison. Thanks Donna for such a quiet reminder of how some view giving their all...
Interesting! "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)" Some of these early Church Fathers had much insight.
ReplyDeleteAnd Ignatius may have known, or even have been a student, of John the Apostle. Interesting indeed.