Scripture Verse that Caught My Attention Today: Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
Observation: The mark of God is a powerful and lasting impression.
Application: These days, for some, tattoos are the thing to have. Most recently there were five players from my alma mater who sold significant memorabilia (much to the NCAA’s dismay) in part so that they could purchase expensive tattoos. They wanted the mark of their own choosing.
By faith we have a different kind of mark, and it is not necessarily of our own choosing, though it is certainly for our own benefit. In the sacrament of baptism the pastor, after washing us in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, traces the sign of the cross in our forehead, telling us that we are sealed by the promise of the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. It’s like an invisible tattoo—or like one of those stamps that one gets at amusement parks that shows up under black light, except that the mark of God last forever.
Forget the mark of the beast from the preceding chapter. It can’t compete with the new mark we receive through Christ in the new chapter just begun.
Prayer: Lord, help us always to recognize that we are called and claimed by you and you alone. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Scripture Readings today included: Revelation 10-14)
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