Monday, March April 19: Revelation 14-Who's marked your life?

   Two groups designated by a mark. In the imagery of this chapter people wear one of two brands on their foreheads, either God the Father’s name or the number of the beast. One mark or the other? It is as if the allegiance of the heart is displayed on one’s forehead. Your mark determines your outcome, your loyalty, your owner. And since God wins, those with God’s mark live and reign with Him. Those with the beast’s mark suffer with him.

My mind floated back to a sentence I wrote above: “It is as if the allegiance of the heart is displayed on one’s forehead.” In our world we can live secretive lives. We can be quiet Christians trying to blend in with everyone around us. Another option in our secretive world is that we can be ‘pretend believers’, going through the motions but not truly aligning our hearts with God’s. There are other options too. You can think about those if you like. Where I mused this morning was on my life…

How would I feel if my heart allegiance was emblazoned on my forehead? It is not that feelings are everything but feelings are an indicator of my reaction to something. How would I feel if everyone, all the time, knew my allegiance to Jesus? How would I feel when I was speaking harshly to someone, or stealing something, or taking the Lord’s name in vane, or…? Would I act differently if God the Father’s name was tattooed on my forehead? As I thought about my own question, my answer came back that I would probably act differently at times. 30 years ago I choose to put on and wear my wedding ring all the time. The only time I have ever taken it off was for surgery. I want people to know I am married and my ring reminds me daily that faithful-married men act a certain way.

O, God, I don’t know if I will be living when the allegiance of a person’s heart will be tattooed on their foreheads as in Rev 14. Whatever happens in the future, that is not the case today.

My prayer, O Lord, is that You would teach me how to live so that people will know You are my Lord, Savior and God even without Your ownership brand on my forehead. May that be so, may it be so… amen.