Marked For Life (Or Death) ?
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. Revelation 13:16
It is sometimes amusing that those who hold out that such a mark can only be a physical stamping (or implantation of a chip), are the same ones who say, "But He's not talking about a physical mountain of dirt," when we read Matthew 17:20. And Jesus said unto them, ...verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. *Smile*
Have you ever thought about receiving and carrying a mark? Here's a newsflash for you: all of us already carry (and display) marks of various kinds. While some tattoo on their bodies as one type of mark, let's examine the other kinds of marks that we carry--those by which we are known: the clothes we wear, the attitude we project, the company we keep, our material possessions, our investment portfolio, our social standing in the community, our reputation amongst our associates. Such a list could get quite long, couldn't it? Yet, along with many others, each and every one of these are marks we carry and marks we look for in others (or judge others by).
As CHRISTians, we are said to carry the mark of Christ. I suppose if any mark ought to be physical, that one should be, because it's not very obvious in some of our lives, is it? Ever "discovered" someone you had known a long time was a Christian? Were you surprised to find it out? Let me tell you, if we PROFESS to be a Christian, it should NOT be a surprise for anyone to know or find it out! I have never quite understood why so many were ashamed of being a "Christian"; to bear the mark of Chrisitianity is not to walk around defeated and in the depths of despair! An old story I heard as a young girl was of a little boy and his mother riding through the countryside. They came to a pasture and the lad said to his mother, "Mama, look at that old donkey over there. He must be a Christian, he has such a long face!" Yes, we are worried about the physical stamp of a number that many project is coming in the future. However, we walk around every day, NOW, right NOW, with the most visible of marks showing on us. WHOSE mark is showing up on us as we go about in this world, attending to our daily business affairs?
I may profess to be the most saintly person in my church. They may all know me as Saintly Sister Pat: "Oh, she is the most godly of all creatures. Why she just breathes pure holiness." (I'm using me as a mere example here.) But then I get a cable bill or a phone bill that contains an error and I march my little saintly holy self into that business office and proceed to bawl out the unfortunate soul who waits on me. Saintly Sister Pat has just shown her MARK, and it was NOT the mark of a SAINT! When we get bogged down in traffic and beat the steering wheel, turning the air blue with our oaths and temper, we are showing our children, our passengers or anybody else who observes us whose mark we carry! I want you to know one thing, my friends: that which marks us, makes us who we are! Did you get that? I said, that which marks us, makes us who we are! As CHRISTians, do we truly portray the mark of Christ in our lives? Or are we marked for death: separation from God because of the sin in our lives? Do our lives portray the love of Jesus Christ in where we go, the things we say, how we act?
Is the only time we are "holy" when we are around "church folks"? How do your friends and acquaintances know you? "He's a hypocrite"...there's a mark. "She's a loving, caring person"...there's a mark. "She gossips all the time"...there's a mark. "He would give a person the shirt off his back"...there's a mark. They are all marks by which we are known. Oh sure, the only way some folks have any identity at all is through that which is marked by others: gotta have brand-name shoes and clothes from the mall; gotta have hair done in the newest salon; gotta have the newest Cadillac on the parking lot. And there's nothing wrong with those things--unless they are our only identity. If all those things were to be suddenly out of our reach, what would be left?
And if we are so all-fired worried about "receiving a mark" (sound the gong of danger), answer this: tried to get a job lately withOUT a Social Security number? Everywhere you turn, you read and hear the warning: don't let anyone steal your identity. Just what is our identity? Not our names--our social security number! It's a mark. Every account you have has a number on it--they are ALL marks--that by which you are known. Your name is a mark.
Consider this for a moment: that which you think is a mark. And if I may be so bold as to ask, where is your brain located? Does not the forehead cover the front of the brain? Our opinions are all marks! Ever known someone you considered "opinionated"? You knew them by the mark of their opinions which, apparently, they felt compelled to impose upon those around them. And when you extend the hand of fellowship or friendship or partnership to someone, think about it, think about it, that's a mark. You are known by those with whom you associate, either in friendship or business. We've ALL heard the phrase, "He's a marked man," or "She's a marked woman". We look, expecting to see some physical manifestation (such as a scar). Yet what was meant by "marked" was because of the person's reputation or something in the past that was always associated with him or her. Truth be told, we ALL are marked! Our fingerprints are marks, individual to each of us. A wedding ring is the mark of a married person. The labels and nicknames we call others, are all marks. Whatever church I attend, I am marked to be of that denomination.
We are marked by the color of our skin. Come on now, the truth is the truth. We are marked by the color of our skin. Far TOO many times we NEVER GET PAST the "mark" of a person's skin color to get to know that person. Come on now, if we're into truth today, let's deal in truth. We see a person and that which is IN us rises up. What IS IN US? Is it the LOVE of Christ for our fellow man or do we allow the mark of a person's skin color to send us into an immediate posture of prejudice against them? Come on, let's be COMPLETELY honest with ourselves (for a change). What do we immediately assume when we see a person of another race? Yet we go to church and put on a good front with that hate and malice in our hearts? And we wonder why we don't have "the victory"? We wonder why every little wind that comes along blows us off course? We'd better be on our faces before God, asking His forgiveness for our hatred toward one another! The Word of God tells us, very plainly, in language anyone can understand: Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? James 3:11. Whatever is in our heart will be that which we produce. I guarantee it through the Word of God.
It isn't "the world" that has damaged the mark of [so-called] Christians, let me tell you. It is Christians who have damaged themselves. We go through life without a care of how we appear to others. We go in the front door and out the back of a church and then proceed to partake of all manner of ungodliness, wondering all the while why Christians are so badly thought of. "I'm a Christian" is a mark that countless numbers hide behind. They use it to suit their convenience. Throw out the term "I'm a Christian" if you want to get elected, while you're in the "Bible belt" (which is ANOTHER mark). Show up in front of a judge for writing bad checks or driving drunk. Your lying attorney will tell the judge, "Why your Honor, Mr. (or Ms.) So and So is a Christian and solid pillar of the community." No wonder we Christians are the laughingstocks of the world! We are Christians, OF CONVENIENCE. When it's convenient to us, we call out that mark. Wave that flag: "Hey everybody look, I'm being a Christian today!"
I'm not saying that the day won't come when we will be forced to take on a physical mark. It may well happen. Yet, we are totally disregarding the marks we already have in our lives, those we show to the world each and every day, those we "assign" to others. We are holding out against some physical mark in the hand or forehead, while we already carry such marks--they may not be physical, but they are marks by which we are known, both to man and to GOD. And that's the important part--the most important part of all. Are we marked for eternal life through salvation in Jesus Christ? Does His mark show forth in our lives?? We can quote the 23rd Psalm with the best of them: do we have a PERSONAL relationship with the Shepherd? What does the Word of God say about it? Jesus, Himself, said, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. John 10:14. IF we are sold out to God, if we are living a CHRIST-like life, people will see HIS mark in our life. We won't have to carry any signs, wear any labels, make any announcements, bear any tattoos. We ARE known by the MARKS that show in our daily lives.
(all emphasis on scriptures, such as bold, underline or uppercase, is mine) "Marked For Life (Or Death)?" Copyright © 2001 by Patricia Sikes. All Rights Reserved.
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