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We don’t decide when we are born.
We don’t decide where we are born.
Those decisions are made by God.
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.”
Acts 17:26-27 (NIV)
That’s an important truth to remember especially as we look around at our culture today.
We see so many people today turning away from God, and as a result, we see evil flourishing — killing babies, mutilating children, destroying the families, teaching people to be racists, starting wars, corrupting justice, denying the very existence of the Creator of the universe.
Human history has made it evident that man has a proclivity for doing evil. If you aren’t aware of that, then you don’t know history, and you certainly don’t know human nature.
The Bible says this state of affairs is a result of man’s sinful nature.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
Romans 3:23 (NIV))
To understand the timeless struggle between good and evil, let’s journey back to 404 CE1 to the heart of Rome.
This is not a vacation.
It’s a glimpse of one day in the life of one man who was present during the games at the Colosseum in Rome.
THE GAMES
We need to begin with a little background on the “games” in these times.
For over 500 years in the Roman Empire, “The Games” were an important entertainment feature for the people. These games consisted of gladiators killing each other, animals killing people, various forms of torture and death so that the spectators could enjoy the spectacle. Tens of thousands of would watch the events in places like the Colosseum in Rome.
We have no idea how many people were butchered in these games, but we know show was brutal.
Which brings us to the man we are looking at today — Telemachus.
Telemachus was a Christian monk. He traveled from the East and came into the city of Rome.
He went into the Colosseum when The Games were going on and was horrified as he watched the gladiators fighting each other to the death, while thousands of fans in the stadium cheered and yelled.
He pushed his way through the crowd, leaped over the wall and entered the arena. He positioned himself between gladiators, pleading with them not kill each other.
The crowd was furious at the interruption to their sport and began throwing rocks. Finally, a gladiator thrust his sword into Telemachus and monk died.
We don’t know much more about this man.
There is only one event in his life that is described in history — the day he died.
But we should remember, God had decided that Telemachus would be born in the Roman Empire during this time period. And when Telemachus became a Christian, he sought to honor the Lord and call people to follow God.
What Telemachus did to carry out that call would cost him his life.
But sometimes, God calls His followers to do difficult things.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
Telemachus ran the race that was set out for him.
His was not a foolish act.
When Honorius, the Roman Emperor, heard what happened in the Colosseum that day, he said Telemachus was a martyr and then the emperor outlawed the gladiator games altogether.
The brutal national sport that entertained Romans for centuries came to an end.
Think how many lives were saved because of the brave actions of that one man on that one day.
I would encourage you to fix your eyes on Jesus and run the race He has marked out for you.
Before I go, I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today
For dates, historians now refer to these time periods as CE, Common Era, instead of AD, Anno Domini. That’s probably because Anno Domini is Latin for “in the year of Our Lord” and historians run for cover at the idea of referring to Jesus in any kind of positive way.
Telemachus