This evening was an awesome night at Ignition. We had a great crowd and there were 5 decisions for Christ and 2 re-dedications to the Lord. I shared with the students our first message in our Epic series. The night was awesome and I had the opportunity to share with them the story of Telemachus. I promised that story to you as well, so here it goes.
Telemachus was a monk who lived in the 4th century. One day, he felt that God was speaking to him about leaving the monestary and heading to Rome. So Telemachus gathered all of his worldly belongings and placed them in a sack and set out for Rome. When he arrived in the city the people were filled with excitement in the city streets. He asked why there was such a comotion going on and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting and killing each other in the coliseum. Telemachus, being a man of God thought to himself, "Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for enjoyment?" To say the least, he was a bit disturbed. So, he ran to the coliseum to see the events for himself. It was there at the Coliseum that he saw the gladiators and heard them saying, "Hail to Ceasar, we die for Ceasar." Telemachus thought to himself, "this isn't right." So filled with passion against what he was seeing, he jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field and stood between the two gladiators. Telemachus held up his hands and began to shout at the top of his lungs, "In the name of Christ, forbear." As the crowd noticed him standing in the middle of the field, they quited down enough to listen to what he was saying. After hearing his words, the people began to protest and to shout, "Run him through, Run him through." A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword sending him to the sand. However, Telemachus dusted the sand off and got back up and again cried, "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd continued to get all the louder chanting, "Run him through." Finally, one gladiator, to appease the crowd, came over and plunged his sword through the little monk's stomach. Telemachus fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his blood. Holding onto life, Telemachus gathered the strength and one last time he peered out at the crowd and gasped while sharing these final words, "In the name of Christ forbear." Then, Telemachus collapsed and died. A hush came over the 80,000 people in the coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another. Within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. To this day, that was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.
I told the students tonight that Telemachus was the epitome of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 3:3 when he told the people of Troas that they were, "a living letter, written not with ink but by the Spirit of God not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of men's hearts." AND that is what God is asking us to do as well. To live our lives, and pen out our story in such a way that our actions, our words, and our love will be written on the hearts of those around us. What kind of story are you writing for those who follow ages from now to read about you and your life? I hope it's a good one.
