Dare 2B Daring – December 22, 2014 A daily devotional published by Risk Takers for Christ, Inc. (Permission granted to reprint with proper attribution.) “We all long for Eden, and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature… is still soaked with the sense of exile.” – J.R.R. Tolkien It was a punishment worse than death for Napoleon Bonaparte. Having led France to great heights – and having conquered much of Europe – Napoleon I was forced to abdicate his throne and exiled to the isle of Elba. A man who once ruled an empire that included 44 million subjects and covered 810,815 square miles from Spain to Austria, was now confined to an island off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Permitted a garrison of 600 soldiers, he was nominally the ruler of Elba; but in actuality, the British Royal Navy monitored his activities by patrolling the island’s waters. After less than a year on Elba, Napoleon escaped to France with a ship, a handful of men and four cannons. Defying an order for his arrest, he reclaimed the French throne and ruled for what became known as the Hundred Days. However, he was soundly defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. This time, Napoleon was exiled to the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he remained until his death in 1821. We may have never ruled a vast empire like Napoleon, but we all know what it is like to be exiled. Perhaps from our family, and perhaps from a job. Most tragically, we have all – because of Adam’s original sin – been banished from the Garden of Eden. As such, Paradise is no longer ours… or is it? Because of the perfect life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of the Second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, we now have been restored to Paradise. In the immortal words of John Bunyan, “Paradise Lost” has become “Paradise Regained”. How I long to return from spiritual exile and step onto the shores of my celestial home… heaven! “And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” Luke 23:43 (NKJV) - Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 02:49:54 +0000
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