KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Monument
WHEN HE INHERITED the throne of northern India from his Mongol predecessors in 1630, the new emperor gave himself the name Shah Jahan, King of the World...
History remembers him less for his conquests than for his constructions, especially the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan's beloved wife, Mumatz Mahal, died bearing his fourteenth child. To preserve her memory he built as her tomb what may be the most famous building in the world. It is certainly the most beautiful. It rises like a milky pearl from the red dust of the north Indian desert, lustrous white marble, perfectly proportioned, stunningly situated. Its only decoration, other than the sensuous shape of its dome and its sunset glow, is the dark, detailed inlay of quotations from the Koran.
When one of the Emperor's sons emerged victorious from a civil war for control of the throne, he placed his father under house arrest for the last eight years of his life in a tower apartment of his own fortress. The only accommodation to the wishes of the former Shah was a window that allowed him to gaze down the river on the Taj Mahal, his great monument to his greatest love.
THOUGHT: The Lord's table (1 Cor. 10:21) is no mausoleum. Jesus' tomb is empty and he is present with us as we observe the Supper. It is no mausoleum, but it is a monument, a memorial (1 Cor. 11:17ff). At this table we remember the person and passion of Jesus. It is no work of architectural art. Except for its exceptional purpose, there is nothing exceptional about it. And yet people come to see it and to remember its significance again and again. ...This table, simple as it is, is a monument to love ( John 15:13). (J. Lee Magness)
KneEmail: "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:26-29).