After moving across the country (and still living out of suitcases since July) and spending most of my day in a book as I have a ton of reading for school I thought I would post this small quote from the letter of Ignatius to the church in Rome, written around AD 98-117.

"I know what is best for me.  Now at last I am beginning to be a disciple.  May nothing visible or invisible envy me, so that I may reach Jesus Christ.  Fire and cross and battles with wild beast, mutilation, mangling, wrenching of bones, the hacking of limbs, the crushing of my whole body, cruel tortures of the devil—let these come upon me, only let me reach Jesus Christ!

Neither the ends of the earth nore the kingdoms of this age are of any use to me.  It is better for me to die for Jesus Christ than to rule over the end of the earth.  Him I seek, who died on our behalf; him I long for, who rose again for our sake." (translation by Holmes, Michael.  The Apostolic Fathers in English 3rd Ed.)