Tracts & Letters (Vol 1) - Calvin - III - Life continued

Required reading
Tracts and Letters (Volume 1) by John Calvin (Available from Amazon or free here).  Conclude reading the Life of Calvin.

My summary
Now we come to the final stage of Calvin's life.  He develops multiple illnesses but they don't seem to slow him down all that much - he continues to blast heretics and publish commentaries.

Then Beza gives us a copy of his testament, his final speech to all the senators, and his last charge to the ministers of Geneva.  In all three I was struck by the humility of his words.

Beza concludes his small biography with a tight summary of Calvin's life which reads like a eulogy.  I'd recommend it as a brief overview of the life of Calvin.

What grabbed me
I particularly admire Calvin's constant desire to serve the Lord, despite his failing body: 'While oppressed with so many diseases, no man ever heard him utter a word unbecoming a man of firmness, far less unbecoming a Christian. Only raising his eyes towards heaven, he would say, "O Lord, how long;" for even when he was in health this was an expression which he often used in reference to the calamities of his brethren, which night and day affected him much more than his own sufferings. We advising and entreating him that while sick he should desist from all fatigue of dictating, or at least of writing,—" What," he would say, "would you have the Lord to find me idle?"'

That last statement was quoted to me in a church history lecture at college and it really struck me.  It still encourages me to make the most of all my time.

Next week's reading
Read the 'Letter by James Sadolet, a Roman Cardinal, to the Senate and People of Geneva; in which he endeavours to bring them back to the allegiance of the Roman Pontiff'.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.