The Duty of Seeking the
Things
Which Are Jesus Christ's
by David Black
(David Black, 1762-1806, was pastor in Edinburgh,
Scotland, from 1794 until his death. With regard to his sermon delivery, it
was said that "His manner was solemn and affectionate, earnest and
persuasive. When expostulating with sinners, or unfolding to Christians the
consolations of the gospel, there was often an animation in his address — a
sacred fervor — a divine unction, which powerfully impressed the auditory.
He evidently felt the truths he was delivering, and spoke as one standing in
the presence of God, animated with a pure zeal for the glory of the
Redeemer, and the salvation of immortal souls.")
"All seek their own interests, not those of Jesus
Christ."
Philippians 2:21
We cannot suppose that the apostle intended, by these
words, to characterize all his fellow Christians, the whole multitude of
believers — many of whom were conspicuous for a spirit and temper the very
reverse of that which the apostle here condemns. He speaks, in the context,
of Timothy as one who, as a son with a father, served with him in the gospel
(Phil. 2:22), and a little after, of Epaphroditus, his brother and companion
in labor, who, for the work of Christ, was near unto death, not regarding
his life to supply their lack of service towards him (Phil. 2:25, 30). And
in the foregoing chapter he tells us that "most of the brothers in the Lord
have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the
message fearlessly." (Phil. 1:14).
But from this, as well as many other parts of Paul's
epistolary writings, it appears that even at this early period of the
church, a selfish and worldly spirit had begun to manifest itself among
those who bore the Christian name. And, in particular, we have reason to
think that the apostle had occasion to witness the prevalence of this spirit
among many real or pretended friends of Christianity, at the time when he
wrote this epistle. And if such were the case in this purest age of the
church, when the temptations to a false and hypocritical profession of
religion were so much fewer than they are at present, is it any wonder that,
in these corrupt and degenerate times in which we live, we should have still
greater cause to complain, that all seek their own interests, not those of
Jesus Christ's?
Selfishness, or inordinate self-love, is the common
character of mankind. While men are strangers to the regenerating power of
divine grace, they are almost wholly guided by selfishness. Even their
boasted benevolence, uninfluenced by the principles and motives which the
gospel inspires, is little better than refined selfishness. The world they
pursue as their chief good — its honors, its riches, or its pleasures, are,
in their estimation, of the highest importance; so that, regardless of the
glory of their Maker and of the ultimate end of their being, they only
consult the means of present selfish gratification.
Nor is this temper, alas! wholly confined to those who
are living without God, and without hope in the world. It is too often
found, in a certain degree, in men who are, upon the whole, actuated by
nobler principles. The cursed leaven of selfishness has spread itself
through the church of Christ and infected the minds even of its genuine
members. I do not mean to affirm, that a prevailing worldly or selfish
spirit is compatible with real religion. No; let God be true, though every
man should prove a liar. The tree is known by its fruits; and if any man has
not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. But as Christians are only
sanctified in part, there may remain a considerable mixture of selfishness,
even in those in whose hearts the love of God is supreme. Hence have arisen
the envies, jealousy, and party spirit which have tarnished the character
and marred the usefulness of many wise and good men.
To trace the nature and point out the causes of this
criminal temper would open up a very wide, and perhaps, not unprofitable
subject of discourse; and such a train of reflection is naturally suggested
by the words of the text. But this is not my purpose at present. My design,
in the choice of this text, is not so much to expose the sinfulness and
mischievous consequences of a selfish and worldly spirit in the professors
of Christianity, as to recommend a temper opposite to it — to show the
dignity, excellence, and unspeakable advantages of loving spirit, and
unselfish Christian zeal — that I may, if possible, rouse a generous
emulation in the bosoms of those, who, possessing the means and
opportunities of doing good, have not been so active as they might have
been, in improving the talents committed to them. With this end in view, and
looking up to God for his blessing, I shall endeavor--
I. To state and explain the principles by which true
Christians are led to seek the things which are Jesus Christ's, in
preference to their own.
II. Recommend the cultivation and exercise of this divine
temper, by some motives and arguments.
I. The principles by which true Christians are led to
seek the things which are Jesus Christ's, in preference to their own.
The things which are Jesus Christ's are the things pertaining to the
kingdom and glory of Jesus Christ, with the means of promoting them. These
are opposed to our own things--that is, to our own ease, reputation, or
worldly interest, which duty to God, and a regard to the honor of our Lord
Jesus Christ, will often require us to sacrifice. They who are possessed of
the genuine spirit of Christianity will discover, in their general temper
and conduct, a superiority to those selfish views which actuate the rest of
mankind. Let us attend, then, to the principles upon which such a character
is formed, contrasting the selfishness of a worldling or mere formalist in
religion--with the enlarged and unselfish benevolence of a faithful disciple
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The grand principle upon which the Christian character
is formed, and that which gives birth to every other gracious disposition,
is FAITH. Faith, as the apostle tells
us, is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not
seen (Heb. 11:1). It gives a kind of present subsistence to things future
and invisible; representing them to the mind, not as bare probabilities, but
as absolute certainties, to which we may attach the firmest credit, and on
which we may rely with the most unsuspicious confidence. Faith has respect
to the testimony of God, as the ground upon which it rests. It embraces the
whole system of revealed truth, and yields an implicit and unqualified
assent to everything which bears the undoubted mark of divine authority. The
Christian does not consider himself at liberty to choose or to refuse
certain parts of the divine testimony, according as they may appear to him
to be more or less conformable to his corrupt prejudices or sinful
inclinations. He considers himself equally bound by every word which God has
spoken, and cordially acquiesces in all his revealed will, as holy, and
just, and good.
But it is too evident that all men have not this faith
(II Thess. 3:2). Many openly oppose and deride it, while others, who esteem
themselves, and would be esteemed by others, Christians,
are satisfied with a cold formal assent to the truth of divine revelation in
general, without understanding its nature, examining its contents, or
feeling any particular interest in the doctrines which it reveals. The
consequence is that with all their pretended veneration for the sacred
scriptures, they receive no serious lasting impression from them, nor do
they at all experience their practical influence. Naming the name of Christ,
they depart not from iniquity--but walk after the course of this world, and
mind only earthly things. Hence it is that so many professors of
Christianity, especially in the age in which we live, when a mere outward
profession of religion is attended with little danger to a man's worldly
interest, seek their own things in preference to the things which are Jesus
Christ's.
It is far otherwise with the man who is possessed of
genuine faith in the gospel. Inspired with this divine principle, the true
Christian is taught to form a proper estimate of the unspeakable value of
spiritual blessings, and the comparative insignificance of all earthly
pursuits, while he looks not at the things which are seen and temporal, but
at those things which are unseen and eternal (II Cor. 4:8). Risen with
Christ, he seeks and sets his affections on things above, not on things on
the earth (Col. 3:1-2). According to the measure of his faith is his
superiority to low earthly schemes and selfish considerations. These, it is
true, may mingle with his religious duties, and debase his purest services,
which cannot fail to humble him deeply in the sight of God; but they do not
form his predominant character: they arise from the weakness of his faith,
and are neither allowed nor indulged, but powerfully resisted and mourned
over before the Lord. With all his acknowledged imperfection, an habitual
regard to the things which are Jesus Christ's, in preference to his own
things, is abundantly manifest in the prevailing temper of his mind as well
as in the general tenor of his conduct.
In nothing, perhaps, is true spiritual religion (the
religion, I mean, which flows from a living faith in the gospel) more
distinguished from a 'mere form of godliness' than in this respect. The
stream can rise no higher than the fountain from which it flows. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh; but that which is born of the spirit is
spirit (John 3:6). A worldly man's religion is regulated by worldly
principles; his fear of God is taught by the precepts of men (Isa. 29:13). A
stranger to the faith which overcomes the world, not realizing the things of
an unseen and everlasting state, he is always afraid of venturing too far,
of being righteous overmuch, of hurting his worldly interest, and incurring
the censure and reproach of those whose good opinion he wishes to preserve.
But the simple-hearted genuine disciple of Christ has learned to deny
himself, to take up his cross, and follow his blessed Lord. He has counted
the cost, and is made willing to sell all that he has, that he may buy the
treasure hid in the gospel field — the pearl of great price (Matt.
13:45-46), which faith has taught him to prize above everything which this
world can bestow.
2. Connected with this principle, and naturally flowing
from it, is another gracious disposition which has a powerful influence in
forming the Christian character — a supreme LOVE to
the Lord Jesus Christ.
No temper or disposition of mind is more frequently
spoken of in scripture, as characteristic of a real Christian, than love to
Christ. It is of the very nature and essence of true religion. If any man,
says the apostle, loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed (1
Cor. 16:22); but, on the other hand, Grace be with all those who love our
Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity (Eph. 6:24). Love to Christ, proceeding from
faith in him, is something more than a transient glow of affection. It is
something more than saying unto Christ, 'Lord, Lord,' which many do, who in
works deny him. Genuine love to Christ is a powerful, operative, abiding
principle. It is the spring of all acceptable obedience, the grand incentive
to the practice of everything that is true, and honest, and just, and pure,
and lovely, and of good report (Phil. 4:8); for the love of Christ
constrains us: it impels us forward, and bears us on in its own course, like
a mighty current which carries all before it.
But how is this gracious principle brought into action,
or in what way is its existence in the soul manifested in the outward
conduct? Our Lord Jesus Christ is not now personally present upon earth, to
receive from his friends any visible tokens of regard. The heavens have
received him until the time of the restitution of all things. But he has a
cause, a kingdom, an interest in the world, and what is done for the
advancement of his kingdom and interest among men, out of love to his name,
he considers as done to himself.
Here, then, brethren, is the test of the sincerity of our
love to Christ — a test which he himself requires as indispensably necessary
to the character of his disciples (Matt. 10:37). He who loves father or
mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. And again, in still stronger terms (Luke
14:26), If any man comes to me, and hates not his father, and mother, and
wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, and his own life also--he
cannot be my disciple. The meaning of both these passages is the same. They
evidently refer to the 'supreme affection of the soul', and to that decided
preference which the things of Jesus Christ ought to have in our minds above
our own things. Our Lord, in the words just now recited, cannot be supposed
to require us absolutely to hate our brethren and kinsmen according to the
flesh (for this would be as contrary to the plainest principles of piety, as
to the common dictates of humanity), but, in a comparative view, we are
commanded to act as if we hated them, so as to be willing to renounce our
dearest friends, when duty to Christ demands such a sacrifice — that is,
when we must either forsake them, or forsake our blessed Lord.
This doctrine, which appears to many an hard saying, is
strikingly illustrated by an apposite example which occurs in the history of
our Savior's personal ministry (Luke 18:18-23). We read of a certain ruler
who came to Christ, professing great respect for his character and an
earnest desire to be instructed by him. 'Good Master,' said he, 'what shall
I do to inherit eternal life?' Our Lord, who knew what was in man, perceived
that, with all his professions of regard, the love of the world was
predominant in his heart, and therefore he put his boasted virtue to the
trial by telling him,' Yet lack you one thing: sell all that you have and
distribute unto the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come,
follow me.' The event was such as might have been expected, in the case of
one whose heart was not right with God. He went away very sorrowful, for he
was very rich. For the same reason, one of Paul's fellow laborers deserted
him in the hour of trial. 'Demas has forsaken me,' says he, 'having loved
this present world' (2 Tim. 4:10). And many, alas! in every age, who are
called by the name of Christ, and with their mouths show much love, plainly
discover by their conduct that the world has the chief place in their heart,
preferring their own ease, credit, and interest, to the honor of Christ and
the advancement of his kingdom, whenever they happen to come in competition
with each other.
The genuine disciples of Christ, who are possessed of a
supreme love to him, are men of another spirit. To them, the honor of Christ
and the advancement of his kingdom are matters of the most serious concern.
They rejoice in Zion's prosperity, and are filled with the deepest regret
when the interest of the Redeemer's kingdom appears to be in a low and
declining state. Nor are they satisfied with indolent wishes and unmeaning
compliments, when they have it in their power to give more substantial
proofs of regard to the Savior; but constrained by his love, present their
bodies and spirits as living sacrifices, and cheerfully consecrate their
time, and talents, and substance, and influence to his service and glory.
3. Another principle, arising from the two former, which
has a powerful influence in forming the Christian character, is
love to the souls of men, or true Christian
benevolence.
The origin of this divine temper is to be traced to the
love of God, displayed in the redemption of the world by his Son Jesus
Christ. For, as the apostle John informs us, 'Love is from God, and everyone
who loves is born of God, and knows God. Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren (1 John 4:7 and 3:16). The character of man as a fallen
apostate creature is the very reverse of this — 'Hateful, and hating one
another' (Titus 3:3) exhibits a no less just than melancholy picture of his
history in all past ages, with but few exceptions. Nor is this difficult to
be accounted for. While everyone pursues his own apparent interest, without
regard to the welfare or happiness of others, various will be the occasions
of mutual strife and contention. Pride and covetousness, those two evil
demons which haunt the smaller, as well as the larger societies of men,
have produced innumerable mischiefs in the world. Hence have arisen wars and
fightings, discord and jealousy, peevishness and discontent, which, in ten
thousand instances, have broken the peace of nations, of churches, and
families.
There is, I acknowledge, a sort of benevolence, which,
greatly for the benefit of society, is to be found among those who are
strangers to the saving power of the gospel. But however useful this sort of
benevolence may be in its own place, it falls short of that love to mankind
which is the fruit of a living faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The
common benevolence which springs from mere natural principles, refers
chiefly to men's bodily needs, and temporal distresses. Whereas true
Christian love, while it does not overlook these, aims at higher objects,
and, deeply sensible how infinitely superior the concerns of the soul
are to those things which relate only to a present life, directs its
principal efforts to the spiritual interests and eternal salvation of
mankind. While the Christian philanthropist, then, mourns over the countless
calamities of suffering humanity, he is still more deeply affected with the
spiritual distresses of his fellow creatures. By holding up to our view the
great pattern of divine benevolence, exhibited in the gift of God's own Son,
the gospel has a tendency to beget and nourish, in particular, an ardent
love to the souls of men.
These, then, are the principles which contribute to form
in the Christian that pure and unselfish zeal for the glory of the Redeemer,
and the advancement of his kingdom, which constitutes the brightest ornament
of his character.
Allow me now, By a few plain motives and arguments, to
II. Recommend to you the cultivation and exercise of this
divine temper.
1. The superior importance of the things of Jesus Christ
to our own things, should determine our preference.
How poor and
trifling, in comparison, are all those objects which so much engross the
time and attention of the great bulk of mankind! What a bauble is wealth,
compared with the unsearchable riches of Christ! How insignificant is the
honor that comes from man, compared with the honor that comes from God! And
how contemptible the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season — those
short-lived enjoyments for which men barter their souls and eternal
salvation, when set in comparison with the high dignity and happiness of
being workers together with God, in promoting the holy, wise, and beneficent
purposes of his government! The things which are Jesus Christ's, remember,
are the things which pertain to the divine glory. 'For the Father loves the
Son, and has given all things into his hand' (John 3:35).
And can we conceive, Christians, a higher motive to
exertion than the glory of Him who made us? Has the Father committed to the
Son the dearest interests of his own glory, and shall we not seek the things
which are Jesus Christ's in preference to everything else? Our own things!
How do they dwindle into insignificance when contrasted with these! Shall we
prefer a little ease, a little worldly interest or indulgence, a little
praise or commendation from poor fellow mortals like ourselves--to the glory
of God, and the honor of the Redeemer? For these are the only things which
can come into competition with the things which are Jesus Christ's.
Take the things which are supposed to be of the greatest
importance to mankind — the rise and fall of empires — the revolutions of
states and kingdoms — the civil and political interests of the great bodies
which divide the inhabitants of the globe. These, it will readily be
granted, are justly entitled to regard, since they involve the temporal
comfort and prosperity of thousands and millions of our fellow creatures.
But bring them into competition with the things which are Jesus Christ's,
and what is their amount? Except in so far as they are connected with the
advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, of the increase and peace of which
there shall be no end (Isa. 9:7)--they will be found, comparatively
speaking, light as a feather, and insignificant as the small dust upon the
balance. The salvation of a single soul is an event of greater importance
than the conquest of a kingdom!
The humble self-denied followers of the Lamb, who are
willing to hazard their lives for the sake of Christ and immortal souls, are
far more worthy of being enrolled in the annals of fame — I will not say,
than the Caesars and Alexanders, who have deluged the world with blood,
whose memory is fitted to excite abhorrence, rather than applause — but than
the most renowned patriots, or illustrious benefactors of the human race,
who have promoted, in the highest degree, the temporal interests of their
fellow creatures. Little as the preaching of the gospel and the effects
produced by it are regarded by many, it is followed with consequences
infinitely more momentous than those which arise from the deliberations of
senates, or the decrees of princes.
And are Christians, then, the only men who are justified
in the indulgence of sloth? Are all others active and diligent in promoting,
in different ways, what they conceive to be their interest, while those who
call themselves disciples of Christ are careless and indifferent about the
honor of their Master and the success of his glorious gospel! How true the
saying of our blessed Lord, 'The children of this world are in their
generation wiser than the children of light!' (Luke 16:8) Let us blush for
shame that we, who profess to have such superior objects in view, should be
so far outstripped in activity and zeal by the votaries of Mammon, who aim
at nothing higher than the attainment of blessings which perish with the
using.
2. Gratitude to the Redeemer for the inestimable benefits
he has procured for us
, should excite us to seek the things which
are Jesus Christ's in preference to our own. Even Christ, we are told,
'pleased not himself' (Rom. 15:3). He sought not his own things, but the
glory of his heavenly Father, and the happiness of his people. He 'became
poor, that we, through his poverty, might be rich' (II Cor. 8:9): he emptied
himself of his glory, though possessed of all the fullness of the Godhead,
took upon him the degraded form of a servant, submitted to shame and
sufferings, and death itself, that he might deliver us from endless
inconceivable misery, and raise us to the possession of immortal glory and
blessedness. In this view, how astonishing is the history of Christ's
personal ministry! Well might it be said of him, that the zeal of God's
house had eaten him up (John 2:17); for it was his food and drink to do the
will of his heavenly Father, and to finish his work (John 4:34).
Often did he deny himself the ordinary refreshments of
nature, that he might be serviceable to the souls of men. Upon one occasion,
when faint and weary, he sat on Jacob's well, and asked of the woman of
Samaria a little water to quench his thirst; denied, as he was at first,
this trifling blessing, he seems, from the conversation that follows, to
have forgotten his thirst in his ardent concern for the salvation of this
poor woman's soul (John 4:9-26). And once and again we read of his retiring
to a mountain to pray, and spending whole nights in prayer, after having
employed the day in public instruction and acts of beneficence (Mark 6:40,
Luke 6:12).
What a pattern to his followers! And how powerful a
motive likewise to deny ourselves for him, who, for our sakes, labored, and
watched, and wept, and prayed, and at last shed his precious blood! How poor
the returns which we can possibly make for his marvelous love to us! But
surely, if one spark of gratitude remain in our breasts, we cannot fail to
judge with the apostle, that "Christ's love compels us, since we have
reached this conclusion: if One died for all, then all died. And He died for
all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but
for the One who died for them and was raised." (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
We must be irresistibly led by this endearing
consideration to seek the things which are Jesus Christ's, accounting the
honor of his name, and the advancement of his kingdom in the world, of
infinitely greater consequence, and far more desirable than any little
separate interest of our own. Said the captive Jews in Babylon, "If I forget
you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue stick to
the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem
as my greatest joy!" (Psalm 137:4-6). In like manner will the pious
Christian say, "If ever I forget your dying love, O bleeding Immanuel! if
ever I lose the sense of my infinite obligations to your matchless grace,
may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue stick to the roof of my
mouth! Sooner let me die than not live to you; sooner let me lose the powers
of my rational nature, than fail to employ them in your service. Henceforth
your glory shall be my constant aim; your will my only rule; and the
advancement of your kingdom, in the particular station in which they
providence has placed me, the great business of my life."
Nourish, my Christian friends, such sentiments as these.
Muse upon the great things which God has done for your souls, until the fire
of divine love burn within you, and you feel yourselves constrained to say,
"Lord, what will you have us to do — to be — or to suffer? We are ready,
through your all-powerful grace assisting us, not to be bound only, but also
to die for the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 21:13). We are ready to renounce
kindred, country, friends, comforts — everything, in short, which the world
holds dear, at the command of him whose we are, and to whom we owe our
everlasting all. Only let the grace of Christ be sufficient, and his
strength made perfect in our weakness, and love will make pain easy, and
labor delightful."
3.
To animate us to the exercise of pure and
unselfish zeal, let us recall to our minds the
example of the best and holiest men who have lived in past ages.
"All seek their own interests, not those of Jesus
Christ." And too much cause has there been for the same complaint in every
period of the church. But, blessed be God, there have been and still are
many noble examples of the contrary spirit. The Lord has not lacked faithful
witnesses to his truth, from the earliest ages of the world through all
succeeding generations to the present times. But in none was this blessed
temper ever more conspicuous, than in Paul himself, the apostle whose words
we are now considering. How ardent and unselfish was the zeal of this great
apostle, for the honor of his Master! From the time that his Lord met him on
his way to Damascus, to the close of his life, a period of more than thirty
years, his whole soul was engaged in devising and carrying into execution
schemes for the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. Sometimes the apostle
met with ungrateful returns from those whose best interests he labored to
promote; but even ingratitude itself could not damp the generous ardor of
his love. Speaking to the Corinthians, he says, "I will most gladly spend
and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?" (2
Corinthians 12:15)
In the prosecution of this arduous work, the apostle was
sometimes exposed to incredible dangers and hardships. But none of these
things moved him, neither did he count his life dear to himself, that he
might finish his course with joy. Yes, says he (Phil. 2:17), and if I am
offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with
you all.
4.
In the fourth and last place,
Let a regard to our own best and eternal interests
determine us to seek the things which are Jesus Christ's in preference to
our own. This, at first view, may appear paradoxical, that we
should be exhorted to consult our own interest by seeming to overlook and
neglect it. But this difficulty vanishes at once if we recollect that the
highest interest of man is the salvation of his immortal soul, which forms a
part of the things which are Jesus Christ's, and that even with regard to
our temporal interest, if we seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, all other things, which are truly good and necessary for us,
will be added unto us (Matt. 6:33). This seems to be the import of our
Lord's gracious promise,"I assure you: There is no one who has left a house,
wife or brothers, parents or children because of the kingdom of God, who
will not receive many times more at this time, and eternal life in the age
to come." (Luke 18:29-30)
If we simply follow the Lord in the path of duty,
devoting our time and talents to his service and glory, and minding the
interest of his kingdom above every other concern, the power and promise of
God are engaged for our temporal support. We may be brought into difficult
and trying circumstances — former friends may frown, or forsake us — adverse
dispensations of providence may add to our perplexity and distress — the
cruse of oil, and barrel of meal may be nearly exhausted, and the means of
future supply may seem to be cut off; but those who fear the Lord shall not
lack anything that is good. Sooner will the Lord open windows in heaven than
allow any of his children to be utterly forsaken. And though, for the sake
of Christ and a good conscience, they may be sometimes called to abandon the
dearest earthly comforts — to take, not only the confiscation of their
goods, but what is much harder to bear, the loss of their good name; —
though they may be hated, reviled, and persecuted for Christ's sake — yet
the Lord, who has the hearts of all in his hands, can, in ten thousand ways,
restrain the wrath of their enemies. Or, if he allows it in any measure to
break forth, he can, by his wonder-working wisdom, render it subservient to
their greater good. In every case, and at all events, it shall be well with
the righteous (Isa. 3:10). They shall receive manifold more in the present
time — a well-grounded sense of the divine favor — peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ — fellowship with him in the ordinances of his grace —
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit — the testimony of an approving conscience
— and a joyful reviving hope of heaven. These are sufficient to compensate
the loss of all earthly comforts, and to preserve the soul steady and serene
amidst the raging billows of adversity. Our compassionate Savior will be
near to comfort us. His presence can cheer the gloom of solitude, remove the
apprehension of danger, strengthen under the severest suffering, and
overcome the dread of dying.
And no sooner shall our connection with things seen and
temporal be dissolved, than we shall find in the world to come, life
everlasting. Those who honor Christ, he will honor. Our seeming losses for
his sake will then be found to be unutterable gain. "And those who are wise
shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to
righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3). Even a cup of
cold water given to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, shall never lose
its reward (Matt. 25:21). Our gracious Redeemer will not forget our work of
faith and labor of love. His own infinite merit, it is true, will appear in
that day to be the only ground of his people's title to the heavenly
inheritance; but the works which have been performed under the influence of
his blessed Spirit, he will acknowledge and reward, not, indeed, as the
cause of his love to them, but as the evidence of their love to him. The
basest and most despised of his humble followers he will welcome into his
blissful presence with those transporting words, 'Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!' (Matt. 25:21).
Animated by these glorious hopes, beloved, seek not great
things for yourselves, but seek the things which are Jesus Christ's. Be
diligent that you be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless at
his coming. Occupy your talents until your Lord come. Be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord--for you know that your
labor is not in vain in the Lord. (Jer. 45:5, II Pet. 3:14, Luke 19:13, I
Cor. 15:58.)