“No
holiness, no happiness. Take the whole offer, or take nothing.
We can cling to the promise that what God has prepared for
us is beyond our most extravagant dream; Isaiah 64:4; I Corinthians 2:9.
Find out for yourself whether you are devoted to heavenly or
earthly things. You cannot pursue both. Earthly things are like trash, which
not only does not nourish, but takes away the appetite from that which would.
Heavenly things have no appeal for one corrupted by such trash. Only when you
come to the end of yourself, like the prodigal, will you make the judgment that
heavenly things are better. Then you will know bread is better fare than husks,
and your Father's house a better place to dwell than with hogs in the field.
If you will have heaven, you must have Christ, who is all in
all. And if Christ, you must accept His service as well as His sacrifice. No
holiness, no happiness. Take the whole offer, or take nothing. One can compare
holiness and happiness to those sisters, Leah and Rachel. On the surface,
happiness, like Rachel, seems more desirable. (Even a carnal heart will fall in
love with that.) But holiness, like Leah, is the elder and has a special beauty
also, though in this life it appears at some disadvantage-- the eyes red from
tears of repentance and the face furrowed with the work of mortification.
Here is heaven's law: The younger sister cannot be bestowed
before the elder. We cannot enjoy fair Rachel-- heaven and happiness-- until we
first embrace Leah-- holiness-- with all her demanding duties of repentance and
mortification. Will you live by this law? Marry Christ and His grace, then
serve a hard apprenticeship in temptations both of prosperity and adversity.
Endure the heat of the one and the cold of the other. If you will be patient,
at last the fairer sister will be handed over to you. This is the only way to
win the prize of heavenly things.”
Reflection: Living a holy life (Holiness) is not a hot topic in most
of today’s church, but it is one which we must seek to embrace if we are to
live a life which is pleasing to God..
Conclusion: ‘Find out for
yourself whether you are devoted to heavenly or earthly things. You cannot
pursue both. Earthly things are like trash, which not only does not nourish,
but takes away the appetite from that which would.’
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete
Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell.
http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617
ARTWORK: Heaven Full of Angels
No comments:
Post a Comment