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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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"Nature's smiling, up-springing life"
Page 3

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܀
THE LIVING
CHRIST
F
BY
PHILLIPS BROOKS
NEW YORK: JAMES POTT
AND
COMPANY
MCM
COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY
JAMES POTT & COMPANY
+
2
THE LIVING CHRIST.
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
E see in Nature's smiling, up-springing life,
her sympathy with the life divine; and in the
Holy Communion we experience, each in
our degree of faith, that mystic union with the Risen
Saviour which is the very mainspring of spiritual ex-
istence. And yet how many of us, as we leave the
Altar and return to our homes, do realize in our
Are we
hearts a Living Christ, a Present Saviour?
happy? are we at peace? Not for to-day only—not
for one favored hour-but are the peace of God and
the love of God always beaming in our hearts, quiet
as yonder sunshine, yet just as fresh and beautiful?
God wants such Christians; He desires us to become
such; and by His grace we can, every one of us.
There is some power we have not yet discovered,
some secret as yet unknown-but oh! what a mar-
vellous power ! what a blessed secret! that can make
the Christian life a life of love and trust and bright
serenity; something different from the duty-life,
which, though real, does not satisfy; having all the
activity and earnestness of the duty-life, but having
4
THE LIVING CHRIST.
with it the peace and joy which many and many a
soul is craving. For these words are not spoken to
those who know nothing of the Easter gladness,
those who have no desire to serve our Blessed Sav-
iour, but to such as have come to Him and taken
up His service, yet down in their inmost heart still
feel a want, never as yet supplied. This want comes
to us oftenest when we open our Bibles and read the
words of martyrs and apostles. Ah, the life of a
Paul was not unsatisfying! He had no lack of hap-
piness, no distracting doubts, no weariness in well-
doing. If to die was gain, yet to live was Christ; he
counted all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord, yet all the while
rejoiced "with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
And his was not a solitary experience. Saint after
saint, in those ages of the faith, testified to the same
blessings. Why is there such a contrast between our
life and theirs? Why is there a secret consciousness
that even when we take such words upon our lips
our hearts do not respond to them like the hearts of
St. Paul and St. John? Why is our Christian life
such an effort, and often so beclouded that, though
we would not change it, even in its trials, for any
worldly hope, we must sigh and struggle instead of
smile, and catch but now and then a little gleam of
that sunshine which God meant should light us al-
ways ? Is there not many an earnest soul to ask
these questions? Let us see to-day if we can find
an answer.
Surely the answer is not to say that apostolic times
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
5
me.
are past, and such faith and love are no more the
Christian's privilege. We do say this practically
when we read the promises and mentally reply, “Ah,
these are not for me! Ephesians or Colossians might
know the length and breadth and depth and height
of the love of Christ, but that knowledge is denied to
They might be filled with all the fulness of
God, but I cannot expect it. Nothing could separate
St. Paul from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord, but there are a thousand things that
can separate me!" I do not mean that we put
this in words; but the thought is in our hearts, and
when we do put it in words, though we are ashamed
of it, we still feel it. But is there any objection on
God's part to give us the grace He gave St. Paul?
Is Christ less willing or less able to make us happy?
Is He reluctant that our joy should be full? Com-
mon sense as well as common piety must tell us No ;
yet under common sense rises up again the fact, we
are not happy, our joy is not full; and if God is will-
ing to give us these blessings, why do we not receive
them?
Neither is it a very satisfactory answer to say that
the fault is in ourselves. This we are generally
ready to admit, both from an inward feeling of con-
demnation and the conviction that it would be ex-
tremely wicked to deny it. But, after all, this is not
so much answering the question as putting it in an-
other shape. Why is it our own fault? Why are
we unable to say with St. Paul, "There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
6
THE LIVING CHRIST.
Jesus"? It is the very object of all our Christian
efforts to drive this sin from our hearts; why is its
dominion yet unbroken? Christ has declared to us,
"He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life." We are trying to
follow Him; then why is not that light always beam-
ing on our pathway?
Neither does it fully solve the problem to say we
are not in earnest. What does earnestness mean?
Have we not tried, day after day, to do our duty?
made painful sacrifices, done wearisome labors, used
with diligence the means of grace, formed resolution
after resolution-broken, it is true, yet again and
again renewed? If this be not earnestness, what is?
We have certainly worked for the blessing, yet the
blessing does not come ; and though we acknowledge
and feel that we do not deserve it, yet it is difficult
to tell even ourselves why we do not. Sometimes
we think, "If we work more, if we pray more, surely
then it will be ours ;" and the round of labor and
prayer begins again—generally with the same result.
Now and then, indeed, a gleam from the Fountain
of Light will beam on us, bright enough to show us
what walking in the light might mean. But it is
like a ray of sunshine in a shady place; by and by it
vanishes, and the old shadow settles down. Then
we grow discouraged and think we never can be
better, or else creeps in a secret feeling that God is
dealing hardly with us-hiding His face from us
when we are seeking Him, giving a stone when we
have asked for bread.
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
7
And is this then a true picture of the Christian
life? Is this all we can reach this side the grave?
When we speak of peace and joy must we speak of
them as something to be ours indeed in heaven, but
not to be hoped for, except in stray flashes, while on
earth? Oh, on this beautiful Easter morning, can
we believe anything so sad as this! With the risen
Christ standing in our midst, can we say to Him,
"Lord, Thy gifts of old were peace and rest and
blessedness; but Thy gifts to us are but perplexity,
duty, and doubt"? Yet though our lips are dumb,
are not these words in our hearts? But this is not
our Saviour's will. There is a better life of love and
faith to which He calls each one of us.
Have we
never seen a Christian who leads this blessed life
-a soul that is always in the sunshine of God's
smile; his will in harmony with God's will; his
faith so firm that seas of trouble cannot shake it; his
love so real and true and childlike that if Jesus were
in visible form beside him he could not more con-
fidingly cling to Him; his affection so deep that
nothing seems too great to do, nothing too hard to
suffer, for that dear, heavenly Friend who has be-
come to him "all in all," at whose side he is satis-
fied? Yes, there are still, thank God! such witnesses
of His power upon earth. Let us kneel, and ask
our Saviour to make us such. Let us pray, “O
Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to receive the
prayers of Thy people who call upon Thee, and
grant that they may both perceive and know what
things they ought to do; and also may have grace
8
THE LIVING CHRIST.
and power faithfully to fulfil the same, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen."
-
And now let us take our Bibles and turn to God's
promises. But the promises are all familiar; we
can repeat, perhaps, each one of them. That may
be, indeed, but let us look at them once again.
Here is one, well known to all of us; "Blessed are
they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled." We have read it a hundred
times, but here is the question-have we believed
it once? These yearnings of our souls after good-
ness, these earnest wishes to be conquerors of sin,
these are the hungering and thirsting of which Jesus.
speaks. Have we ever truly believed that the prom-
ise would be granted us? have we ever actually ex-
pected to be filled? We have prayed for it, it is
true; but did not a secret under-current in our
prayer run very much after this fashion: "O God,
I beseech Thee grant this blessing! I do need it
very much, but I have very little hope Thou wilt
ever give it me. Thou hast promised it, indeed, but
I doubt most painfully if I ever shall obtain it”? Or
perhaps you have taken the promise, "Ask and ye
shall receive!" and the under-current of that prayer
has been: “O Lord, I ask for very great blessings;
but, Lord, I do not expect the blessings I pray for.
I implore a great deal, but I have no idea of receiv-
ing more than a little. I ask of Thee bread, and
though I do not think Thou wilt be cruel enough to
give me a stone, yet I know that I cannot reasonably
look for more than a few crumbs." Let us examine
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
9
our own hearts and see if this is not often the meas-
ure of our faith. And can we wonder then that
only the few crumbs have been given us? Did St.
Paul pray like this? If we offered our requests to
an earthly friend in such a strain, would he not turn
from us in displeasure? Let us think of that won-
derful rule, "According to thy faith be it unto thee!
Have we not had a private version of the promises
something in this wise : "Blessed are they that do
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall
go on hungering and thirsting;" "Come unto Me,
all
ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you-rest? No; I will give you strength to con-
tinue laboring and bearing burdens"? And, when
we look over our lives, can we not see that according
to our faith so it has been unto us?
We have gone
on hungering and thirsting; we have had just
enough strength to labor and bear burdens.
It is a
very different thing to read the Bible with this hid-
den spirit of mental reservation, or even with the
conviction that these promises have been fulfilled to
a favored few, and the firm belief that they will be
granted, in all their fulness, to ourselves individu-
ally.. Try it but once, and see if it does not seem a
new book to you. Open it casually, for instance,
and look what your eye lights upon. "If ye abide
in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto you. "And the
Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will
preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom." "But
ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
"
""
10
THE LIVING CHRIST.
holy nation, a peculiar people." "And this is the
confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will He heareth us.
And if we
know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know
that we have the petitions that we desired of Him."
How many of us can say that we actually believe
these things-believe them as positively as if an an-
gel from heaven had spoken them to us alone? Yet
would we credit the voice of an angel sooner than
the voice of God-the God who cannot lie? Does
He not demand the implicit, childlike faith which
takes Him at His word? Oh, let us pause to think if
we could but believe these gracious words, what joy,
what confidence would fill our souls! If we could
but silence these whispers of distrust, how soon the
faith of Paul would bring the peace of Paul into our
hearts!
And why do we not believe them? First, because
they are so great, so glorious, that we fear to take
them to ourselves. It seems too good to be true to
think that they are meant for us. And then we go
on to reason in this way :
“Hundreds of people
have prayed for these blessings, and have not obtained
them; why should I be more fortunate than they?
True, hundreds of people have uttered such peti-
tions; but how have they prayed? Was it not often.
the lazy wish-like the poor idler who should say,
"Oh, would I were rich and fortunate!" yet sit with
folded hands?-the desire for riches real, no doubt,
but not strong enough to excite him to any action.
Or was it not the faithless wish, "Would God
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
II
66
might give me peace, but I have no hope that He
will"? Did we ever know of any one who sincerely
went to God with the prayer, Lord, I beg Thee to
help me! I trust not in my own strength, nor in
anything but Thee; but Thou hast promised to help
those who call upon Thee, and I believe from my
heart Thou wilt"? Did we ever know of any one
who prayed like this, and was unanswered? Never
in the universe! Or again we say, "I have prayed
myself, and God has not heard me." Did we ever
pray, trusting simply in God's promise, and He turn
a deaf ear? Many a time we may have said,
"Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Scatter my sins like morning dew;
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.
""
Direct, control, suggest each day
All I design, or do, or say;
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite!"
Many a time we have said this, and earnestly desired
it. But did we ever confidently expect and believe
that God would actually do those very things which
we asked for? If we had believed it we must have
rejoiced. Gratitude unspeakable would have thrilled
our hearts to think that such blessings were positively
to be ours. Our irrepressible song would instantly
have been, "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all
that is within me praise His holy name!" Can we
not see that such a faith has seldom been our own?
12
THE LIVING CHRIST.
Is not this one sufficient explanation why we have
prayed apparently in vain? God has never promised
to answer anything but the prayer of faith. He may
indeed hear other prayers, but He has never pledged
Himself to it. The condition is simply,
“What
things ye ask, believing, ye shall receive.”
And are these promises then all for us, as well as
for St. Paul? Yes, all for us, if we, like St. Paul,
will give ourselves entirely to the Lord. There must
be a self-consecration, a yielding up of everything to
God. And while many earnest Christians stumble
at the point of faith, it is at this point of consecration
that half-Christians turn aside.
But we surely do not wish to give our Saviour a
half-service. Let us then examine our own hearts
to find if there is anything that comes between Him-
self and us; and let us pray for the light of His
Spirit, that we may see ourselves as we are seen by
Him who is even now waiting to lead us into His
paths of peace.
It is a solemn question to ask ourselves, whether
we have so given our hearts to God that His service,
His honor, are the object and the happiness of our
life. Can we truly say that our first wish in every-
thing is to please Him? That there is no pursuit,
no pleasure, which holds its place in our daily life
but that at His warning glance we would instantly
drop it? No duty to which He calls us that we do
not turn with cheerful willingness to render? That
nothing so afflicts us as to sin against Him? That
no earthly happiness could so fill our hearts as one
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
13
gleam of love from His approving eye? Is ours the
spirit which says with inexpressible longing-
"Give me Thyself! from every boast,
From every wish set free;
Let all I am in Thee be lost,
But give Thyself to me!
"Thy gifts, alas ! cannot suffice,
Unless Thyself be given;
Thy Presence makes my Paradise,
And where Thou art is Heaven"?
"}
If such indeed be the language of our souls, then,
whatever darkness may surround us, "let not our
hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
God's promise is sure, and on it we may rest.
But
if not—oh let us press the question home!—will
Christ be satisfied with any earnestness less than
this? Will any external service compensate for this
lack within? And even if the answer terrifies, let us
not evade it. "If our heart condemn us, God is
greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Let us ask again—Are we willing to give ourselves
entirely to God; to let Him do with us whatever He
pleases; to follow anywhere at His bidding; to re-
nounce anything at His call; asking only in return
that He will give us Himself, with all His infinite
love, to be ours from this time forever? If we are
thus willing, let us kneel down this moment and
tell Him so. Alone with God, let us give Him our-
selves, all that we have, and are, and shall be, to be
unreservedly His. Never for one instant will we re-
14
THE LIVING CHRIST.
gret the sacrifice. But if not, let us resolve that by
God's help we will not rest till this spirit shall be
ours. Let us kneel and confess to our merciful and
loving Saviour all the sin that fills our hearts. Let
us acknowledge the secret rebellion of our souls;
the secret longings for earthly good that hinder us
from reaching out our hands for the heavenly treas-
ure; the selfish motives that prompt us to seek our
own honor instead of His glory-let us confess them
all, and ask Him to take away the evil, believing
firmly as we pray that He will answer us. Has He
not said to us, "Ask, and ye shall receive"? and
could we ask anything more strictly in accordance
with His will? This may seem to us too simple
to help us. We may think that we must first
undertake ourselves to root out the wrong. But
if we try this experiment we shall find that the result
of every effort of our own will only show us how
strongly sin is inwrought in our nature, and plunge
us deeper in despair. If we could lift the veil of
private experience we might know instance after in-
stance of strong hearts, iron wills, who have said,
"I will cast out these idols that have throned them-
selves in my soul; I will give up everything to the
Lord!" and days and weeks and months they have
struggled on in their own strength, till the end has
always been-"Lord, with each day I sink deeper
into sin. I cannot help myself! If Thou dost not save,
I perish." It matters not how long they may have
lived a Christian life, how good the world may think
them, nor how good they may think themselves;
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
15
this is the inevitable and the universal end. If we
have not enough humility to go to Christ in the first
place, to acknowledge that we cannot overcome a
single sin nor obtain a single blessing for ourselves,
and to ask Him to do everything for us of His own
free grace, He will teach us that humility by letting
us feel by experience the utter uselessness of our
own endeavors, till we come at last to the same atti-
tude we might as well first have taken-perfect dis-
trust of ourselves, and perfect trust in Him.
If, then, our self-examination forces us to realize
that we are not yet wholly consecrated to God, let
us at once kneel down to pray. Let us pray to that
Blessed Saviour, so ready to hear us, in all our sinful-
ness, and confessing that sinfulness let us ask Him to
take it from our hearts, relying firmly on His promise
that He is not only "faithful and just to forgive us
our sins," but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Such a prayer will be answered as surely as to-mor-
row's sun will rise. He will give us stronger desires
after Him; He will turn our wills from evil to good.
Then He will show us, one after another, what things
we must yield up to Him, and will give us, too, the
willingness to do it. And oh, we shall find an
equivalent for all we renounce!
It is but casting
away tinsel that we may press the Pearl of price to
our bosoms; only dropping a handful of withering
leaves, that from the Tree of Life we may pluck and
be satisfied. Do you think that earth's little rush-
lights will be mourned for when the Sun of Right-
eousness shines in beauty round us? And these are
16
THE LIVING CHRIST.
no empty words, no flights of poetic fancy. Ask
any one who has made this sacrifice if the peace and
joy of his Saviour's presence is not more than compen-
sation for all he had ever cherished. You will hear
but one answer. You will see it in the brightening
eye, in the look of serenity, in the tranquillity of a
heart at rest in the possession of that peace which
the world can neither give nor take away.
And when we have thus unreservedly devoted our-
selves to God, what next? Then, let us believe His
own words---believe them with all the simplicity of
children. It may require a struggle of faith to do
this; but that faith, too, Christ will give us if we ask
Him for it in a childlike spirit. The theory of the
Gospel is wonderfully grand, but wonderfully simple.
We give Christ ourselves, and He gives us Himself.
Now we have done our part, or, rather, He has en-
abled us to do it. We come to Him and offer Him
ourselves, soul and body, to be His forever. St.
Paul could do no more. At this point let us review
His promises. We must not stagger at them; they
are all for us. "For all things are yours; whether
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or
death, or things present, or things to come, all are
yours; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's."
When our Saviour offers us the richest blessings let
us not draw back and miss them through distrustful
fear. It is a solemn warning that the fearful and
unbelieving are classed in Revelation with idolaters
and liars, and shall have their part in the second
death. No, let us rather say: "Unworthy as I am,
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
17
sinner as I am, I will yet honor my Redeemer by
relying on His word. I will receive His promises,
not as a reward for anything I have done or can do,
but as free gifts to me so undeserving." Then joy
and peace will come-
will come-must come. We cannot
believe such words as these "I will never leave thee
nor forsake thee." "I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me."
"For I am per-
suaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." We
cannot, I say, actually believe such words without
feeling our hearts swell with gladness, without ex-
claiming, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." And with
this gladness will come a gratitude and love all the
stronger because our unworthiness is so great. Then,
looking to our Blessed Lord, we will understand the
full meaning of the beloved disciple: "We love Him
because He first loved us."
And when we have gained this point of Christian
experience is our life-work done at last? Done!
Ask him in whose soul this peace and joy have
dawned. He will tell you it is but begun. Could
he bear to fold his hands in selfish complacency?
Ah, the love that is kindled in his breast must find
an outlet! Living faith must work! You may tell
him to be idle, but you might as well tell him not to
breathe. For there is, first, the great work of watch-
2
18
THE LIVING CHRIST.
fulness for ourselves. If we draw back from Christ
our blessedness must vanish. If we leave the foun-
tain we lose the supply. Every day let us renew the
consecration to God's service; every day let us, in
His strength, pledge ourselves afresh to do His will,
even in the veriest trifle, and to turn aside from any-
thing that may displease Him. Then we may ask
Him with confidence to keep us through the day,
and rely upon His promise to deliver us from evil.
Then will Christ be to us a living Saviour, and we
will cling to Him with childlike affection and trust,
looking up into His loving eyes to say, "Lord, what
wilt Thou have me to do?" even anticipating His
commandments in the eager springing of the soul
to fulfil His pleasure. Oh, what a contrast is this
obedience of love to the strict obedience of duty!
Not only freer, but fuller; not slothful in business
because fervent in spirit; rejoicing evermore, praying
without ceasing. It may seem to us almost incredi-
ble that we could live a life like this; that this spirit
when gained could be preserved; that our path
should forever brighten to the perfect day. But
Enoch "walked with God" three hundred years,
and had all the while the testimony that he pleased
God. Cannot the same grace that kept him for
centuries keep us for the few score years of our pil-
grimage? We are only called upon to live by the
moment. Christ does not bid us bear the burdens
of to-morrow, next week, or next year. Every day
we are to come to Him in simple obedience and
faith, asking help to keep us and aid us through that
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
19
day's work; and to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-
morrow, through long years of to-morrows, it will be
but the same thing to do: leaving the future always
in God's hands, sure that He can care for it better
than we.
Blessed trust! that can thus confidingly
say: This hour is mine, with its present duty; the
next is God's, and when it comes Christ's presence
will come with it." This is the rest of faith, whose
heavenly calmness no storms disquiet. Thus is born
the joy which temptation and trial have no power to
extinguish. For it is nowhere pretended that the
Christian life is free from conflict. St. Paul fought
the "fight of faith"; but mind you! he finished his
course with joy. And Christ, while He said to His
disciples, "These things I have spoken unto you
that in Me ye might have peace," said in the same
breath, "in the world ye shall have tribulation,”
but went on to add, "be of good cheer, I have over-
come the world." Ah, there is glory and honor in
the strife when we are more than conquerors"!
Think of the song of victory over all the foes that
now assail us! Think of death and sin and Satan
prostrate beneath our feet! He who would be like
Christ and work for Christ must expect Christ's portion,
The world will neither applaud nor comprehend him.
It may call him fool or fanatic, but it is a very little
thing that the world shall frown when God's smile
beams on him. It may throw stumbling-blocks in his
way, and divide from what earth holds dear; it may
lift the voice of calumny or the hand of violence, and
stab the heart and take away the life; but. it cannot
، ،
20
THE LIVING CHRIST.
touch the treasure in the soul, nor harm the life that
is hid with Christ in God. Then never shrink from
deep devotion because you fear its trial or its sac
rifice. St. Paul in martyrdom was unspeakably
happier than God's half-hearted servants. For there
is all this difference in the two phases of Christian
experience. The one is the narrow way in the low-
lands, full of pitfalls and darkened with fogs and
shadows, through which we painfully travel; the other
is high on the mountain-top, far above the cloud-
level, still the narrow way, indeed, and often strewn
with crosses; but the blue sky is above, and the fresh
clear air is round us, and we journey on with the
Friend so much dearer than a brother perpetually at
our side, and His smile is the light of life, and His
voice sweeter than angels' music!
Neither let us think that this would lead to idle
contemplation, or the mysticism of monastic ages.
There is no mysticism about it. It is eminently
practical, and so plain and childlike that a child
will best comprehend it. It is but taking Christ at
His word, and living as He has bid us live. Let us
put aside all prejudices and preconceived theories,
and take up our Bible as if it had but just come down
to us from heaven, and we will see that these simple
truths are on every page. They do indeed strike at
the very root of pride. It is deeply humiliating to
our self-will and self-reliance thus to renounce all
will and acknowledge that Christ must not only
save us from everlasting ruin by His own free grace,
but must keep us every moment by the same unmer-
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
21
(C
""
ited help. We are willing, or perhaps necessitated,
to let Him place us in the way of salvation; but
once there, we consider that the rest is our part.
Now," we say, "we must go to work to make our-
selves holy. We will be very good and diligent and
self-denying, and we shall find the reward of our
labors. True, we may not say this in conscious
self-righteousness; but it is very difficult to keep out
some little feeling of merit. True, we mean by our
goodness and diligence and self-denial to please our
Maker; and, in a certain sense, He is doubtless
pleased with it—but yet, says St. Paul, "show I
unto you a more excellent way." Let us rely upon
Christ to make us good every hour, with precisely
the same humility that we first relied upon Him for
unmerited pardon-continually realizing,
"In my hand no price I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling
>>
and we shall find His promise of perfect peace will
stand forever sure. In Him is all we need ; and He
is ever ready to give it us, if we will consent to take
it as a gift; we can never claim it as a reward. Is
not this want of humility one reason why we make
so little progress in the divine life? Is not the lan-
guage of our souls, even in their earnestness, not so
much "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" as
"God
be merciful to me, who am tolerably good already,
but who want to be much better"? If so, our first
step must be downward, not upward. We must first
humble ourselves before God will exalt us.
22
THE LIVING CHRIST.
And do not let us fear that this will throw good
works into the shade. Do not let us fear that it will
depreciate sacraments, or do away with services, or
make us idle in the Church. None will be so ready
to do the Church's work as those who have Christ's
spirit. None will feel more deeply the blessedness
of sacraments than they who realize in the sign the
thing signified. None will more heartily worship
and praise than such as walk forever with the Living
Saviour. Christ says to each disciple, 'Follow
Me!" and they who follow Him must do their Mas-
ter's works. The same mind which was in Christ
Jesus must be in us also. It must shine forth in act
and word and look. He must cast out from us all
unlovely things, all selfish motives, all evil passions.
We are no more our own, but His; and the world
must take knowledge of us that we have been with
Jesus. Satan will tempt us with wicked thoughts
and unholy desires; but the instant they come to us
our hearts must turn to Christ and pray,
، ، Blessed
Lord, save me from this sin ! I cannot save myself,
but Thou canst and wilt." Then, if we listen to His
voice, He will show us what to do to resist the devil,
and the devil will flee from us. Thus temptations
may grieve but cannot harm us; and walking with
our Saviour perpetually at our side, and the sunshine
of His love around us, we shall fly from wilful sin as
from the breath of a pestilence.
To such a heart self-devotion becomes not only
easy, but a necessity. Go to one whose bosom
thrills with love and gratitude, and tell him that he
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
23
}
will never be permitted to do anything on earth for
his Saviour's sake-never be permitted in any way
to show his thankfulness-but that heaven's richest
crown shall be in the end his own. Oh, the thought
of that crown itself could scarce sweeten the pain
which you would give him! and he would cry from
his inmost soul, "Let any toil or any sorrow come
to me, but do not deny me the blessedness of serving
Him who has done so much for me!" Such a
spirit will be ours when we begin to realize the love
of Christ. And, when we are eagerly on the watch,
opportunities for His service will not be wanting.
We shall be living witnesses of His power and good-
ness. Can we refrain from telling what He has done
for us? It was darkness, and He brought light! It
was misery, and He turned it into joy! It was night
and tempest, and at His voice the morning dawned,
and the billows sank to peace! Therefore let us call
upon all around us to praise and magnify His holy
name. Of such a Saviour we can never be ashamed.
Let us lead others to know Him as we know Him-
to trust Him as we trust Him. This be our life-
work, in whatever way He shall direct us.
We may
not be able to do all we wish, but let us do what we
can, and let us do it now. In the Body of Christ
there are different members, and all members have
not the same office; but each, in our vocation and
ministry, must serve Him faithfully. Let us ask our-
selves, each day, what we can do that day for Him,
and set about it without delay. Half the schemes
for good in this world come to nothing because of
24
THE LIVING CHRIST.
our protracted hesitation. We wonder if it would
really be best to undertake them-if there is not
some possibility of their failing of their end-if, after
all, we shall be able to carry them through—and,
while we are considering, the opportunity is lost.
What our hands find to do let us do with our
might, and leave the result to God. But let us re-
member that we are to labor according to God's will ;
and if we doubt what is His will, we shall, after
earnest and faithful prayer, always find it indicated
in His providence. What He wants us now to do is
to-day's duty. If we desire a more exalted sphere,
let us pray Him to fit us for it, and if He sees best
to give it us, He Himself will show us the road to it
in time. Just now we have only to trust in Him, to
cling to Him, and to do each moment, with all our
energy, the work He sets before us. And as we
contend with the evil and wickedness that is in the
world, let us do it in meekness and love; very
patient with it, because He has been so patient with
us—remembering, as we see its opposition and pride
and unbelief, that all this is in our hearts, and if it
has ever been subdued, to God, not to us, be all the
glory. And when we pray let us not pray for our-
selves alone, but for the Church and for the world.
The prayer of faith is a mighty engine, which every
Christian soul can wield. When God's honor and
the advancement of His kingdom are its object, its
power is irresistible.
"Elias was a man subject to
like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that
it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by
A PRESENT SAVIOUR.
25
the space of three years and six months. And he
prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the
earth brought forth her fruit. Well may Christ say
to us, “O ye of little faith!
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And when we are all, each one of us, Christians
after this Christ-like pattern, the Church will go
forth conquering and to conquer. The kingdoms
of the world will become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of His Christ. Let us pray, then, first, to-day,
that He may reign triumphant in our hearts. Let
us all, at this Easter-tide, turn to the Living Christ,
who can do for us more than we ask or think; and
clinging to Him in love, let us never let Him go.
He is with us now, risen from the dead. He is ready
to aid and bless us. Oh, do not let us turn back
from Him to our old life of doubt and wavering and
weary pain! If the wish is wakened in our soul to
be ever in His presence, let us go to Him this
moment, and ask Him what to do and how to feel,
believing that He is more ready to hear than we to
pray. He will give us realization of His love and
convictions of duty. Let us follow those convictions
implicitly; let us ask Him every day to teach us more
and help us more; and we shall soon say, with St.
Paul, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift!"
JUN 22 1921
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