Life Style VICTORIAN VILLAGE
live, and glory and blessedness when we die. And all that our Lord Jesus Christ has purchased for us, He offers freely to everyone who will turn from his sins, come to Him, and believe. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have light of life" (John 8:12). "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink" (John 7:37). "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away" (John 6:37) And the terms are as simple as the offer is free: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). "Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). He that has Christ, has life. He can look around at the "temporary things," and see change and decay everywhere, and yet have no fear. He has got treasure in heaven, "where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." He can look forward to the "eternal things," and feel calm and composed. His Savior has risen and gone to prepare a place for him. When he leaves this world, he will have a crown of glory and be forever with his Lord. He can look down even into the grave, as the wisest Greeks and Romans could never do, and say, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55). Let us all settle it firmly in our minds that the only way to pass through "what is seen" with comfort, and look forward to "what is unseen" without fear, is to have Christ for our Savior and Friend, to lay hold of Christ by faith, to become one with Christ and Christ in us, and while we
live in the flesh to live the life of faith in the Son of God. (Galatians 2:20) How vast is the difference between the state of him who has faith in Christ and the state of him who has none! Blessed indeed is that man or woman who can say, with truth, "I trust in Jesus: I believe. When John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, was drawing to his end and unable to speak, a faithful servant asked him to give some proof that the Gospel he had preached in life gave him comfort in death by raising his hand. He heard and raised his hand toward heaven three times and then departed. I say again, blessed is he that believes! He alone is rich, independent, and beyond the reach of harm. If you and I have no comfort among temporary things, and no hope for the eternal things, then it is completely our own fault. It is because we "refuse to come to me (Christ) to have life" (John 5:40). Cling to Christ and live the life of faith in Him. Remain in Him and live close to Him. Follow Him with heart and soul and mind and strength and seek to know Him better every day. By doing so, you will have great peace while you pass through the "temporary things," and in the midst of a dying world you "will never die" (John 11:26). By doing so you will be able to look forward to "eternal things" with unfailing confidence, and to feel and "know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Corinthians 5:1).
Commentary by J.C. Ryle
www.VictorianVillage.com (708) 301-0800 | vv@provlife.com | 12600 Renaissance Circle | Homer Glen, IL 60491
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