friends, we are not able to under stand this; but surely the Scriptures reveal to us glimpses of the delight, the satisfaction, the joy our Lord has in us, which rejoice our souls with their marvelous suggestions of blessedness. That we should need Him is easy to comprehend; that He should need us seems in comprehensible. That our desire should be toward Him is a matter of course; but that His desire should be toward us passes the bounds of human belief. And yet He says it, and what can we do but believe Him? He has made our hearts ca pable of this supreme over-master ing affection, and has offered Him self as the object of it. It is infinitely precious to Him. So much does He value it that He has made it the first and chiefest of all His com mandments that we should love Him with all our might and with all our strength. Passion of Abandonment Continually at every heart He is knocking, asking to be taken in as the supreme object of love. “Wilt thou have me,” He says to the be liever, “to be thy Beloved? Wilt thou follow me into suffering and loneliness, and endure hardness for my sake, and ask for no reward but my smile of approval and my word of praise? Wilt thou throw thyself, with a passion of aban donment, into my will? Wilt thou give up to me the absolute control of thyself and of all that thou hast? Wilt thou be content with pleasing me, and me only? May I have my way with thee in all things? Wilt thou come into so close a union with me as to make a separation from the world neces sary? Wilt thou accept me for thy heavenly Bridegroom, and leave all others to cleave only unto me?” In a thousand ways He makes this offer of union with Himself to every believer. But all do not say “Yes” to Him. Other loves and other interests seem to them too precious to be cast aside. They do not miss of Heaven because of this. But they miss an unspeakable pres ent joy. CONTINUED
and devotedness that has seemed to burn within you like a fire, and yet had no object upon which it dared to lavish itself? Have not- your hands been full of “alabaster boxes of ointment, very precious,” which you have never been near enough to any heart to pour out? If then you are hearing the loving voice of your Lord calling you out into a place of nearness to Himself that will require a separation from all else, and that will make an en thusiasm of devotedness not only possible but necessary, will you shrink or hesitate? Will you think it hard that He reveals to you more of His mind than He does to others, and that He will not allow you to be happy in anything that separates you from Himself? Do you want to go where He cannot go with you, or to have pursuits which He can not share? No, no, a thousand times no! You will spring out to meet His lovely will with an eager joy. Even His slightest wish will become a bind ing law to you that it would fairly break your heart to disobey. You will glory in the very narrowness of the path He marks out for you, and will pity, with an infinite pity, the poor far-off ones who have missed this precious joy. The obli gations of love will be to you its sweetest privileges; and the right you have acquired to lavish the ut termost wealth of abandonment of all that you have upon your Lord will seem to lift you into a region of unspeakable glory. The perfect happiness of perfect obedience will dawn upon your soul, and you will begin to know something of what Jesus meant when He said, “I de light to do thy will, 0 my God.” A Mutual Joy in Obedience But do you think the joy in this will be all on your side? Has the Lord no joy in those who have thus surrendered themselves to Him, and who love to obey Him? Ah, my
so near? Is not every fresh revela- tipn of the wishes of the loved one a fresh delight and privilege, and is any path found hard which their love compels them to travel? Ah, dear soul, if you have ever known this, even for a few hours, in any earthly relation; if you have ever loved any of your fellow hu man beings enough to find sacrifice and service on their behalf a joy; if a whole-souled abandonment of your will to the will of another has ever gleamed across you as a bless ed and longed-for privilege, or as a sweet and precious reality, then by all the tender longing love of your Heavenly Lover would I entreat you to let it be so towards Christ! He loves you with more than the love of friendship. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so does He rejoice over you, and nothing but the bride’s surrender will satisfy Him. He has given you all, and He asks for all in return. The slightest reserve will grieve Him to the heart. He spared not Himself, and how can you spare yourself? For your sake He poured out in a lavish abandonment all that He had, and for His sake you must pour out all that you have, without stint or measure. The Obligations of Love Oh, be generous in your self-sur render! Meet His measureless de votion for you with a measureless devotion to Him. Be glad and eager to throw yourself unreservedly into His loving arms, and to hand over the reins of government to Him. Whatever there is of you, let Him have it all. Give up forever every thing that is separate from Him. Consent to resign, from this time forward, all liberty of choice, and glory in the blessed nearness of union which makes this enthusiasm of devotedness not only possible but necessary. Have you ever longed to lavish your love and attentions upon someone far off from you in posi tion or circumstances, with whom you were not intimate enough for any closer approach? Have you not felt a capacity for self-surrender
"Th e Joy of Obedience" is included in "Th e Christian's Secret of a Happy Life ," Fleming H. Revell Company, Westwood, N .J.
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