MY H EART -CHR IST 'S HOME
with this little room of the mind, that you bring Christ in there. Pack it full with the Word of God, medi tate upon it and keep before it ever the immediate presence of the Mas ter. The Fare That Satisfies From the study we went into the dining room, the room of appetites and desires. Now this was a very large room in my house. I spent a good deal of time in the dining room and much effort in satisfying my wants. I said to Him, “This is a very commodious room and I am quite sure you will be pleased with what we serve here.” He seated Himself at the table with me and asked, “What is on the menu for dinner?” “Well,” I said, “my favorite dishes; old bones, corn husks, sour garbage, leeks, onions and garlic right out of Egypt.” These were the things I liked — worldly fare. I suppose there was nothing radically wrong in any par ticular item but it was not the food that should satisfy the life of a real Christian. When the food was placed before Him, He said nothing about it. I observed that He did not eat it and I said to Him somewhat dis turbed, “Master, you don’t care for the food that is placed before you? What is the trouble?” He answered, “ I have meat to eat that ye know not of. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me.” He looked at me again and He said, “ If you want food that really satisfies you, seek the will of the Father, not your own pleasures, not your own desires, not your own satisfaction but seek to please Me and that food will satisfy you.” And there about the table, He gave me a taste of doing God’s will. What flavor! There is no food like it in all the world. It alone satisfies. Everything else is dissatisfying in the end. Now if Christ is in your heart, and I trust He is, what kind of food are you serving Him and what kind of food are you eating yourself? Are you living for the lust of the flesh and the pride of life — selfishly? Or are you choosing God’s will for your meat and your drink? The Quiet Hour We walked next into the drawing room. This room was rather intimate and comfortable. I liked it. It had a fireplace, overstuffed chairs, a sofa, and a quiet atmosphere. He also seemed pleased with it. He said, “This is indeed a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quiet and we can have fellow ship together.” Well, naturally, as a young Christian I was thrilled. I could not think of anything I would rather do than have a few minutes apart with Christ in intimate com-
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ought to marry. Your life would be more complete.” And I would agree with them in theory. But honestly, when I thought of my independence and of some of the obligations and responsibilities of matrimony, I was rather hesitant. And you know, the longer you wait the more cautious you become. Then one day, a very charming young lady walked across my path and I became immediately interested in her. I came to know her better and soon, in spite of my self, all my fears and hesitancy and all my caution regarding married life, were gone. I could not think of anything I wanted to do more than to spend all my life with her. And so we were married and I have never regretted it. This is for the encouragement of some others who may be a little cautious about the step. She was the one for me and .as I opened my life to her and gave myself to her, I found in that rela tionship joy and real delight. Now, the other major step was re ceiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. To be frank, I was very cautious about this also. I treasured my independence. I liked to order my life the way I pleased. I felt that Jesus Christ would have a very nar rowing and confining influence on me. If I committed myself to Him unreservedly and if He was really alive as others said He was, then He might take me and direct me into paths I did not desire to enter. But God in His infinite mercy gave me a good look at Christ. He attracted me, He captured me, He won me until I desired Him and no longer desired my own independence. One evening that I shall never forget I invited Him into my heart. What an entrance He made! It was not a spectacular emotional thing, but very real. It was at the very center of my life. He came into the darkness of my heart and turned on the light. He built a fire in the cold hearth and banished the chill. He started music where there had beefi stillness and He filled the emptiness with His own loving, wonderful fellowship. I have never regretted opening the door to Christ and I never will — not into eternity! This of course, is the first step in making the heart Christ’s home. He has said, “ Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me.” If you are interested in making your life an abode of the living God, let me encourage you to invite Christ 8
into your heart and He will surely come. After Christ entered my heart and in the joy of that new found relation ship, I said to Him, “ Lord, I want this heart of mine to be yours. I want to have you settle down here and be perfectly at home. Everything I have belongs to you.” Christ Takes Over the Thought-life Let me show you around and in troduce you to the various features of the home that you may be more comfortable and that we may have fuller fellowship together. He was very glad of course to come, and hap pier still to be given a place in the heart. The first room was the study — the library. Let us call it the study of the mind. Now in my home this room of the mind is a very small room with very thick walls. But it is an important room. In a sense, it is the control room of the house. He entered with me and looked around at the books in the bookcase, the magazines upon the table, the pic tures on the wall. As I followed His gaze I became uncomfortable. Strangely enough, I had not felt badly about this before but now that He was there looking at these things, I was embarrassed. There were some books there that His eyes were too pure to behold. There was a lot of trash and literature on the table that a Christian had no business to read and as for the pictures on the wall — the imaginations and thoughts of my mind — these were shameful; and I turned to Him and said, “Master, I know that this room needs a radi cal alteration. W ill you help me make it what it ought to be — to bring every thought into captivity to Thee? “ Surely!” He said, “ gladly I will help you. That is one reason I am here. First of all, take all the things that you are reading and see ing which are not helpful, pure, good and true and throw them out! Now put on the empty shelves the books of the Bible. Fill the library with Scripture and meditate therein day and night. As for the pictures on the wall, you will have difficulty controlling these images, but here is an aid.” He gave me a full-sized portrait of Himself. “ Hang this cen trally,” He said, “ on the wall of the mind.” I did and I have discovered through the years that when our thoughts are centered upon Christ Himself, His purity and power cause impure imaginations to retreat. So He has helped me to bring my thoughts into captivity. May I sug gest to you if you have difficulty
continued on page 33 THE KING'S BUSINESS
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