THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
888
having Christ revealed in us. The landscape on which I gaze is not re vealed to the outward vision alone. Unless there is a sense of beauty within, there can be no beauty without. The music which charms us is not heard only by the outward ear. There can he no harmony without unless there is harmony within. It is the soul be hind the eye and ear which sees and hears. When the Spirit hears wit ness to' our spirit, the kindred sym pathy answers to its counterpart. As we come in contact with others in va rious experiences of life and if we are patient, gentle, yielding and steadfast under trial and temptation, they see Him living out His life in us, subduing self and shining forth in all His beauty and they glorify God in us. WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29. Acts 8:26-40. Desert Experiences. Does it not seem strange to take a busy worker out of a great revival and send him out into a lonely desert? It is a striking illustration of both the sovereignty and wisdom of God. Happy is that worker who can submissively bow to such a mandate and meekly obey! Nevertheless the conversion of the one man in the desert might have meant the evangelization of Ethiopia. We sometimes have to leave the harvest field in the midst of our reaping. Sick ness or privation or persecution comes and we have to leave our work undone. In the solitudes of the desert we cry out in bitterness of soul, “ Why must this he?” The desert life may he the fulness of joy and the most fruitful service. The forty years that Moses spent with God in the desert enriched his life and glorified his ministry. They also serve who only stand and wait. THURSDAY, Sept. 30. Isaiah 53. The Ministry of Suffering. How could it please the Father to bruise His well-beloved Son? Is it not His nature to give joy? How could
for the prince of this world is coming.” He could not talk because He had to fight. The words of Jesus cost Him something. Nothing is of worth until it finds expression. The universe is the utterance of God. Christ Himself is the external word. Pentecost was a gift of utterance. Our words for the most part are idle and empty. They involve neither toil of brain nor throb of heart. The words of Christ will never pass away. They reveal pro founder depths of meaning as the years go by. He never wasted a word and as He girded Himself for the final bat tle, a deep and solemn silence fell upon Him. The secret of that awful con flict is locked in the silence of eternity. We only know that He sweated drops of blood and trod the wine-press alone. MONDAY, Sept. 27. Ex. 30:42-46, God’s Meeting Place with Man. In the beginning, not the end, not the exit, hut the entrance, even at the door! “ There will I meet with the children of Israel.” They were not to plod through a long and weary routine of service in the sanctuary sustained by the hope of finding God somewhere before the end. They were to meet Him on the threshold and go with Him all the way. The service of the sanc tuary was sanctified and glorified by the Divine presence meeting the wor shipper at the door. Is He not waiting for us at the threshold of life? Our quest for happiness is to he made with Him rather than for Him. He is the interpreter of life. An interview with Him must precede each new undertak ing. He sees the end from the be ginning and assures us that there are no accidents. Wisdom and love have ordered the past, interpret the present and safeguard the future. TUESDAY, Sept. 28. Gal. 1:15-24. The Inward Kevelation. We are saved by having Christ re vealed to us. We are sanctified by
Made with FlippingBook HTML5