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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
was no t much good to th e country, bu t when it was made to overflow then it became a blessing. So many Christian lives are of little or no service simply because th ey are not overflowing. The Lord’s ideal is th a t we should overflow like th e river Nile, our lives reaching ou t on every side, touching o ther lives and bringing blessing and benediction to them . The More Abundant Life We read in th e 46th P salm : “There is a riv er th e stream s whereof make glad th e city of God.” The river of God is full, b u t we are th e stream s— th e channels th rough which th e w ater of life should flow and b ring life and gladness to o th er lives. In th is gospel according to John we read also th e same th ing b u t in ano ther way. The Lord says: “ I came th a t they m ight have life, and th a t they m ight have it more abundantly,” more abundant, overflowing life. B u t th e sad th ing among Christian people today is th a t th e ir life, instead of abounding w ith life, is a kind of a hospital, sickly, anaem ic, m iserable Christian life. When you go into a hospital you see th e people lying on th e ir beds, sickly and pale, weak and worn. It is life. Oh, yes, th e re is life th ere, b u t it is a very low stage of life. I t is not a life th a t you would covet or envy. And if you will go to a large san ato rium you will see people th e re in various stages of life, b u t it is no t an enviable kind of life. But you ju s t watch those girls and boys as they tum ble and roll and jum p ou t of th e school- house! You wonder how th e ir bodies were ever made to stand such exertion, such energy. They cannot be kep t in for eigh t or nine hours w ith such exub erance of life; they m ust be allowed out th ree or fou r tim es du ring th e sessions. They have overflowing life. We have tu rn ed our churches into a kind of hospital filled w ith weak and sickly p atien ts; we have tu rn ed it into
WM . P. N ICHOLSON
should know th e indwelling of the Spirit in th e h ea rt and life day by day. This should be the norm al C hristian life. There is nothing abnorm al about it and it should be th e norm al life of every child of God. But when we come into th e seventh chapter of John we have th e ideal th a t is in th e m ind and h e a rt of th e Lord Jesu s for every one of His regenerate ones: T h at ou t of you and me should flow rivers of living w ater. Not merely born of God, no t merely th e indwelling of th e sp irit of God, b u t a life overflow ing, a life so full th a t it overflows. Be lieve me, dear friends, if you can con ta in your religion it will not be satisfy ing or satisfactory to yourself or be a blessing to o thers; only when it is over flowing will it be a blessing to those w ith whom you come in contact. There is th e g reat riv er Nile, in Egypt. Some English engineers have constructed g reat dam s across th a t river, and today Egypt is a g reat wheat growing country. By means of these dams the river is made to overflow its banks and the alluvial soil th a t is washed down from th e m ountain lands is deposited and d istribu ted over vast trac ts of previously b arren lands bring ing life and fertility to th e desert, and g reat crops are raised. While th e river was allower to flow evenly on, it
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