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into his grave and leaves his riches behind him for some one else to spend or squander. If God sees fit to give us money, let us use it wisely and not trust in our riches, for God will hold us accountable for the stewardship of our money. By way of contrast the flowers teach us the per manency of God’s Word. 1 Peter 1 :24-25 \ ' “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of. man as the flower o f grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” The flowers we see about us will soon be gone, and we ourselves will be gone, but God’s Word will stand forever. Yes, and this Word is the basis for the Gospel on which our salvation depends! If God’s Word were not eternal then our security would not be eternal. In a world where everything changes, how thankful we ought to be that we have a Book divine which changes not. But the Bible contains a reference to everlasting flow ers. The reference is a glorious promise to God’s faithful servants. 1 Peter 5 :2-4: “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but o f a ready mind.; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being en- f H A V E fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown o f righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge; shall give me at that day; and not to me only but unto all them also that love [1?. V. that have loved 1 His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). The doctrine of the coming of the Lord provides a searching test of our spiritual state. Is our secret inner life, that controls our outer life, such, that at any time we can look up with real heart longing and fervently breathe the prayer “Even so, come, Lord Jesus”? or are we so living that the thought of His possible near return touches no answering chord of joyful anticipation, but rather induces a feeling of aversion? Is it a “blessed hope” to us? If so what does it mean to “love His appearing”? From the context it is clear that it qualifies for the reception of that “crown of righteousness” for which Paul had to fight the good fight, finish the course and keep the faith. It is therefore equivalent to doing all that. It is not merely a glad welcoming of Him at the time, but a life lived in anticipation of and preparedness for His coming. It means fighting a long and fierce battle, running a lengthy and arduous course and keeping (watching or observing) the faith. It is to be remarked that all these things are directly associated with preaching the Gospel. Paul preached the Gospel himself and taught and encouraged others to preach it too, rejoicing even when his enemies preached it of envy, strife, contention and pretense. “What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense,, or in truth, Christ is preached: and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice” (Phil. 1 :18).
samples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” When Peter refers to the “crown o f glory that fadeth not away” he has in mind a crown composed of flowers, and these flowers are the amaranth, which is an everlasting flower. It always revives when put in water. What Peter meant to say to us is that God’s servant who is faithful to the task God gives him, shall receive a crown of everlasting flowers. Such a promise as that ought to inspire in us our very best for the Master. May God help us to be faithful servants of His ! Blessed flow’r that fadeth not away, Speak to me, some message say, Of reward God gives when life is through To His servants who’ve been true. May thy beauty fill my heart with love For thy Maker from above. May thy glory my whole life inspire With a zeal shall never tire. Then when life is ended on this earth, Thine shall be a fairer birth. Thou shalt deck the crown of my reward With the beauty of the Lord. — F. H. W. To him it was a .priestly act, a “ministering in sacri fice” (R.V.M.) “Ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up o f the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit?’ (Rom. 15:15-20). Have we discharged our responsibility when we have held a “Gospel Meeting” sparsely attended, if at all, by the unconverted, and weakly excuse ourselves by saying “You know, they won’t come in now-a-days to the Gos pel Meeting” ? The Lord’s, word is “Go ye” into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Would it not be better to go and preach in the open air, or at least, as is done in some places, encourage all who can to go into the open air while others attend to the preaching indoors ? But the preaching of the Gospel is of much more than local import. It must be world wide. Not, let it be said, because of the need of the individual, great as that is, particularly in the case of those dwelling “in heathen dark ness!’ with all its horrors of sin, superstition and Satanic* energy; but for the Lord’s sake, that the vision ever before Him may materialize and He may be able to “present to Himself the Church, glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” If the emphasis is to be placed on the need of the indi vidual, that would indeed occupy every Christian here in our own land and never allow of anyone going to “the re gions beyond”; but the emphasis is not there, for those who are to form that glorious Church are to be found scattered abroad in every land, among every people of every tongue and kindred. Have we yet realized that in this dispensation God’s great work is visiting (inspecting, looking over) the Gen tiles to “TAK E OUT OF THEM A PEOPLE FOR
. .¿te. ' ste ate ate How To Love H is Appearing B y E . C harles A dams (In the “Indian Christian”)
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