King's Business - 1965-07

T h e r e are t h r e e k in d s of people in the world in relation to Jesus Christ. There are those who have considered Him favorably and have confessed Him as their Lord. There are those who have not heard of Him and their spiritual poverty is evident for all to see. Then there are those who know about Him but live as though He had not come. This last group will not let Him put a claim on their lives, either to trust Him for salvation or to live so that their conduct would please Him. They either neglect Jesus, or reject Him outright. In each case, however, they live as though He had never been born into the race of men. Life is not confined to merely satisfying physical and material needs. It is much more complicated than that. Yet that is how most of us would like to live, just taking what we like, leaving what we don’t like, making only the decisions that we must to keep clothes on our back and food in our mouths. Those who take that attitude are soon jolted into discovering that life makes some other demands of us, demands which, if we will not pay them in one way, we will pay them in another. The same is true with regard to what we do with Jesus Christ. Someday, somewhere, there is bound to be a payday. This was graphically stated by Simeon when he spoke by the Holy Spirit to Mary in the temple. As the custom was, Mary and Joseph presented the Babe at the temple when He was eight days old. Simeon took the child in his arms and said to Mary, “ Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against . . that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34, 35). We do not deal with Jesus Christ as we would with any other person. We can accept or re­ ject any person—past, present, or future—and it may not affect our inner life one whit, but not so with Jesus. We either rise by Him, or we fall by Him. This is the purpose of God. He is “ set” before us, and our destiny rests on what we do with Him. Jesus Christ is an enigma to the world. It does not know what to do with Him. It will not accept Him fully, but neither can it get rid of Him. It is unable to ex­ plain Him and, therefore, fears Him. The world is afraid of anything it cannot explain or control. Yet it refuses to follow Him. It will not endorse Him and His claims, for the moment it does the world condemns itself. We will not listen to Him because He made the will of God supreme in life, and we want our own way. Still, we cannot shut out His voice completely. We will not believe Him, for this demands that we confess our sins and turn from our evil ways. But banish Him we cannot! We refuse to become serious about Him. That would demand our surrender to Him. At the same time we cannot deny that many persons have made ship­ wreck of their lives because they would not take Him at His Word. To some Jesus Christ is a point in history, and they date their letters, calendars, and legal papers by the number of years since He was born. To others He is the pivotal point of history; that is, He gives meaning, direction, and purpose to history and to life. Some believe He came into the world, but that He was no more than an adorable baby born into a poor home, and His first bed was in the hay in a manger. To others He was the Saviour who came to save us from our sins. To some He was a precocious lad who asked questions of the religious leaders in the temple in Jerusalem. To others He was the Lord God Almighty. To some He was an enlightening teacher ; to others He was the Light of the world. To some He was the carpenter’s son who

Set for the Rise and Fall of Man

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Ord L. Morrow

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THE KING 'S BUSINESS

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