CH R IST W I T H IN Y O U
>aily Cross phrase is used here assuredly by our Lord. Take the New Testament and try the case by inserting the words “ deny” and “ denial” in suc cessive passages; I think it will be seen that self-denial is not self- control. In all cases at all in point, “ to deny” much more resembles in idea “ to ignore” than “ to control.” It means to turn the back upon, to shut the eyes to, to treat as nonexist ent. “Him will I also deny” (Matt. 10:33); I will say, I know him not. “He cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13); He cannot ignore His own hand in His own written promise. “Let him deny himself” ; let him ignore self; let him say to self, I know thee not, thou art nothing to me. In effect, may we not say, the Lord’s precept comes to this — the real displacement of self from the throne of life in its purposes and hopes, and the real enthronement of Another. It comes to — unquali fied self-surrender. I attempt no refinements. We all practically understand what we mean when we speak about self and its surren der and the enthronement of Jesus Christ. We mean that whereas yes terday our aims, many of them, some of them, one of them, termi nated in ourselves, today so far as we know they all terminate in our Lord. Yesterday, perhaps in some highly refined mode, perhaps in some mode not refined, we lived at least a part of our life to self; now in full purpose we live the whole of it to Him who died for us and rose again. Yesterday it was very pleasant, as a good thing in itself, if some action, some influence going
W h e n Christ dwells in us, His chosen ones, (“Judah was his sanctuary,” ), we have within us all the power we need to overcome any obstacle. Power resolutely to turn attention toward Canaan and not to look back longingly toward Egypt- I cannot remind myself too often that “what gets our attention gets us.” And we don’t need any outside power to choose to look at the things of our old life. We were all bom with this power. But when we choose to leave “Egypt” behind and go on with God, we need His power every minute to look to Him. This is a joyful thing instead of a desper ate thing. It keeps us constantly de pendent upon Him and this in creases our union with Him and therefore our joy and our strength. When we partake of the life of God within us, it shows too. Others around us see it. The very things which draw us away from God “ see” it. The obstacles “ see” it. The sorrows. The hea r t b r eaks . The fleshly desires. A nd t h e y are “ driven back.” “ The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.” Even that ocean of trouble out there in front of you will flee, if you begin right now to partake of the life of God within you. Every “Jordan” will be driven back by the same hands into which the nails were driven for your sake. For my sake. That “mountain” of fear will skip away. The nagging “ little hills” of annoyance will trot off like lambs! Think back to when you tried it on all those other pain ful occasions. He has never failed any one of us yet. He is still living within you now. Act on it. And watch the sea and the Jordan and the mountains and the hills. —Eugenia Price (From Share My Plesant Stones, Zondervan Publ. House, Grand Rapids.)
out from us, brought back praise, spoken or not spoken, to ourselves; now such a feeling is recognized as sin, if the pleasure terminates short of a distinct and honest reference to our Lord in us. Yesterday we were easy in the consciousness of purely personal gratification, when some intellectual success, let us say, or physical, brought credit to our selves and stimulated self-esteem. Oh, how much inner force have we spent in one phase or another of self-esteem! But today our deliber ate choice is in the other direction. We prefer, with unaffected prefer ence, that all our earnings should go straight to another, to our Lord. In true purpose and choice He is now the center of our whole life; not of parts but of the whole. We wish not to spend 10 minutes ir respective of His interests, His claims, His will. This is the self-denial of the saints. It is no fanatical, no vision ary thing. It does not mean a mechanical asceticism. It does not, of any necessity in itself, contradict or condemn the most natural activ ities and interests of human life as such. It does not absorb or cancel personality. Rather this is the very thing to enrich the resources of per sonal being and to develop its exer cises. But it has lodged it, as to its whole purpose and working, upon another center, even Jesus Christ the Lord. I need not follow the line of thought further into detail. Each heart will do this best for itself. It is a long line for it has a deep sea to fathom. 3) “ And [let him] take up his
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The King's Business/October 1958
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