T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
December, 1934
aid us. Job laments, and many hearts echo: “For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, That we should come together in judgment. There is no umpire betwixt us, That might lay his hand upon us both.” (Job 9:32, 33). The cry of the afflicted patriarch makes articulate the yearning of us all—the same yearning ex pressed by the Wise Men in their quest. They found Him who “hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4.T5) ; and who, though “existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant [margin, “Gr. bond- servant”], being made in the likeness of men”
than sovereign follow in Herod’s steps. Jesus does not ask us to admire Him, but to abdicate in His favor. Those who cannot come to Him with the conviction that He is the answer to their needs find that His claims are more than selfish human nature can bear. “Away with him ! We will not have this man to reign over u s !” is the cry of all who have not the conviction of need that created the Christ mas quest. Again, to the chief priests and the scribes, the Christmas quest was purely another intellectual achievement. They were quite capable of inform ing the Wise Men exactly where the Messiah should be born; and they quoted from the prophet the very passage which supplied the desired infor mation. We are not told that they joined the search. There is not a shred of evidence that they Christmas quest because their faith is frozen. They possess ideas, but not convictions; for mula, but not faith. They know the truth, but never use it. Sat isfied with the consciousness of superior knowledge, they make plain that the lure of a pilgrim age of love for His sake holds no charms for them. They have not been gripped by the power of an inescapable conviction that they must seek in actuality the fulfillment of God’s promise and the work of redemption. In this day of actual enmity to Christ and of indifference toward His cause, we need more of that conviction that set the Wise Men on their road. They were sure of their aim and of their need of reaching it; nor did they relinquish the quest until they had attained their objective. We must have that definiteness and persistence of faith that conviction brings. What did they seek ? It was, again, A Q uest of E xpectation We must not forget that, while the main line of revelation came through the chosen nation of the Jews, there was a primitive revelation concerning the Seed of the woman, a coming Deliverer, who should bruise the serpent’s head. Like a candle flickering dimly in the darkness, there was in the consciousness of all peoples the hope of a coming Saviour. Though it was obscured by the supersti tions of idolatry and almost quenched by the gross ness of sin, that hope remained, nevertheless. Such a Deliverer these men sought. They sought Him as a Man. “Where is he that is born . . . ?” The cry of mankind has always been for Another, a greater Man, who could under stand our needs, sympathize with our sorrows, share our toils and tears, and yet lift us out of all of them. God seems so distant, and circumstances so crushing, that we instinctively desire the inter vention of one who can stand upon our level and manifested a sufficient interest in the matter to investigate for themselves. Their religion was academic, not active. It was perfect in concept, but barren in results. Today, many miss the
(Phil. 2:6, 7). Here is God’s response to Job’s lament, and to ours. They s o u g h t a King. “Where is he that is born ?” The slow millen niums of human life have been filled with experimentation in government, in hopes that some form of rule might be evolved which would prove to be a pan acea for our ills, social, moral, and economic. Man has tried everything from anarchy to au tocracy, but all have success ively failed to produce the de sired result. What can the Christmas quest bring? It re veals the One upon whose shoulder the government shall King
CHR IST ’S CO M IN G “That ye through his poverty might he rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). His was the wonderful surrender, The putting off, the stooping low, The gift of love so strong and tender That we His blessedness might know. * This is the Lord who waits to bless us With joy and everlasting gifts, Howe'er earth's troubles may distress us, Jesus the trusting heart uplifts. * Oh, teach us, Lord, the wondrous treasure That even here our own may be; For riches that we cannot measure Are waiting for us, Lord, in Thee. - —Constance Coote.
rest. Our hope must be placed in the Christmas promise: “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” His kingdom shall one day supersede the outworn and ineffective governments of earth, and shall give peace to a world now torn by strife and hatred. They sought One whom they could worship. “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we . . . are come to worship him.” Mankind has been described as incurably religious. Some one has said that if there were no God, it would behoove us to invent one. Augustine voiced the same truth in a more positive way when he wrote in his Confes sions: “Thou hast made us for Thyself; and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” The legendary deities of heathenism—whose fantastic deeds were trifling, or immoral, or both —and the stern, remote First Cause of the philoso phers alike fail to satisfy our desire for One whom we can worship. The former provoke our ridicule and disgust; the latter is only the product of our own speculation. Neither can be a convincing real ity. Only a God good enough and great enough to merit our adoration and obedience can really fill the sanctuary which our worship would erect. For Him we go on quest; at Bethlehem we find Him. Here is “the Word . . . made flesh,” who could say : “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” His righteousness demands our respect; His love evokes our adoration; His everlasting glory com- [Continued on page 427]
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