A LIVING SACRIFICE.
It has seemed to me as if, in
figure, God set before Himself a perfect model of what I was to be. Then taking
the rude, misshapen mass He went to work upon it to make it after His perfect
image. Now, what remains for me in this work to do? Having consecrated myself,
laid myself in His hands, committed my case to a faithful Creator, One who will
do the work well, and as quickly, and with as little pain to Himself, and
therefore, to me, as possible, wheat can I do but wait, rendering myself always
and upon every occasion, through all the hours of night and day, simply to let
Him work in me.
If, in the order of things,
He can use me while the work goes on, well. If He can work in this
transforming
while we are laid by, well. His part is that of Master Workman, and He has more
interest in the works, and more desire that we should be perfect than we can
possibly have. Our part is a quick, responsive obedience, or a patient, loving,
quiet waiting, glad and happy in the one as the other.
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| Sachitha Obeysekara - Some rights reserved. |
It is wonderful to have a
quiet rest in either, a content in the work going on, because it is committed
to God, and we have content in Him. Be content, not only with such things as ye
have, but, also, in whatever condition ye may be.
Nothing by a great confidence
in God can hold us thus in the hollow of His hand! And confidence in word or
action seen. I know Him in Whom I have believed! I know God.
The rendering soul, body and spirit
may be a conscious act. As the work deepens in new phases it may be repeated.
We give all we can, all we know, all the present and all the possibilities of
the future. When God touches to claim on the strength of our giving, it may be
with a struggle that seems like a new giving that we say, “Yes, Lord.” We keep
always thus giving ourselves, holding ourselves, as it were, on the altar,
where we have by faith presented ourselves a living sacrifice. As the fires
creeps up and touches the flesh and scorches the blood, we may have to bind
ourselves, where we gladly laid in the first exuberance of faith’s clear
morning.
Obedience is but faith in
practice-it is the substance f the shadow. God will brook no withdrawal in the
heart wholly given. But blessed fact! When the will is fully set to follow, at
any cost, He will, when failure has come through the flesh, often grant another
chance. But only when He sees the heart is set.
There are always places where
the soul may stop. Few go on to know God. Few are willing to pay the price. Few
are ready to lay down all great possessions. Many hold on to the child of
promise, even when they have walked with knife and fire and servants to the
foot of the mount.
The way is blessed, though
thorn-crowned, and with bleeding feet we walk alone, with only those who know
us not, and would press us to the Judgment Hall. It is blessed, too, when once
in a while, we have the refreshment of the love of John, the beloved.
Let me suggest, dear friends,
that you have only the Lord as your finality. Desire no particular experience
that you, today, can put into words. For, if growth is yours, the statement of
today will not satisfy tomorrow. Just let God work in you according to His good
will and pleasure.
So, free in Him and with Him free
in you, you may not be able to map out your life or its attainments to any. You
may not be able to express to fellow-Christians your position, but you will
find how God can work in the eternal silence of your acquiescing will, and His
thought, higher than your thought, will be written in your daily life.
