| Secrets of a Beautiful Life |
Chapter 3 |
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This was a committal from which there could be no withdrawal. It implied courage. They knew not to what future they were going, what it would cost them to be true to their pledge; but they faltered not. It implied love for their Master. This was the secret of it all. They could not be separated from Him. They would follow Him anywhere, they loved Him so. It implied faith. They did not know what the cup would be which they had solemnly promised to drink; but they believed in Christ, and in His love and wisdom, and were sure He would lead them only to what would be the truest and the best for them.
This is the lesson every follower of Christ should learn. To every call of the Master, to every allotment of duty, to every assignment of service, to every laying of the cross at our feet, to every requirement that He makes of us, our answer should be, “We are able.” This is easy enough so long as only pleasant things are asked of us; but pleasant things do not test discipleship. We must be ready to say it when our expectation of honour in following Christ is suddenly dashed away and dishonour appears in its place, and when it means the lifting of the dark cross upon our shoulders and bearing it after Him.
Hence the answer of all noble life to every call of duty is, “I am able.” The question of ability is not to be considered. God never asks us to do anything we cannot do through the strength which He is ready also to give. It is thus that God’s men have always answered God’s calls. “Here am I,” was the formula in the Old Testament times. Thus patriarchs and prophets and messengers responded when they heard the Divine voice calling their names. There was no hesitation. They did not linger to question their fitness or their ability. In New Testament days we find the same obedience. St. Paul is a noble illustration. It would seem that the motto of his life was, “I am ready.” That was what he always said, whatever the Divine bidding. He was forewarned of chains at Jerusalem, and his friends begged him not to go. But his answer was, “I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Again, he was thinking of Rome, that great metropolis of the heathen world, the centre of the world’s power and splendour, and he wrote, “I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also; for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” He is in a dungeon, a prisoner for Christ, knowing that he will soon die as a martyr, and he writes to a friend, “I am ready to be offered.”
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