| Secrets of a Beautiful Life |
Chapter 3 |
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An old missionary seal bore the representation of an ox standing between a plough and an altar, with the legend, “Ready for either.” The meaning was that the missionary of Christ must be ready either for toil and service, or for sacrifice on the altar, if that should be the Lord’s will. That was the spirit of St. Paul. He was ready for life, if Christ so willed; for life to the very extreme of self-denying, self-consuming service, if that were the call; for life in chains and in dungeons, if the Master led him to such sufferings. Or, he was ready for death, if by dying he could best glorify his Lord. This is the only true spirit of one who would follow Christ faithfully and fully. Whatever the call of the Maser may be, the instant answer of the servant should be, “I am ready. I am able.”
There are many things in Christian duty which, if our little human strength were all we could command, would be impossibilities. Our Lord sent out His disciples to heal the sick and to raise the dead. They could do neither of these things, and they might have said, “We cannot cure fevers, nor open blind eyes, nor make lame men walk, nor restore the breath of life to the dead.” Instead of saying this, however, their reply really was, “We are able”; and as they spoke in the name of Christ, power was in their words and in their touch, and miracles were wrought by them. St. Paul has a remarkable word which illustrates the same truth. He is speaking of the endurance of hardships. “I have learned,” he says, “in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.” Then a little further on he says, “I can do all things in Him that strengtheneth me.” Here we have the confident “I am able,” with its secret laid bare — “in Him that strengtheneth me.”
This is the law of Christ’s kingdom. Nothing is impossible with God. When He gives us a duty, He will give the strength we need to do it. When He sends one of His servants on an errand, He is ready to give power to perform the task, however hard it may be. When there is a battle to fight, He will inspire the heart and nerve the arm to fight it, so that we may become “more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” We are so one with Christ that His strength is ours if He send us, and if we go in faith. We are ever strongest when we are weakest in ourselves, because the measure of our conscious weakness is the measure of strength He imparts to us. This is a blessed secret. It puts the very power of God within our reach. We can do all things in Christ.
There are but two conditions — obedience and faith. The strength will not be given unless we obey. We must not wait to have it given before we will set out — it will not be given at all if we do this. No matter how difficult, how seemingly impossible, the duty may be, we must instantly obey, or no power will be forthcoming.
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