If the life of a Christian is to be pleasing to God, it must
be properly adjusted to Him in all things. Too often we
place the emphasis in our own lives upon the application of
this principle to some single detail of our behavior or of our
work for Him. Often we fail therefore to appreciate either
the extent of the adjustment called for or, at times even, the
point from which it should begin.
But God measures everything, from start to finish, by
the perfections of His Son. Scripture clearly affirms that it is
God’s good pleasure “to sum up all things in Christ, . . . in
whom also we were made a heritage” (Eph. 1:9-11). It is my
earnest prayer that, in the discussion that follows, our eyes
may be opened afresh to see that it is only by placing our
entire emphasis there that we can hope to realize the divine
purpose for us, which is that “we should be unto the praise
of his glory” (1:12).
THE GOD of our Lord Jesus Christ, . . . raised him from
the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but
also in that which is to come” (Eph.1:17-21).
“And raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in
the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: . . . for by grace have ye been
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God; not of works, that no man should glory” (2:6-9).
God . . . made him to sit . . . and made us to sit with
him.” Let us first consider the implications of this word
“sit.” As we have said, it reveals the secret of a heavenly life.
Christianity does not begin with walking; it begins with sitting. The Christian era began with Christ, of whom we are
told that, when He had made purification of sins, He “sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3).
With equal truth we can say that the individual Christian life
begins with a man “in Christ”-that is to say, when by faith we see ourselves seated together with Him in the heavens.
Of all the parables in the Gospels, that of the prodigal
son affords, I think, the supreme illustration of the way to
please God. The father says, “It was meet to make merry and
be glad” (Luke 15:32), and in these words Jesus reveals what
it is that, in the sphere of redemption, supremely rejoices His
Father’s heart. It is not an elder brother who toils incessantly
for the father, but a younger brother who lets the father do
everything for him. It is not an elder brother who always
wants to be the giver, but a younger brother who is always
willing to be the receiver. When the prodigal returned home,
having wasted his substance in riotous living, the father had
not a word of rebuke for the waste nor a word of inquiry
regarding the substance. He did not sorrow over all that was
spent; he only rejoiced over the opportunity the son’s return
afforded him for spending more.
It is a grief to the heart of God when we try to provide
things for Him. He is so very, very rich. It gives Him true joy
when we just let Him give and give and give again to us. It
is a grief to Him, too, when we try to do things for Him, for
He is so very, very able. He longs that we will just let Him
do and do and do. He wants to be the Giver eternally, and
He wants to be the Doer eternally. If only we saw how rich
and how great He is, we would leave all the giving and all
the doing to Him.
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