Grace Gems

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Behold, I am coming soon!

(J. C. Ryle)

"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming
 in clouds with great power and glory!" Mark 13:26

The second coming of Christ shall be utterly unlike the first.

He came the first time . . .
  in weakness,
  a tender infant,
  born of a poor woman in the manger at Bethlehem,
  unnoticed,
  unhonored,
  and scarcely known.

He shall come the second time in royal dignity,
with the armies of heaven around Him, to be known,
recognized and feared, by all the tribes of the earth!


He came the first time to suffer . . .
  to bear our sins,
  to be reckoned a curse,
  to be despised, rejected, unjustly condemned and slain.

He shall come the second time . . .
  to put down every enemy beneath His feet,
  to take the kingdom of this world for His inheritance,
  to rule them with righteousness,
  to judge all men and
  to reign forevermore!

How vast the difference! How mighty the contrast!

"Behold, I am coming soon!" Revelation 22:12

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Surely, the canary is wiser than the starling!

(J. R. Miller, "Taking Cheerful Views" 1880)

"A cheerful heart has a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15

"A cheerful heart is good medicine; but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22

One of the divinest secrets of a happy life--is the art of extracting comfort and sweetness from every circumstance. We must develop the habit of looking on the bright side. This is a magic-wand whose power exceeds that of any fabled magician's to change all things into blessings. Those who take cheerful views, find happiness everywhere; and yet how rare is the habit! The multitude prefer to walk on the dark side of the paths of life.

There are those who take to gloom--as a bat to darkness, or as a vulture to carrion! They would rather nurse a misery--than nourish a joy. They always find the dark side of everything, if there is a dark side to be found. They appear to be conscientious grumblers, as if it were their duty to extract some essence of misery from every circumstance! The weather is either too cold or too hot; too wet or too dry. They never find anything to their taste. Nothing escapes their criticism. They find fault with the food on the table, with the bed in which they lie, with the railroad-train or steamboat on which they travel, with the government and its officials, with merchant and workman--in a word, with the world at large and in detail.

They are chronic grumblers! Instead of being content in the state in which they are--they have learned to be discontented, no matter how happy their lot! If they had been placed in the Garden of Eden--they would have discovered something with which to find fault! Their wretched habit empties life of all possible joy--and turns every cup to gall.

On the other hand, there are rare people who always take cheerful views of life. They look at the bright side. They find some joy and beauty everywhere. If the sky is covered with clouds--they will point out to you the splendor of some great cloud-bank piled up like mountains of glory. When the storm rages, instead of fears and complaints--they find an exquisite pleasure in contemplating its grandeur and majesty. In the most faulty picture--they see some bit of beauty which charms them. In the most disagreeable person--they discover some kindly trait or some bud of promise. In the most disheartening circumstances, they find something for which to be thankful, some gleam of cheer breaking in through the thick gloom!

When a ray of sunlight streamed through a crack in the shutter, and made a bright patch on the floor in the darkened room--the little dog rose from his dark corner, and went and lay down in the one sunny spot; and these cheerful people live in the same way. If there is one beam of cheer or hope anywhere in their lot--they will find it! They have a genius for happiness. They always make the best out of circumstances. Their good nature never fails. They take a cheerful view of every perplexity. Such people have a wondrous ministry in this world. They are like apple trees when covered with blossoms, pouring a sweet fragrance all around them.

It may be worth while to linger a little, on the philosophy of living which produces such results.

Some people are born with sunny dispositions, with large hopefulness and joyfulness, and with eyes for the bright side of life. Others are naturally disposed to gloom. Yet, it is still largely a matter of culture and habit, for which we are individually responsible. Like the apostle Paul, we can train ourselves to take cheerful views of life, and to extract contentment and enjoyment from any circumstances.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again--Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4. This is clearly a most important part of Christian culture.

Joyfulness is everywhere commended as a Christian duty.

Discontent is a most detestable fault.

Morbidness is a sin.

Fretfulness grieves God. It tells of unbelief. It destroys the soul's peace. It disfigures the beauty of Christian character. It not only makes us soured and unhappy in our own hearts--but its influence on others is bad.

We have no right to project the gloom of our discontent--over any other life. Our attitude is to be ever towards joy. There is nothing so depressing in its effect upon others, as morbidness!

True contentment does not chafe under disappointments and losses--but accepts them, becomes reconciled to them, and at once looks about to find something good in them.

This is the secret of happy living!

And when we come to think of it--how senseless it is to struggle against the inevitable! Discontent helps nothing. It never removes a hardship, or makes a burden any lighter, or brings back a vanished pleasure. One never feels better, for complaining. It only makes him wretched!

A starling in a cage struggles against its fate, flies against the wire walls, and beats upon them in efforts to be free--until its wings are all bruised and bleeding!

A canary is shut in another cage, accepts the restraint, perches itself upon its bar and sings.

Surely, the canary is wiser than the starling!

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Why, papa, you have mamma and me left!

(J. R. Miller, "Losses" 1880)

"God Himself has said--Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

This truth ought to bring unspeakable comfort to God's children, who are called to suffer earthly losses. If they have GOD left to them--no other loss is irreparable!

A wealthy man came home one evening with a heavy heart, and said that he had lost everything. Bankruptcy had overtaken him. "We are utterly beggared!" he said. "All is gone; there is nothing left! We must leave our home, and beg for tomorrow's bread!" His little five year old daughter crept up on his knee, and, looking earnestly into his despairing face, said, "Why, papa, you have mamma and me left!"

Just so, what are temporal and worldly losses of the sorest kind--while God remains? Yes, what is the loss of money, houses, costly furniture, and other possessions, while God's love remains? There is surely enough in Him--to compensate a thousand times for every earthly loss!

Our lives may be stripped bare--home, friends, riches, comforts--gone; every sweet voice of love, every note of joy--silenced; and we may be driven out from brightness, tenderness and shelter--into the cold ways of sorrow! Yet if we have God Himself left--ought not this to suffice? Is He not in Himself, infinitely more than all His gifts? If we have Him--can we really need anything else?

"The Lord is my Shepherd--I have everything I need!" Psalm 23:1

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Our conception of Christian living

(J. R. Miller, "Being Christians on Weekdays" 1888 )

True religion is intensely practical. Only so far as it dominates one's life--is it real. We must get the commandments out of God's Word--and give them a place in the hard, dusty paths of our earthly toil and struggle. We must get them off the tables of stone--and have them written on the walls of our own hearts! We must bring the Golden Rule--into our daily, actual life.

We are too apt to imagine, that holiness consists in mere good feeling toward God. It does not! It consists in obedience in heart and life to the divine requirements. To be holy is, first, to be set apart for God and devoted to God's service, and it necessarily follows that we must live for God.

Our hands are God's--and can fitly be used only in doing His work; our feet are God's--and may be employed only in walking in His ways and running His errands; our lips are God's--and should speak words only that honor Him and bless others; our hearts are God's--and must not be profaned by thoughts and affections that are not pure.

True holiness is no vague sentiment--it is intensely practical. It is nothing less than the bringing of every thought and feeling and act--into obedience to Christ! We are quite in danger of leaving out the element of obedience, in our conception of Christian living. If we do this, our religion loses its strength and grandeur--and becomes weak, nerveless and forceless.

Our religion must touch every part of our life--and transform it all into the beauty of holiness.

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He who holds the pruning-knife!

(J. R. Miller, "Looking at the Right Side" 1888 )

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.  . . . He prunes every branch that produces fruit--so that it will produce more fruit." John 15:1-2

Our Father is the gardener; we are branches under His care. He watches over our lives. The painful afflictions which cut into our very souls, the taking from us of objects that are dear to us, as when the gardener with his sharp knife removes luxuriant branches from the vine--are our Father's prunings! No hand but His--ever holds the knife! We are sure, then, that there is never any careless cutting, any unwise or mistaken pruning, any needless removing of rich branches or growths.

We really need to go no farther than this. A strong, abiding confidence that all the trials, sorrows and losses of our lives--are parts of our Father's prunings--ought to silence every question, quiet every fear and give peace and restful assurance to our hearts, in all their pain. We cannot know the reason for the painful strokes--but we know that He who holds the pruning-knife is our Father! That is all we need to know.

The other thought in the Lord's parable, is scarcely less full of comfort to a Christian. Jesus says, that it is the fruitful branches which the Father prunes: "He prunes every branch that produces fruit--so that it will produce more fruit."

Afflictions are not, then, a mark of God's anger or disapproval; rather, they are a mark of His favor. The branches into which He cuts, from which he trims away the luxuriant growths--are fruit-bearing already. He does not prune the fruitless branches--He cuts them off altogether as useless, as mere cumberers, absorbing life and yielding nothing of blessing or good.

Some Christians have the impression that their many troubles indicate that God does not love them--that they cannot be true Christians, or they would not be so chastened. This teaching of Christ shows how mistaken they are. The much chastening shows that the Father is pruning His fruitful branch--to make it more fruitful! All whom the Father loves--He chastens!

It is the fruitless branch that is never pruned; the fruitful branch is pruned, and pruned--not by one without skill, not by an enemy--but by the wise Father! Thus we see how we may rejoice--even in our trials and afflictions!

One who was altogether ignorant of the art and purpose of pruning, who should see a man with a sharp knife cutting off branch after branch of a luxuriant vine, would at first suppose that the pruner was ruining the vine. So at the time it seems--but by and by, it appears that the prunings have made the vine more fruitful. In the season of vintage, the grapes are more luscious, with a richer flavor in them--because of the cutting away of the superfluous branches.

In like manner, if an angel who had never witnessed anything of human suffering, and who knew nothing of its object, were to see the Father causing pain and affliction to His children, it would seem to him that these experiences could be only destructive of happiness and blessing; but if the angel were to follow those chastened lives on to the end, he would see untold blessing coming out of the chastenings! The Father was but pruning the branches--that they might bear more and better fruit!

We should never lose sight of the divine purpose in all trials--to make our lives more fruitful.

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The 'picture' of the ideal Christian life!

(J. R. Miller, "A Word About TEMPER" 1888 )

Most of us are bad-tempered in various degrees. The dictionary has been well-near exhausted of adjectives, in giving the different shades of bad-temper: aggressive, angry, bickering, bitter, capricious, choleric, contentious, crotchety, despotic, domineering, easily offended, gloomy, grumpy, hasty, huffy, irritable, morose, obstinate, reproachful, peevish, sulky, surly, vindictive--these are some of the qualifying words!

We do not like to believe that the case is quite so serious--that many of us are unamiable in some offensive degree. It is easier to confess our neighbor's faults and infirmities, than our own! So, therefore, quietly taking refuge for ourselves among the few good-tempered people--we are willing to admit that a great many of the people we know, have at times rather ungentle tempers. They are easily provoked; they fly into a passion on very slight occasion; they are haughty, domineering, peevish, fretful or vindictive!

What is even worse, most of them appear to make no effort to grow out of their infirmities of disposition! The sour fruit does not come to mellow ripeness in the passing years; the roughness is not polished off the diamond to reveal its lustrous hidden beauty. The same petulance, pride, vanity, selfishness and other disagreeable qualities are found in the life, year after year!

Where there is a struggle to overcome one's faults and grow out of them, and where the progress toward better and more beautiful spiritual character is perceptible, though ever so slow--we should have sympathy. But where one appears unconscious of one's blemishes, and manifests no desire to conquer one's faults--there is little ground for encouragement!

Man-like it is--to fall into sin.
Fiend-like it is--to dwell therein.
Saint-like it is--for sin to grieve.
God-like it is--for sin to leave.

Bad temper is such a disfigurement of character, and, besides, works such harm to one's self and to one's neighbors, that no one should spare any pains or cost to have it cured!

The ideal Christian life--is one of unbroken kindliness. It is dominated by love--the love whose portrait is drawn for us in the immortal thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." That is the 'picture' of the ideal Christian life!

We have but to turn to the gospel pages--to find the story of a life in which all this was realized. Jesus never lost his temper. He lived among people who tried Him at every point--some by their dullness, others by their bitter enmity and persecution--but He never failed in sweetness of disposition, in patience, in self-denying love. Like the flowers which give out their perfume only when crushed; like the odoriferous wood which bathes the axe which hews it with fragrance; the life of Christ yielded only the tenderer, sweeter love--to the rough impact of men's harshness and wrong. That is the pattern, on which we should strive to fashion our life and our character! Every outbreak of violent temper, every shade of ugliness in disposition--mars the radiant loveliness of the 'picture' we are seeking to have fashioned in our souls!

Bad-tempered people are continually hurting others, ofttimes their best and truest friends.

Some people are sulky--and one person's sulkiness casts a chilling shadow over a whole household!

Others are so sensitive, ever watching for slights and offended by the merest trifles--that even their nearest friends have no freedom of fellowship with them!

Others are despotic, and will brook no kindly suggestion, nor listen to any expression of opinion!

Others are so quarrelsome that even the meekest and gentlest person cannot live peaceably with them!

It would be easy to extend this portrayal of the evils of bad temper--but it will be more profitable to inquire HOW a bad-tempered person may become good-tempered. There is no doubt that this happy change is possible in any case. There is no temper so obdurately bad--that it cannot be trained into sweetness. The grace of God can take the most unlovely life--and transform it into the image of Christ.

(You might want to read the remainder of this most insightful and helpful article.)

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A grey head, and a carnal worldly heart

(James Meikle, "The Traveler" Dec. 26, 1761)

Hitherto I have looked upon myself as young, and coming to the prime of my life. But henceforth I shall consider myself as in my declining years. I am certain how long I have lived in the world--but quite uncertain how soon I must leave the world. And therefore I should be preparing for my final departure, and daily be ripening for the regions of bliss!

A young man, and a holy life; one in his prime, and all his graces flourishing--is lovely to behold.

But a grey head, and a carnal worldly heart, is a wounding sight! Henceforth, be gone bewitching vanities, and all the enchantments of the world! The last years of my life are not to be trifled away with you!

Death attends me!

The grave awaits me!

Eternity is at hand!

"It is appointed unto men once to die--but after this the judgment!" Hebrews 9:27

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Look up!

(J. R. Miller, "Unto the Hills!" A Meditation on Psalm 121)

"I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

It is good always to look up. Thousands of people dwarf their lives, and hinder the possibilities of growth in their souls--by looking downward. They keep their eyes ever entangled in mere earthly sights, and miss the glories of the hills that pierce the clouds, and of the heavens that bend over them!

A story is told of a boy who one day found a gold coin on the street. Ever after this--he kept his eyes on the ground as he walked, watching for coins. During a long lifetime, he found a good number of coins--but meanwhile he never saw the flowers and the trees which grew in such wondrous beauty everywhere; he never saw the hills, the mountains, the sweet valleys, the picturesque landscapes; he never saw the blue sky. To him, this lovely world meant only a dusty road, dreary and unbeautiful, merely a place in which to look for coins.

This really is the story of the life of most people. They never lift their eyes off the earth! They live only to gather money, to add field to field, to scheme for power or to find pleasure. Or, if their quest is a little higher, it is still only for earthly things. They never lift up their eyes to God! There is no blue sky in their picture. They cherish no heavenly visions. They are without God in the world.

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:1-2

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Look at the King in His beauty!

(David Harsha, "Wanderings of a Pilgrim")

"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and view a land that stretches afar." Isaiah 33:17

Contemplate your blessed Redeemer, seated on His great white throne, encircled with heavenly glory!

Look at the King in His beauty!

It is the sight of a glorified Savior--that will make the heaven of the believer.

Endeavor now, by the eye of faith, to behold the Lord Jesus in all His matchless beauty and excellence.

Contemplate . . .
  His glorious character;
  His infinite mercy;
  His unparalleled condescension,
  and His boundless love!

There is enough in Jesus to employ the soul in rapturous meditation through a vast eternity!

His excellence, His goodness, and His love--can never be fathomed!

O keep your eye fixed on this adorable Savior, while you sojourn in this valley of tears; and in a little while you shall see Him as He is; face to face, and ascribe to Him unceasing praise!

"In a loud voice they sang: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Revelation 5:12

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Their photograph flatters them!

(J. R. Miller, "What God Thinks of Us" 1909)

One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves, is what God thinks of us.

One has pointed out that in every man, there are four different men:

    the man whom the neighbors see,

    the man whom one's family sees,

    the man whom the person himself sees,

    and the man whom God sees.

The community knows us only in a general way, superficially. What people think of us, we sometimes call 'reputation'--what we are reputed to be. It is a composite made up of all that people know about us, gathered from our conduct, our acts, our dispositions, our words, the impressions of ourselves we give to others.

The knowledge the community has of a man, is only superficial. It is evident that the world's opinion about people is not infallible, is not complete, is not final.

A person may be better than his reputation; his external manner may do him injustice. Some men, by reason of their shyness, their awkwardness, or some limitation in power of expression, fail to appear at their true value. The world knows only a man's outward life, and there may be good things in him which it does not know.

Then some people, on the other hand, are worse than their reputation. Their photograph flatters them! What they pretend to be--exceeds the reality. They practice tricks which give a glamour to their lives, so that they pass in public for more than they are. They wear veils, which hide defects and faults in them, and thus they seem better than they are.

Hence we cannot accept the judgment of the community, regarding anyone--as absolutely true, fair, and final.

But there is another man in us--the man GOD sees. And this is most important of all. We do not even know all the secret things of our own hearts. There is an Eye that sees deeper than ours! It is pleasant to have people commend us, when we have tried to do our duty. It gives us great joy to have the approval of our own hearts. But if we do not have the commendation of the Master, human praise and self-approval amount to nothing! "What does God think of me?" is always the final question.

Men are cruel. They judge often harshly. They know only part of the truth concerning us. They are not patient with our infirmities. But we are safe in the hands of God. He knows the worst in us--but He also knows the best. We may trust our lives, therefore, to God's judgment, even if they are full of defects and flaws. He knows all, and will bring to light all the hidden things.

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Ugly corners made beautiful

(J. R. Miller, "Christian Manliness" 1909)

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely . . ." Philippians 4:8

Beauty is another quality of true manliness. It is not enough for a man to be true, to live honorably, to be just, to be pure and clean--he must also have in his life, whatever is lovely.

All God's works are beautiful. He never made anything that was not beautiful. It is sin which spoils everything!

There are many lives that are not lovely in every feature. You see things in others which you cannot admire--things which are not beautiful.

Fretting is not beautiful.

Bad temper is unlovely.

Discontent, jealousy, irritability, unkindness, selfishness are unattractive.

It is the work of God's grace--to make lives beautiful. All that grace does in us--is toward the fashioning of beautiful Christian character in us.

On a florist's signboard are the words, "Ugly corners made beautiful". The florist had reference to what he could do to beautify an ugly spot or a piece of landscape. He would trim out the weeds, plant flowers and shrubs, and transform a wilderness into a garden.

That is what grace can do in our lives. Some men seem to think that the fine and graceful things are only for women, not for men. But Christ was a man--a perfect, complete man--and there was not a single unlovely thing in His life.
  He was strong--but also gentle.
  He was just--but kindly.
  He was firm--but patient.
  He was righteous, and his indignation burned like fire against all hypocrisy and injustice--but his tenderness never failed.

Fine manliness is beautiful, like Christ. "Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16

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A glance into heavenly bliss

("Solitude Sweetened" by James Meikle, 1730-1799)

All at once I find myself in an unbounded flood of bliss, a spacious sea of glory; lost in wonder amidst ineffable delights, and transported with the raptures of seraphic harmony! While all His saints rejoice in His excellent glory--what ardor glows in every soul--what rapture swells in every song! O the adorable displays of His perfections--the manifestations of His goodness--the outlettings of His love!

Here we received out of His fullness--grace upon grace and glory upon glory. Our possession is worthy of our liberal Giver. We have . . .
  a kingdom which cannot be moved,
  an undefiled inheritance, which does not fade away,
  a city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God,
  garments of glory,
  a crown of righteousness,
  the tree of life to feed upon,
  the fountain of life to drink of,
  the garden of God to walk in,
  life above the reach of death,
  health secured from sickness,
  pleasure without pain.

Our bodies are immortal,
our souls immaculate,
our senses sanctified,
our conceptions spiritualized,
our faculties enlarged, and
our whole soul replenished by divinity.

Our past bliss is with us in the sweet remembrance, our present bliss entrances in the enjoyment, and our future bliss is present with us in the full assurance of our eternal felicity.

Thus we are forever blessed to the highest degree.

We are above all fear, beyond anxiety and doubt, and fixed above all change.

Our service is sincere,
our adorations ardent,
our knowledge profound and satisfying.

Rapture rushes in at every part!

Our eyes are ravished with seeing the King in His beauty;
our ears are ravished with hearing the songs of the inner temple;
our nostrils are ravished with the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon, the plant of renown;
our feet are ravished with standing in His holy place;
our hands are ravished with handling of the word of life; and
our mouths are ravished with the wine of our Beloved, which goes down sweetly, causing our souls to shout aloud, and the lips to sing, and never cease.

Our experience of His fullness, our vision of His perfections and glory--constitute our most exalted bliss, and are the heaven of heavens!

O what torrents of eternal love teem from the throne into our souls!

O the pleasure that is in His presence!

O the exuberant rivers of joy that flow at His right hand!

O love! never to be forgotten--which has brought me safely through so many winding labyrinths and crooked paths, in sight of so many enemies--in spite of . . .
  a tempting devil,
  the accusations of my sins,
  the rebellion of my lusts,
  the carnality of my affections, and
  the weakness of all my graces--
to dwell at last forever in heavenly bliss!

O eternity! once the comfort of our longing expectations--now the transport of our enlarged souls! For we are . . .
  forever with the Lord,
  seeing His unclouded face,
  wearing His divine name,
  drinking at the streams of His pleasures,
  eating of His hidden manna,
  sitting beneath the Tree of life,
  basking under the beams of the Sun of righteousness,
  singing hallelujahs to Him who loved us, who washed us from our sins in His blood, and brought us here to be with Him forever!

O state of complete happiness and consummate bliss!

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It took the baby out of the young mother's arms the other night!

(J. R. Miller, "Afterward You Will Understand" 1909)

He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, "Lord, are You going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered him, "What I am doing--you do not understand now; but afterward you will understand." John 13:7

We are assured that God has a plan for each individual life of His redeemed children. Jesus had a purpose in washing the feet of his disciples that night. It was not an idle thing that He was doing. He meant to teach these men a great lesson.

He has a purpose in every smallest thing, in each event in our lives. His plans run on through all the years, and are woven of the threads of the common events of our lives. We do not know the meaning of the small things in our everyday experiences--but the least of them is in some way connected with the great divine plan.

God's plan for each life includes the smallest affairs of that life. The things that come into our experience are not mere chance. 'Chance' is not a good word; at least we may not use it to mean something that broke into our life independently of God. Nothing ever comes into our experience by chance, in the sense that it is outside of God's purpose for our life, and beyond God's control.

Suppose someone wrongs you, treats you unkindly, even cruelly. If you are God's child, your Father takes the evil into His hands, and it becomes thenceforth, a secret of blessing; it will be overruled so as to be among the "all things" that work together for your good.

The purpose of God for His children--is always good, always love. It could not be otherwise, for God is love. This does not mean that His plan for us never involves suffering. Ofttimes it does. It brings death to a mother--and pain and grief to her family. It took the baby out of the young mother's arms the other night! It leaves the young widow broken-hearted, with little children to provide for. It permits loss of property to come, leaving a family to suffer pinching poverty and hard struggle. It allows a man to lose his work in the time of financial depression, and to endure experience of sore need. It brings sickness with its pain and cost. It lets us have bitter days of suffering. Godly people ofttimes have to endure bitter things, which are hard and most trying. Nevertheless, the plan of God for our lives is good. It is a plan of love. "What I am doing"--it is the Master who says this, and what He does must be good.

Is affliction good? Can it be good to endure bereavement, to suffer injustice, to bear pain? Some day we shall know that many of the best things in life--are the fruit of these very bitter experiences. Our redemption--comes from the sorrow and suffering of Jesus Christ. Just so, the best blessings and the holiest beauties of God's saints--are the harvest of pain.

We must not forget that the things which are painful, are also parts of Christ's chosen way for us, and that they are always good. In all our life Christ is making us--making godly people of us, fashioning Christian character, transforming us into His beautiful image.

Let not life's pains and trials dismay you. Submit to God, accept the providences that come as part of His discipline, and take the lessons, the enrichings which He sends. Some day you will know that you have learned many of your sweetest songs--in the darkness.

[nChrist]

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Spiritual beauty

(J. R. Miller, "Strength and Beauty")

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth!" Psalm 96:9

"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." Psalm 90:17

Paul enjoins that, "whatsoever things are lovely" shall be in the vision of life, into which we aim to fashion our character.

We are to follow in the footsteps of our Master. Jesus Himself was, "Altogether lovely!" Song of Songs 5:16

Humanity was made to be beautiful. God's ideal for man was spotless loveliness--man was made at first, in God's image. But sin has left its foul trail everywhere! We see something of its debasement, wherever we go. What ruins sin has wrought!

All of Christ's work of grace--is towards the restoration of beauty of the Lord in His people.

Spiritual beauty is holiness. Nothing unclean is lovely. Character is Christ-like, only when it is beautiful.

All the precepts of the Bible are towards the fashioning of beauty in every redeemed life. We are to put away . . .
  all that is sinful,
  all marring,
  every blot and blemish,
  every unholy desire, feeling and affection,
  everything that would defile--
and put on whatsoever is lovely and Christ-like.

The one great work of Christ in Christian lives--is the fashioning of holiness in them. We are to grow away from . . .
  our deformities,
  our faults,
  our infirmities,
  our poor dwarfed stunted life
--into spiritual beauty!

The mark set before us is the likeness of Christ, which, at last, we shall attain! "We know that when He appears--we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is! And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself--just as He is pure." 1 John 3:2-3

[nChrist]

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Motes and beams

(J. R. Miller, "The Duty of Fault-Finding")

There is a duty of fault-finding. The Master Himself teaches it. In the Sermon on the Mount, He makes it very plain. We must note carefully, however, where the duty begins. We are to look first after our own faults. "Why do you look at the mote that is in your brother's eye--but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye?"

We must consider the beam that is in our own eye!

The form of this question suggest that we are naturally inclined to pay more attention to flaws and blemishes in others--than in ourselves; and also that a very small fault--a mere mote of fault in another person--may seem larger to us than a blemish many times greater in ourselves!

Of course, it is far easier to see other people's faults--than our own. Our eyes are set in our head in such a way--that we can look at our neighbor, better than at ourselves. Yet we all have faults of our own. Most of us have quite enough of them to occupy our thought, to the exclusion of our neighbor's faults--if only we would give them our attention.

Really, too, our own faults ought to interest us, more than our neighbor's, because they are our own; and being our own, we are responsible for them. We do not have to answer for any other one's sins--but we must answer for our own sins, "Each one must give an account of himself."

Also, the responsibility for getting rid of them, is ours. No faithful friend, no wise teacher, can cure our faults for us. If ever they are taken out of our life--it must be by our own faith, our own firm, persistent effort.

It is a fact, that the faults which we usually see and criticize in others--are the very faults which are the most marked in us! In our judgment of others--we show a miniature of ourselves. If this is true, we should be careful in judging others, for in doing so--we are only revealing our own faults! This should lead us also to close scrutiny of our own life, to get rid of the things in us which are not beautiful.