'Steps to Christ -
Chap. 9 - The Work
and the Life
God is the source of
life and light and joy to the universe. Like rays of light from the sun, like
the streams of water bursting from a living spring, blessings flow out from Him
to all His creatures. And wherever the life of God is in the hearts of men, it
will flow out to others in love and blessing.
Our Saviour's joy
was in the uplifting and redemption of fallen men. For this He counted not His
life dear unto Himself, but endured the cross, despising the shame. So angels
are ever engaged in working for the happiness of others. This is their joy. That
which selfish hearts would regard as humiliating service, ministering to those
who are wretched and in every way inferior in character and rank, is the work
of sinless angels. The spirit of Christ's self-sacrificing love is the spirit
that pervades heaven and is the very essence of its bliss. This is the spirit
that Christ's followers will possess, the work that they will do.
When the love of
Christ is enshrined in the heart, like sweet fragrance it cannot be hidden. Its
holy influence will be felt by all with whom we come in contact. The spirit of
Christ in the heart is like a spring in the desert, flowing to refresh all and
making those who are ready to perish, eager to drink of the water of life.
Love to Jesus will
be manifested in a desire to work as He worked for the blessing and uplifting
of humanity. It will lead to love, tenderness, and sympathy toward all the
creatures of our heavenly Father's care.
The Saviour's life
on earth was not a life of ease and devotion to Himself, but He toiled with
persistent, earnest, untiring effort for the salvation of lost mankind. From
the manger to Calvary He followed the path of self-denial and sought not to be
released from arduous tasks, painful travels and exhausting care and labor. He
said, "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and
to give His life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28. This was the one great
object of His life. Everything else was secondary and subservient. It was His
meat and drink to do the will of God and to finish His work. Self and
self-interest had no part in His labor.
So those who are the
partakers of the grace of Christ will be ready to make any sacrifice, that
others for whom He died may share the heavenly gift. They will do all they can
to make the world better for their stay in it. This spirit is the sure outgrowth
of a soul truly converted. No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born
in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has
found in Jesus; the saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his
heart. If we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ and are filled with
the joy of His indwelling Spirit, we shall not be able to hold our peace. If we
have tasted and seen that the Lord is good we shall have something to tell.
Like Philip when he found the Saviour, we shall invite others into His
presence. We shall seek to present to them the attractions of Christ and the
unseen realities of the world to come. There will be an intensity of desire to
follow in the path that Jesus trod. There will be an earnest longing that those
around us may "behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world." John 1:29.
And the effort to
bless others will react in blessings upon ourselves. This was the purpose of
God in giving us a part to act in the plan of redemption. He has granted men
the privilege of becoming partakers of the divine nature and, in their turn, of
diffusing blessings to their fellow men. This is the highest honor, the
greatest joy, that it is possible for God to bestow upon men. Those who thus
become participants in labors of love are brought nearest to their Creator.
God might have
committed the message of the gospel, and all the work of loving ministry, to
the heavenly angels. He might have employed other means for accomplishing His
purpose. But in His infinite love He chose to make us co-workers with Himself,
with Christ and the angels, that we might share the blessing, the joy, the
spiritual uplifting, which results from this unselfish ministry.
We are brought into
sympathy with Christ through the fellowship of His sufferings. Every act of
self-sacrifice for the good of others strengthens the spirit of beneficence in
the giver's heart, allying him more closely to the Redeemer of the world, who "was
rich, yet for your sakes . . . became poor, that ye through His poverty might
be rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9. And it is only as we thus fulfill the divine
purpose in our creation that life can be a blessing to us.
If you will go to work as Christ designs that
His disciples shall, and win souls for Him, you will feel the need of a deeper
experience and a greater knowledge in divine things, and will hunger and thirst
after righteousness. You will plead with God, and your faith will be
strengthened, and your soul will drink deeper drafts at the well of salvation.
Encountering opposition and trials will drive you to the Bible and prayer. You
will grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ, and will develop a rich
experience.
The spirit of
unselfish labor for others gives depth, stability, and Christlike loveliness to
the character, and brings peace and happiness to its possessor. The aspirations
are elevated. There is no room for sloth or selfishness. Those who thus
exercise the Christian graces will grow and will become strong to work for God.
They will have clear spiritual perceptions, a steady, growing faith, and an
increased power in prayer. The Spirit of God, moving upon their spirit, calls
forth the sacred harmonies of the soul in answer to the divine touch. Those who
thus devote themselves to unselfish effort for the good of others are most
surely working out their own salvation.
The only way to grow
in grace is to be disinterestedly doing the very work which Christ has enjoined
upon us--to engage, to the extent of our ability, in helping and blessing those
who need the help we can give them. Strength comes by exercise; activity is the
very condition of life. Those who endeavor to maintain Christian life by
passively accepting the blessings that come through the means of grace, and
doing nothing for Christ, are simply trying to live by eating without working.
And in the spiritual as in the natural world, this always results in
degeneration and decay. A man who would refuse to exercise his limbs would soon
lose all power to use them. Thus the Christian who will not exercise his
God-given powers not only fails to grow up into Christ, but he loses the
strength that he already had.
The church of Christ
is God's appointed agency for the salvation of men. Its mission is to carry the
gospel to the world. And the obligation rests upon all Christians. Everyone, to
the extent of his talent and opportunity, is to fulfill the Saviour's commission.
The love of Christ, revealed to us, makes us debtors to all who know Him not.
God has given us light, not for ourselves alone, but to shed upon them.
If the followers of
Christ were awake to duty, there would be thousands where there is one today
proclaiming the gospel in heathen lands. And all who could not personally
engage in the work, would yet sustain it with their means, their sympathy, and
their prayers. And there would be far more earnest labor for souls in Christian
countries.
We need not go to
heathen lands, or even leave the narrow circle of the home, if it is there that
our duty lies, in order to work for Christ. We can do this in the home circle,
in the church, among those with whom we associate, and with whom we do business.
The greater part of
our Saviour's life on earth was spent in patient toil in the carpenter's shop
at Nazareth. Ministering angels attended the Lord of life as He walked side by
side with peasants and laborers, unrecognized and unhonored. He was as faithfully
fulfilling His mission while working at His humble trade as when He healed the
sick or walked upon the storm-tossed waves of Galilee. So in the humblest
duties and lowliest positions of life, we may walk and work with Jesus.
The apostle says,
"Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God." 1
Corinthians 7:24. The businessman may conduct his business in a way that will
glorify his Master because of his fidelity. If he is a true follower of Christ
he will carry his religion into everything that is done and reveal to men the
spirit of Christ. The mechanic may be a diligent and faithful representative of
Him who toiled in the lowly walks of life among the hills of Galilee. Everyone
who names the name of Christ should so work that others, by seeing his good
works, may be led to glorify their Creator and Redeemer.
Many have excused
themselves from rendering their gifts to the service of Christ because others
were possessed of superior endowments and advantages. The opinion has prevailed
that only those who are especially talented are required to consecrate their abilities
to the service of God. It has come to be understood by many that talents are
given to only a certain favored class to the exclusion of others who of course
are not called upon to share in the toils or the rewards. But it is not so
represented in the parable. When the master of the house called his servants,
he gave to every man his work.
With a loving spirit
we may perform life's humblest duties "as to the Lord." Colossians
3:23. If the love of God is in the heart, it will be manifested in the life.
The sweet savor of Christ will surround us, and our influence will elevate and bless.
You are not to wait
for great occasions or to expect extraordinary abilities before you go to work
for God. You need not have a thought of what the world will think of you. If
your daily life is a testimony to the purity and sincerity of your faith, and others
are convinced that you desire to benefit them, your efforts will not be wholly
lost.
The humblest and
poorest of the disciples of Jesus can be a blessing to others. They may not
realize that they are doing any special good, but by their unconscious
influence they may start waves of blessing that will widen and deepen, and the
blessed results they may never know until the day of final reward. They do not
feel or know that they are doing anything great. They are not required to weary
themselves with anxiety about success. They have only to go forward quietly,
doing faithfully the work that God's providence assigns, and their life will
not be in vain. Their own souls will be growing more and more into the likeness
of Christ; they are workers together with God in this life and are thus fitting
for the higher work and the unshadowed joy of the life to come.'
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