How blessed thus to be kept, and I am writing a brief extract from my sailor friend’s long letter from China, trusting it may be used in blessing to many hearts. He writes: ―
“Truly the goodness of God followeth us. How wonderful is His love and care over us, as He ‘moment by moment’ leads us on our journey to our home on high.
“Oh, ‘twas love, ‘twas wondrous love,
The love of God to me,
It brought my Saviour from above
To die on Calvary.”
“And now He has gone to prepare a place for us, that where He is there we may be also, and we are getting nearer to our Home and the time of His coming again. What a blessed hope is ours.... May He by His grace and Holy Spirit keep up faithful, holding fast our profession without wavering. I do praise God for all his love to me. The way is sometimes dark and rough, but He is able to make the crooked places straight and the rough places plain, and is able to supply all our need.
“I do feel how unworthy I am, but Jesus paid it, and now in Him I stand, clothed and in my right mind... Oh, for a greater and deeper knowledge of the love and power of Christ Jesus, just to the clay in the hands of the Divine potter, the vessel broken and emptied for His use made meet. Truly as you say, ‘without Him we can do nothing.’.... I do think it is wonderful that by the grace of God and through the precious Blood of Jesus we are cleansed every whit... and now the ‘life I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.’ I do praise God because He has by His Holy Spirit led me to see the need of a full and complete surrender to Him, and only by yielding all to Him is He able to use us to do and work His will. Praise God, those who are nearest Him are farthest from the world.... Praise the Lord, He is keeping me by His grace.... I feel the need of constant heart searching before Him... I do pray that God will bless the labors of the dear Doctor for Him, and all who are thus laboring for Him.”
My dear friend closes with Eph. 3:16-2116That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:16‑21). Has this wonderful love of Christ won the heart of the reader of this extract? A. A. L.