There is a great difference between a doctrine, however true, and the living person of the risen Lord. The heart can never find its home and rest in a doctrine or an inference, however fair or plausible; it must have the full assurance and enjoyment of a love that can never change. The very thought of the possibility of a change would be torment. The changeless love of Christ is the only resting-place of the human heart. Nothing but love will ever satisfy love, but when the heart rests and delights in His love, all fear of falling away or of not persevering to the end is unknown — unfelt. The great thought of the heart is, I am His and He is mine. He has brought me to Himself and fitted me for Himself, as the answer to the desires of His own heart. And now He is satisfied, and I am at rest.
But what am I to be thinking about? My faith? my conversion? my feelings? my doings? my perseverance? No! Surely, I have only to think of Him, look to Him, delight in Him, speak of Him, and speak to Him. The whole of my Christian faith has resulted in the knowledge, the possession and the enjoyment of the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. There is no higher flight of faith than this, and in any lower there is no resting-place. The knowledge of the truth, of course, and, especially, the knowledge of the finished work of Christ are necessary to the knowledge of Himself, through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. But all these are as means to an end — the full knowledge of Himself. We must know the value of His work, before the heart rises into the one desire of knowing Himself. “That I may know Him,” says Paul, and as John says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.” It is the knowledge of His perfect love, a love that has its spring and power in Himself and is above the influence of our failures and shortcomings, that delivers the soul from all fear and fills it with a holy boldness under all circumstances. The feeling is no longer what I am or may be, at some future time, but what He is. Will He ever change? Will His love ever cool down? Can He ever lose His place in heaven? Thus the heart finds perfect rest in His presence, being in Him and one with Him, and a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.
A Closing Scene
As an example, we give in substance the following closing scene:
The doctor was making his usual medical visit. The illness had been long, and many visits had been made, but in this last visit the change was apparent. Turning to a sister who stood in the room, he quietly said, “She is dying.” He was a friend of the family as well as the doctor, and he sympathized with the sorrowing friends. But there was another in the room ready to comfort them all. As the words, “She is dying,” reached her ear, they conveyed no alarm to her soul; all was peace, and making a slight effort to look at her friend, she calmly replied, “Not dying, doctor — I’m going to live. No, not dying; this is living — I’m going to live with Jesus.” And with great presence and composure of mind, she expressed her gratitude to the doctor for all his attention and kindness, and she assured him that she felt he had done all that man could do, and in bidding him farewell, she prayed that God might bless him and bless his family: “May God bless you, doctor, and may He bless your family.” These last words of his patient were more than he could stand; he left the room in a state of the deepest emotion. He returned the next day to find her asleep in Jesus, and he spoke of the blessing he had received.
Her work was now done. Like her Lord and Master, she passed off the scene with hands uplifted in blessing. She had been many years a Christian and had the calm and solid reality of a well-instructed mind. Of course, it was the grace of God and that alone which enabled her to bear such a testimony for the truth and for Christ, but it was the sweet sense of His presence with her in that chamber of suffering and death which filled her whole soul with such peace and rest. He was with her, and that was enough. The strength of His arm, the beams of His countenance, as well as the love of His heart, were all her own. She is absent from the body; she is present with the Lord. She has joined those with Christ above, quietly to wait with them and Him, the day of His coming glory. We shall meet in the morning — that morning of cloudless, eternal joy. Till then may we cease from self, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and seek the blessing of others.
Adapted from
Things New and Old, 16:296