I find the Lord never ends a dispensation without giving it a closing worthy of Himself. How beautiful it is in Luke to find hearts brimful of God's thoughts, and looking out for the Messiah. Mary and Elizabeth talk of Him, and His ear is near to hear, as in Mal. 3:1616Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. (Malachi 3:16). If Christ acts now as He always acts, we may expect, despite all the ruin, to have some with whom the Spirit can say to Him, "Come.”
What is the great thing that we have to do in our day? To live for Christ. People have a vague idea of living for the glory of God, but the only way of living for the glory of God is to have the love that is in Christ's heart so dwelling in us, as it dwelt in the soul of the Apostle Paul, that he said that "Christ shall be magnified in my body." Phil. 1:2020According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (Philippians 1:20).
Is that my earnest expectation and hope? If I am living for myself, those around must see that the light is marred, and does not shine out. They might say of me, "If all the light that shines out is the measure of the Christ that shines in, He must have very little." But more than living as a testimony to others, I should want to shine for Christ. It is the One whose love has never passed from me for a single moment who wants me to live for Him whatever comes.
It is impossible to go through this world without suffering. You may choose which kind of suffering you will have—suffering for Christ, or suffering for yourself. If you are living for Christ, you will suffer for Him. If you are living for yourself, you will have God's rod close behind you.
Lot had God's mark, as did Abraham. God had not forgotten Lot any more than He had Abraham, but which of their troubles was it better to have? Is it better to have one's heart tried as Abraham's was, or to be chastened as Lot was?
Abraham's son was the center of the promises. Would he reckon that God was the keeper of the promise and not himself? Would he trust God to make good His promise, while God was teaching and testing his heart? Yes! And can I not say, "O, Lord Jesus, give me Abraham's trial and his portion, and not Lot's trial and his portion"?
My conviction is that it is the mind and purpose of God to make as complete a split between flesh and Spirit in these last days as He did in the days of Pentecost. The question is, who is living for Christ and who is not? If your heart is set on Christ, you will have the enjoyment of Christ before He comes, and you will meet His face with joy.
The Father's thought is that as His Christ is up there absolutely for us, He will have us here absolutely for Him. Say in your heart: "Through His grace, I will work out what He has worked in; I will live to the Christ whose eye is looking down from heaven on me. I will make apparent to others the One for whom I live." Young Christian