Shine As Lights # 3

Shine As Lights # 3

"God has made His light shine in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6). Of one thing I am very sure. The light must shine in - before it can shine out. Christ, the true Light, must dwell within you. He must illumine all that is dark, transform all that is of the world, and purify all that is corrupt and debased.

It was a wonderful moment when a Divine voice was heard, "Let there be light!" and light from above streamed down upon the dark chaos of earth, and upon hill and dale - upon the lofty mountain and upon the glorious ocean the light was shed. But it is a still more blessed moment, when the voice is heard within the human soul. The word is given, "Let there be light!" and forthwith the soul, wrapped in the slumber of spiritual death, awakes - and behold, all things are new. The midnight darkness is past, and the light of grace has begun to shine.

There must be the light of self-knowledge. The Spirit of God reveals sin - and humbles the sinner. Hitherto satisfied with a form of religion, he sees himself to be a sinner guilty of damnation.. He knows that he is a law-breaker, and the curse of the law is upon him. He willingly casts aside his former self-righteous excuses, and takes the lowest place. From a broken spirit arises the cry: God be merciful to me, the sinner!

Then comes the light of pardoning mercy.  Sin is revealed, that it may be completely forgiven. The soul trusts in the atoning blood, and the conscience is purged from the guilt of the past. Oh, the blessed light that shines into the soul when the free mercy of our God is manifested! Christ has become sin for me - and I am righteous in Him. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

There comes moreover the light of Christ's presence and love. "Christ comes so near to me," said a young widow in her grief, "that He seems to walk by me on the stairs as I go to rest at night."

"I have two heavens," said an aged Christian to me a few months ago. "I have heaven here - for Christ is with me on my bed of suffering; and I have a Heaven there above - where He dwells."

Dear reader, has this light shone into your heart? Have you learned your sin, and believed in Jesus? Have you found out the way to His mercy-seat, and there discovered how kind and loving and forgiving He is to all who sincerely seek Him? Do you love Him, and trust His promise, and desire to know more of Him from day to day? Is your religion in any way like that of the early Christians, spoken of in 1 Peter 1:8: "Whom (that is, Christ) having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!"

Much of the religion of the present day, is very material in its character. It delights in excess of music, and flowers, and outward show. It is linked with a material altar, and ceremonies and ordinances without number. But those early Christians fixed the eye on that which was spiritual and invisible, and rejoiced with unspeakable joy in an unseen Saviour. Is this your spirit?

Has the light so shone within your soul that Christ Himself is everything, and all else in comparison is nothing worth?

Be content with nothing less. Do not be satisfied with a certain amount of Christianity. You must have Christ Himself, as the life and refuge and portion of your soul. You must have Christ FOR you - your Righteousness, your Advocate, your High Priest before the throne of God. You must have Christ IN you, by His Spirit dwelling in your heart by faith, and making you more and more like Himself in holiness and love. And as you begin, so you must continue. You must fix your eye steadfastly on Christ, and then draw out of His fullness grace sufficient for all your need.

Let there be no mist or veil between you and Christ; let there be no reserve in your obedience, or the least permitted evil in your life, to bring a cloud between your soul and the Saviour. Watch against unbelief coming in to destroy your communion with Him. Trust Him fully; give Him your boundless, unlimited confidence. His riches are unsearchable; His power exceeding great, beyond your utmost necessity. And this power and treasury of grace are all in the hand of infinite Love and unshaken Faithfulness. Therefore you must trust and not be afraid. Your confidence shall not be disappointed.

And while you trust Him, watch against the least shadow of spiritual pride. If you have attained anything, yet there is far indwelling sin left in you. The best and holiest day in your life, has in it enough imperfection and evil utterly to condemn you! If you have advanced a few steps up the mountain side, just look up and see its lofty peak far, far away. The glorious image of Christ is your standard, but have you reached it in a single particular? Therefore keep humble - and you will be safe. Aim at the very loftiest idea of holiness in the perfect likeness of the Lord Jesus, and rejoice  that by and by you will reach it. Meanwhile, let the light from above show you your innumerable defects, and let your foot rest firm and sure on the work and righteousness of Christ alone. In Him there is no condemnation even now; through Him, by and by, there will be the perfection at which we aim.

~George Everard~

(continued with # 4)