Jesus,
the Light of the World!
"I
Am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk
in darkness, but shall have the light of life!" John
8:12.
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 Savior'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 Savior'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
to, 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, who takes away the sin of
the world" John 1:29.
And the
effort to bless others will react in blessings upon us. 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 coworkers 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 you 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
Christ like 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 Savior'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 Savior'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.
"I
Am the light of the world; he who follows me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life!"
This
meditation is from The Path to Peace, pp. 37-40.
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