“GOD KINDLY VEILS OUR EYES.”

“It is fortunate for us that in the outstart we do not, cannot, estimate or appreciate the full meaning of the words, sacrifice, cross-bearing, etc. If we could look into the future and see from the start the various trials and difficulties to be encountered in the “narrow way,” doubtless few of us would have the courage to make the consecration and the start – if we could not see or appreciate, beforehand, the rewards and blessings which under divine providence come to us in connection with every trial – more than compensating us for every earthly self-denial and endurance. Nor can we in advance appreciate how the Lord wishes to test our zeal and our faith, by letting us come to the crosses of life one at a time, and letting us see their ruggedness, – hiding from us the assisting hand by which, as soon as we take hold of the cross and put forth our efforts, our Lord lifts the real weight of it, so that we have no more at any time than we are able to bear. So careful is he of all those who thus become his footstep followers and cross-bearers, and prospectively his joint-heirs in the Kingdom, that he will not “suffer them to be tempted above that they are able, but with the temptation will provide also a way of escape.” – 1 Cor 10:13.

SACRIFICING PRECEDES CROSS-BEARING.

The first step in following the Lord is properly designated in the Scriptures a sacrifice; but it is not a taking up of the cross. When we sacrifice our wills, (fully consecrate ourselves) when we submit ourselves fully to the Lord, it is the sum of all sacrifice – in the sense that the giving up of the will means the surrender of our all to the Lord, that his will may be done in respect to all our affairs. The will is the individual, the ego, and holds the command, the rulership of our time, influence, abilities, and every talent; hence the surrender of the will to God means a surrender of all these things to him.

All subsequent sacrifices which we may make in the Lord’s service are included in and represented by this sacrifice of the will. If the will changes, draws back, ceases to be obedient to God, ceases to be submissive to his arrangements, the whole condition changes and the relationship to God as a member of the body of Christ terminates. But if the will continues faithful to God and desirous of serving him and his cause, though the service and cross-bearing be not done faithfully, the Lord will carry such through, and by chastisements and corrections in righteousness they shall ultimately be “saved so as by fire” – by tribulation. This is the essence of the doctrine of “the final perseverance of the saints.” So long as they continue to be consecrated – to have their wills sanctified to the Lord – they continue to be his, even should they, from lack of zeal, fail to win the prize offered to the zealous, the “overcomers.”

But if the will, remain loyal to the Lord, and the crosses are approached and lifted and borne in faith and trust, not only will the Lord’s grace suffice, but his comfort and assistance will be given in the narrow way; – so that its trials and difficulties may be esteemed as “light afflictions, but for a moment.” Eventually this class shall be the victors, joint-heirs with the Master in his Kingdom, because by his assisting grace they shall have walked in his footsteps faithfully, even unto death – and that with greater ease and peace and joy and satisfaction than others who with less zeal seek to avoid the crosses of their consecration.

The statement that the consecration of the will – its surrender, its sacrifice, that the Lord’s will may be received instead – is not one of the crosses we are called on to bear, may need further explanation.

In order for the sacrifice of our wills to be acceptable to the Lord at all, it must be no cross to us; the desire to give up our own will and to accept God’s will must be a joy, a pleasure. Our wills must be sacrificed willingly, else the sacrifice will not be accepted of the Lord, and we shall have neither part nor lot with him. Unless the will be joyfully resigned to the Lord’s will, all subsequent sacrificing or cross-bearing will count nothing whatever to our advantage. Our Master’s expression respecting the surrender, the sacrifice, of his will to do the Father’s will, illustrates this matter clearly; and it will be noticed from the language that there was no cross connected therewith.

Our Lord’s sentiments were, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” (Psa 40:8) And so all who would be his disciples must not only count the cost of cross-bearing because of the opposition of the world, the flesh and the devil, but they must have a somewhat similar spirit to that of our Lord in connection with the sacrificing of their wills; they, too, must delight to have God’s will done in them – delight to surrender or sacrifice their own wills. Let us see this clearly, and if there is anything lacking in respect to the sacrifice of our wills let us give it our first attention. He who has completely sacrificed his will to the Lord’s will has gained the victory at the start which will make all the remainder of the “narrow way” comparatively easy. He who has merely hacked and mutilated his will instead of killing it outright, will find extra difficulty at every step of his journey, and can never gain the victory until he has finished the sacrifice which he imperfectly began.”

Continued with next post.