Elijah the Tishbite. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. VMackintosh, Charles Henry
Religion
Elijah the Tishbite. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. V
Mackintosh, Charles Henry
Theology
This is uncommonly fine. A person may say, "I long to be a channel,
but it seems quite too high, quite beyond me. How could I ever attain
to such a height?" The answer is, Get near enough to Christ to think
as He thinks, to feel as He feels. Drink into His spirit. This, be
assured of it, is the true, the only way to be a channel of
communication. If I say, "I must try and be a channel," I shall make a
fool of myself. But if I drink at the fountain of Christ's heart, I
shall be filled to overflowing, my whole moral being will be permeated
by His spirit, so that I shall be in a fit condition to be used by
Him, and I shall be sure to make a right use of--that is, to use for
Him--whatever ways and means He may put into my hands. If I get my
hands full of means, before my heart is full of Christ, I shall not
use the means for Him, I shall use them for my own glory, and not for
the glory of God.
Brethren, let us ponder this. Let us consider our mission, and the
true secret of fulfilling it. It is a grand point to have the heart
impressed with the fact, that we are called to be channels through
which the heart of Christ may flow out to His own, and to a needy
world. It is wonderful, it seems too good to be true; but, blessed be
God, it is as true as it is wonderful. Let us only seek to take it
in--to believe it, to make it our own. Let us not content ourselves
with admiring it as a beautiful theory, but seek to have it wrought
into our souls by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit.
But mark how slow the disciples were in responding to the desire of
the heart of Christ respecting them. It was His gracious purpose to
use them as His channels, to bestow upon them this immense privilege;
but they, like ourselves, were little able to appreciate it, simply
because they failed to enter into His thoughts, and to apprehend the
glory of His Person. "His disciples answered Him, From whence _can a
man_ satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?" On another
occasion they said, "We have here but five loaves and two fishes." Did
they not know, or had they forgotten, that they were in the immediate
presence of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe? True, He was
there in the lowly form of Jesus of Nazareth. His divine glory was
hidden from nature's view behind the veil of humanity. But they ought
to have known better who and what He was, and how to avail themselves
of His glorious presence, and of His unsearchable riches. Surely, had
their hearts at all apprehended the glory of His Person, they could
never have asked such a question as, "Whence can _a man_ satisfy these
men with bread here in the wilderness?" Moses, of old, had asked,
"Whence should _I_ have flesh to give to all this people?" God is shut
out by the poor unbelieving heart. Did Jehovah ask Moses to provide
flesh? Surely not. No mere man could do it. Neither could a mere man
feed four thousand in a desert place.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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