Love to the Uttermost: Expositions of John XIII.-XXI.Meyer, F. B. (Frederick Brotherton)
Religion
Love to the Uttermost: Expositions of John XIII.-XXI.
Meyer, F. B. (Frederick Brotherton)
Bible. John -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
It was trodden with song. And who can describe the waves of joy that
sometimes roll in on the believing, loving soul. There is always
peace, but sometimes there is joy unspeakable and full of glory. The
hands of Jesus shed the oil of gladness on our heads, whilst the
lamentation and regret that haunt the lives of others are abashed, as
the spectres of the night before the roseate touch of morn.
What further thought did Christ mean to convey, when He said, "I am the
Way"? We cannot see the other side of the moon. The full import of
these words, as they touch His wonderful nature, as it lies between Him
and His Father, is beyond us; but we may at least study the face they
turn toward our lives.
The true value of a way is never realized until we are following it
through an unknown country, or groping along it in almost absolute
darkness. I remember, during a tour in Switzerland, on starting for a
long day's march, the comfort of the assurance that I had only to keep
to one road which was clearly defined, and it would inevitably bring me
to my destination. How different this to another experience of making
my way, as I might, across the hillsides in the direction which I
fancied was the right one! All that had to be done in the first
instance was to follow the roadway, to obey its sinuous windings, to
climb the hills where it climbed, to descend the valleys where it
descended, to cross the rivers and torrents at the precise point with
it. It seemed responsible for me as long as I kept to it. Whenever I
thought to better myself by wandering right or left, I found myself
landed in some difficulty, and when I returned to it, it seemed to say,
"Why did you leave me? I know that sometimes I am rough and difficult;
but I can do better for you, than you can for yourself, and indeed I am
the only possible way. Obey me, and I will bring you home." It is so
that Christ speaks to us.
Each day, as we leave our home, we know that the prepared path lies
before us, in the good works which God has prepared for us to walk in.
And when we are ignorant of their direction, and are at a loss as to
where to place our steps, we have only to concern ourselves with
Christ, and almost unconsciously we shall find ourselves making
progress on the destined way. Christ is the Way: love Christ, trust
Christ, obey Christ, be concerned with Christ, and all else will be
added. Christ is the Way. When the heart is wrapped up in Him, it is
on the way, and it is making progress, although it never counts the
rate or distance, so occupied is it with Him.
"I fear I make no progress," sighs the timid soul.
"But what is Christ to thee?"
"Everything."
"Then if He be all in all to thee, thou art most certainly on God's
way; and thou art making progress toward thy home, albeit that it is
unconsciously. Be of good cheer, Christ is the Way; remember the
ancient pilgrims, of whom it is written, that the way was in their
hearts."
"But God the Father is so little to me!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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