The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young, Vol. 3Newton, Richard
Religion
The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young, Vol. 3
Newton, Richard
Jesus Christ -- Art; Jesus Christ -- Biography -- Juvenile literature
We are told that before this nobleman went away to the far country,
he called to him "his own servants." The nobleman here spoken of
means Jesus, our blessed Master. And now the question is--who are
meant by "his own servants?" He has three kinds of servants. The
first kind is made up of those who serve him _ignorantly_. This takes
in all those things that have no knowledge or understanding. There,
for instance are the sun,--the moon,--the stars,--the mountains,--the
hills,--the plains,--the valleys,--the rivers,--the seas,--the wind
that blows,--the rains that descend,--and the dews that distil; these
all serve God, without knowing it. He made them to serve him, and
they do it; but they do it ignorantly. "His kingdom _ruleth over
all_," and it makes all these things his servants. They do exactly
what they were made for, but they do it ignorantly.
And there is another class of our Lord's creatures who serve him
_unwillingly_. This is a very large class. It takes in all the wicked
men, and the wicked spirits who are to be found anywhere. They do not
wish to serve God, and yet, in spite of themselves, they are obliged
to do it. We see this illustrated, when we think of the way in which
the crucifixion of our blessed Saviour was brought about. Satan
stirred up the Jews to take Jesus and put him to death. God allowed
them to do it. They did it of their own choice--as freely, and as
voluntarily, as they ever did anything in their lives. They did it
because they hated him, and wished to get him out of their way. So
they nailed him to the cross in their malice and their rage. This was
the very thing God had determined should be done, that he might save
and bless the world. He allowed Satan, and the Jews, to do just what
their wicked hearts prompted them to do; and then he overruled it for
good. And, in this way, as David says, he "makes the wrath of man to
praise him, and the remainder of it he restrains." And thus we see
how evil men, and evil spirits, are God's servants _unwillingly_.
But then, there is another class of persons who serve God
_willingly_. This takes in all those who know and love him. He speaks
of them, in this parable as "_his own_ servants." When they find out
what he has done for them, the thought of it fills their hearts with
love; and then they desire to serve him, and do all he tells them to
do, in order to show their love to him. And this is what Jesus means
when he says--"Take my yoke upon you; for my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light," When we really love a person, anything that we can
do for that person is easy and pleasant to us. And so it is the great
love for Jesus, that his people have, which makes his yoke easy, and
his burden light to them.
"How to Become a Willing Servant to Jesus." A little boy came to his
grandmother one day, and asked her how he could become a Christian.
She answered very simply, "Ask Jesus to give you a new heart, _and
believe he does it when you ask him_."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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