God (Christianity) -- Worship and love; Spirituality
Several conclusions may fairly be drawn from all this. The simplicity of
it, for instance. Since believing is looking, it can be done without
special equipment or religious paraphernalia. God has seen to it that
the one life-and-death essential can never be subject to the caprice of
accident. Equipment can break down or get lost, water can leak away,
records can be destroyed by fire, the minister can be delayed or the
church burn down. All these are external to the soul and are subject to
accident or mechanical failure: but _looking_ is of the heart and can be
done successfully by any man standing up or kneeling down or lying in
his last agony a thousand miles from any church.
Since believing is looking it can be done _any time_. No season is
superior to another season for this sweetest of all acts. God never made
salvation depend upon new moons nor holy days or sabbaths. A man is not
nearer to Christ on Easter Sunday than he is, say, on Saturday, August
3, or Monday, October 4. As long as Christ sits on the mediatorial
throne every day is a good day and all days are days of salvation.
Neither does _place_ matter in this blessed work of believing God. Lift
your heart and let it rest upon Jesus and you are instantly in a
sanctuary though it be a Pullman berth or a factory or a kitchen. You
can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him.
Now, someone may ask, "Is not this of which you speak for special
persons such as monks or ministers who have by the nature of their
calling more time to devote to quiet meditation? I am a busy worker and
have little time to spend alone." I am happy to say that the life I
describe is for everyone of God's children regardless of calling. It is,
in fact, happily practiced every day by many hard working persons and is
beyond the reach of none.
Many have found the secret of which I speak and, without giving much
thought to what is going on within them, constantly practice this habit
of inwardly gazing upon God. They know that something inside their
hearts sees God. Even when they are compelled to withdraw their
conscious attention in order to engage in earthly affairs there is
within them a secret communion always going on. Let their attention but
be released for a moment from necessary business and it flies at once to
God again. This has been the testimony of many Christians, so many that
even as I state it thus I have a feeling that I am quoting, though from
whom or from how many I cannot possibly know.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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