For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Ephesians 5:8
The third class of blessing consists of spiritual treasures which are ours by blood atonement but which will not come to us unless we make a determined effort to possess them. To make things clearer let me set forth four propositions touching this blessing of joy which God has set before us; we looked at two in the last post. Here are two more:
3. You will have as little as you are satisfied with.
God gives to all men liberally, but it would be absurd to think that God's liberality will make a man more godly than he wants to be. The man, for instance, who is satisfied to live a defeated life will never be forced to take victory. The man who is content to follow Christ afar off will never know the radiant wonder of His nearness. The man who is willing to settle for a joyless, barren life will never experience the joy of the Holy Spirit or the deep satisfaction of fruitful living. It is discouraging to those who care, and surely a great grief to the Holy Spirit, to see how many Christians are content to settle for less than the best.
4. You now have as much as you really want.
Every man is as close to God as he wants to be; he is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wills to be. Our Lord said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:6). If there were but one man anywhere on earth who hungered and was not filled the word of Christ would fall to the ground. Yet we must distinguish wanting from wishing. By "want" I mean wholehearted desire. Certainly there are many who wish they were holy or victorious or joyful but are not willing to meet God's conditions to obtain. That God has placed before us, his children, a vast world of spiritual treasures and that we refuse or neglect to claim is a great tragedy.
Let's not be satisfied with little when He provides so much!
3. You will have as little as you are satisfied with.
God gives to all men liberally, but it would be absurd to think that God's liberality will make a man more godly than he wants to be. The man, for instance, who is satisfied to live a defeated life will never be forced to take victory. The man who is content to follow Christ afar off will never know the radiant wonder of His nearness. The man who is willing to settle for a joyless, barren life will never experience the joy of the Holy Spirit or the deep satisfaction of fruitful living. It is discouraging to those who care, and surely a great grief to the Holy Spirit, to see how many Christians are content to settle for less than the best.
4. You now have as much as you really want.
Every man is as close to God as he wants to be; he is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wills to be. Our Lord said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:6). If there were but one man anywhere on earth who hungered and was not filled the word of Christ would fall to the ground. Yet we must distinguish wanting from wishing. By "want" I mean wholehearted desire. Certainly there are many who wish they were holy or victorious or joyful but are not willing to meet God's conditions to obtain. That God has placed before us, his children, a vast world of spiritual treasures and that we refuse or neglect to claim is a great tragedy.
Let's not be satisfied with little when He provides so much!
Prayer
O Lord, give me a consuming discontent with spiritual poverty! I am a child of the King of kings and the Lord of lords and I should live as one blessed of the Lord. Amen.
