August 18 Have You Ever Been
Expressionless With Sorrow?
“And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for
he was very rich.” Luke 18:23
The rich young ruler went away expressionless with sorrow; he had not a
word to say. He had no doubt as to what Jesus said, no debate as to what it
meant, and it produced in him a sorrow that had not any words. Have you ever
been there? Has God's word come to you about something you are very rich in –
temperament, personal affinity, relationships of heart and mind? Then you have
often been expressionless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, He will
not plead, but every time He meets you on that point He will simply repeat – If
you mean what you say, those are the conditions.
“Sell all that thou hast,” undress yourself morally before God of
everything that might be a possession until you are a mere conscious human
being, and then give God that. That is where the battle is fought – in the
domain of the will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus
wants than to Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His hard sayings
that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is hard, it is only easy when
it is heard by those who have His disposition. Beware of allowing anything to
soften a hard word of Jesus Christ's.
I can be so rich in poverty, so rich in the consciousness that I am
nobody, that I shall never be a disciple of Jesus; and I can be so rich in the
consciousness that I am somebody that I shall never be a disciple. Am I willing
to be destitute of the sense that I am destitute? This is where discouragement
comes in. Discouragement is disenchanted self-love, and self-love may be love
of my devotion to Jesus.
8月18日 竭誠為主
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