When Jesus is lifted up in his Church, his presence is the Church’s power—the shout of a king is in the midst of her. “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” Let us go out this morning on our work of soul fishing, looking up in faith, and around us in solemn anxiety. Let us toil till night comes, and we shall not labour in vain, for he who bids us let down the net, will fill it with fishes.
Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening.
All the world wants to avoid sorrow. They smack down poverty of every kind, as often as they possibly can; material things, financially, social, and poverty of the soul. Yeah, they go after poverty with a vengeance.
But in my life I’ve noticed something interesting. When I had things, and life seemed to go well, I tried to rest there. “This is good enough”, I thought to myself. I figured I could easily live this way all the rest of my life. But sorrow came back. The joy of peaceful stability was ruined.
Sorrow is a friend, it is not an enemy. It does not come to destroy, it comes to teach. Look how Innovative we become after a serious bout of sorrow.
Humanity is like a poor student in school. No matter what needs to be learned there’s always resistance. Humility and wisdom is the key. They both force us to realize we don’t understand hardly anything.
Has your life been a series of sorrowful exploits? Did you find that you just gave up? I did. I became innovative with the mud of my own mire. I didn’t think it would ever stop.
I have to say it was Jesus who transformed me. His interaction with me through the last decade would take volumes to write. But I can summarize how he did it.
He taught me how to make the bed in the morning. He taught me how to do the dishes when I was done eating. He taught me that when I see something needing picked up or done, do it. He lifted me out of my mud pit by teaching me to be dutiful not dooless.
I still face sorrow. It comes to visit nearly every day. But I no longer look at it as an enemy. It is filled with the lessons my teacher desires me to learn. Prosperity is only an honest prayer away.
A man is given a job. What is expected of him is taught. In many cases the expectations are written down thoroughly. The man is tested to be sure he has grasped what is essential. Still the question remains, has he understood.
The man who understands is rare. Yet the one who understands will learn to do what is expected of him. Most people do their job to their best. But there is always some lack of full understanding. By this mistakes are made and the employer suffers loss.
Only the seriously diligent will truly understand what is expected of them. In truth, at best, most of us can only say we have perceived the expectations. Understanding is an entirely different animal.
The more complicated the expectations, the less the possibility that the man will understand. Yet, as he is taught, his perception becomes more clear. At some point, if he applies himself, he becomes a reliable representative, and perhaps one who can teach.
If this is true among the things of men, how much more so the things of God?
Shall we stand and proclaim that we understand the Gospel? Is not very likely that understanding has come. If it is true that few believe the Gospel, how much more rare are those who understand?
If a man is able to do what the Gospel demands, then he may be able to say he has understood. But more likely, truth will say he has only perceived very well. Even in the best of us failures come and go.
The Lord has told us what is expected of us. Do we find ourselves willing to listen? “It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.”
Sadly the majority of people grasp the beginnings of the Gospel, but fail to understand the fullness of it. Like rudimentary students they live their lives lacking understanding. All the while simplicity rules their life, and they find themselves falling horribly short.
Like the worker who simply shows up to perform some menial task, the manual of expectations is rarely read. Such a man may be coerced or forced to do what is expected of him. But he does not have the will to succeed.
What employer will give promotions to those who are not diligent? The productivity of the company will surely lack for the sake of laziness and rebellion. How is the Kingdom of God any less?
The wise go back to the Bible everyday. They kneel in prayer often. They watch carefully to the things that come to them, striving to gain understanding. In such men, loyalty is supreme.
Men will pay us according to our willingness to serve. Should God treat us any differently? The answer, in words, is obvious. Does our performance give those words life?
The key to understanding lays in our loyalty. Perception obeys like a servant. Striving to understand obeys like a son. The difference between them is the quality of love within the heart.
As a man loves the one who gives him the opportunity, the service is more beautiful, and understanding is bound to come. Equally, as a man loves only himself his service to the one who gives him opportunity will lack. The one who truly loves the Lord will find himself very prosperous for the Living God.
Again, the proof of our love will be shown by the things we do. And the things we do present themselves clearly before us, that we may determine how we love the Lord.
“If you love me, obey my commandments.”
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