God's Desire

Because Christ has preeminence (Col. 1:18), He has first place in virtue of who He is; He desires every place in our lives.

From 1889,

You enter your room and find the fire all but out, there seems scarcely a trace of vitality. The fire-irons are there, all polished and laid in order; but what could they do? Nothing! A thousand sets of the most splendid fire-irons could not produce a single spark. There must be a living HAND to move them, or they will lie there motionless and powerless.

What is to be done? You seize the poker, rake out the ashes, and introduce a current of air; then you STIR UP the almost dead lumps of coal; and in a few moments, you have a brilliant and beautiful fire. Who thinks of praising the poker? Who would say, “Dear, what a marvelous poker!” It is not the lifeless poker, but the living hand that does the work. True, the hand uses the poker; but the poker is useless without the hand.

Now, there is a fine moral lesson here for all who are, in any little way, used in the Lord’s blessed work. We have to remember the works that are done upon the earth, God is the doer of them. If He deigns to use us, let us never forget that we are but mere instruments, just as powerless as the poker. No doubt, we have enjoyment in the work; but we are not now dealing with the question of enjoyment, but ability. If any proper work is done, God is the doer of it. To Him be ALL the glory. “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollo’s, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollo’s watered; but God gave the increase.” (1 Cor. 3:5-7).

It is a very serious thing to attach undue importance or give undue place to men, how much soever they may be used in the Lord’s work. We have seen the work marred and workmen morally ruined by this very thing. It is a fatal mistake. Men are taken out of the place in which God has put them, they are lauded, lionized, and gazed at as sort of a phenomenon; their lives are written and published before their death. In this way, they are lifted into an entirely false position, like a person walking on stilts, and then some terrible fall comes to bring them to their senses, and recall them to their correct place.

The Lord’s servants should carefully guard against this terrible evil. See how the blessed Master ever retired from human applause and human excitement. When men wondered at His teaching, He said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me.” (Jhn. 7:16). When they would come and take Him by force and make Him a king, He retired into a mountain to pray. (Mt. 21:8, 15; Mk. 11:9-10; Jhn. 12:13). When they wanted Him to show Himself to the world, He said, “My time is not yet come.” (Jhn. 7:6). We ever find Him hiding Himself, blessed forever be His precious, peerless Name. Oh, to drink more into His Spirit, and walk-in His footsteps! (1 Pet. 2:21). To be well content to be a nothing and a nobody, so that Christ may be magnified! May God grant us this immense favor.

(Jhn. 6:63; Rom. 7:18 = Jhn. 15:1-5 = Is. 53:10-12 = Hos. 14:8 = Phil. 2:12-13 = Col. 1:27)