“All men find what they truly seek” – Aslan
THAT line above is one of my favorites from the Chronicles of Narnia. It coincides with my life verse Matt 6:33, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and … .”
THE previous posting ended with the closing thoughts from Miles J. Stanford’s mediation “Nothing Daunted” saying, every Christian will become at last what his desires have made him. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic narrative The Great Stone Face tells the story of how we become what we seek and give ourselves to; truly God has written this reality upon our hearts (Ecc. 3:11). Which brings me to today’s consideration from another of MJS’s None But the Hungary Heart.
ONE of my favorite hymns has a line, “I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro, seeking for some great thing to do, or secret thing to know; I would be treated as a child, and guided where I go.” Do you ever have the thought while singing a line in a hymn -a confession of sorts- that maybe you just ought to sit down and be quiet; maybe not speak those words as they might be witnessing against you? Oh, how more often than not we fall short of what we ought to be as true followers of our beloved Savior. Yet no matter our shortcomings, He still bids us to “follow Him” and “press on” (John 21:22 and Phil 3: 13- 14).
WHEN I entertain such thoughts, I must remember it is by grace that I encounter the tender mercies of my Redeemer in finding conformity to Him. The thoughts below bring additional reminders of what it is the Lord ultimately intends with this vessel of clay that I am. May it bring comfort and encouragement to you as well, as we abide in Him, who shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).
In the wondrous blessings of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa 30:15 & Job 2:10
Quote “All men find what they truly seek” – Aslan
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1-2. LIFE’S PURPOSE
“For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
Our Lord the Vine provides all that His branches will ever need for fruit-bearing. All provision is according to our Father’s riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
“Christian growth is the becoming real in ourselves, of what is already true of us in the Lord Jesus. ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches, He says. But the vine furnishes the branches, not only with the principle of life, but with the type of life. No pressure or molding from without is needed to shape them to the pattern of the parent stock. Every minutest peculiarity of form, and color, and taste, and fragrance is determined by the root, and developed from it. A true believer, therefore, will ask no better thing of the Lord than that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in his body (2 Corinthians 4:11). For such a manifestation will, by a necessary principle, be the unfolding within him of every needed element of joy and sorrow, of suffering and triumph.” -A.J.G.
“Straining, driving effort does not accomplish the work God gives a man to do; we must partake of Christ so fully that He more than fills the life. It will then be not overwork but overflow.”
“And ye are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10).
