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Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing
but told of the grace that Christ had wrought in them, and thus others
were imbued with the same spirit. He also wrote to the church at
Corinth and said, “Your zeal hath stirred up very many.”
2 Corinthians
9:2
, R.V.
Christ’s own words make His meaning plain, that in acts of charity
the aim should not be to secure praise and honor from men. Real
godliness never prompts an effort at display. Those who desire words
of praise and flattery, and feed upon them as a sweet morsel, are
Christians in name only.
By their good works, Christ’s followers are to bring glory, not to
themselves, but to Him through whose grace and power they have
wrought. It is through the Holy Spirit that every good work is accom-
plished, and the Spirit is given to glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver.
When the light of Christ is shining in the soul, the lips will be filled
with praise and thanksgiving to God. Your prayers, your performance
of duty, your benevolence, your self-denial, will not be the theme of
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your thought or conversation. Jesus will be magnified, self will be
hidden, and Christ will appear as all in all.
We are to give in sincerity, not to make a show of our good deeds,
but from pity and love to the suffering ones. Sincerity of purpose, real
kindness of heart, is the motive that Heaven values. The soul that is
sincere in its love, wholehearted in its devotion, God regards as more
precious than the golden wedge of Ophir.
We are not to think of reward, but of service; yet kindness shown
in this spirit will not fail of its recompense. “Thy Father which seeth in
secret Himself shall reward thee openly.” While it is true that God Him-
self is the great Reward, that embraces every other, the soul receives
and enjoys Him only as it becomes assimilated to Him in character.
Only like can appreciate like. It is as we give ourselves to God for the
service of humanity that He gives Himself to us.
No one can give place in his own heart and life for the stream
of God’s blessing to flow to others, without receiving in himself a
rich reward. The hillsides and plains that furnish a channel for the
mountain streams to reach the sea suffer no loss thereby. That which
they give is repaid a hundredfold. For the stream that goes singing on
its way leaves behind its gift of verdure and fruitfulness. The grass on
its banks is a fresher green, the trees have a richer verdure, the flowers
are more abundant. When the earth lies bare and brown under the