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The Way, the Truth, the Life, May 11
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:7
.
There are many who get above the simplicity of Jesus Christ, supposing
that they must do some great thing in order to work the works of God. Things
of a temporal nature absorb the attention of others, and they have little time or
thought for eternal realities. Wearied out with cares that draw their minds from
spiritual things, they cannot find time for communion with God. Constantly
they ask themselves the question, How can I find time to study and practice
the Word of God?
Christ is acquainted with the difficulties that try every soul, and He says,
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye
are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (
John 15:4, 5
).
Our first and highest duty is to know that we are abiding in Christ. He
must do the work. We are to seek to know “What saith the Lord,” yielding
our lives to His guidance. When we have the Spirit of an abiding Christ,
everything will take on a changed aspect. The Saviour alone can give us the
rest and peace we so much need. And, in every invitation He gives us to seek
the Lord that He may be found of us, He is calling us to abide in Him. This
is an invitation, not merely to come to Him, but to remain in Him. It is the
Spirit of God that moves us to come. When we have this rest and peace, our
daily worries will not lead us to be coarse and rough and uncourteous. We
shall no longer follow our own way and will. We will want to do the will of
God, abiding in Christ as the branches in the vine.
Christ declares Himself [to be] “the way, the truth, and the life”
(
chap. 14:6
). The way to heaven is represented as a narrow path, cast up for
the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. But truth illuminates this path at every
step....
Salvation means to us complete surrender of soul, body, and spirit. Be-
cause of the unruly elements of our nature our passions often gain the mastery.
The only hope for the sinner is to cease from sin. Thus his will will be in
harmony with the will of Christ. His soul will be brought into fellowship with
God.—
Manuscript 73, May 11, 1899
, “Abide in Me.”
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