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Partakers of Christ, April 11
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat
of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is
my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 6:51
.
Bread cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes a part of our
being. A knowledge of Christ will avail nothing unless we become like
Him in character, bearing the same likeness, and representing His spirit to
the world. Christ is of no value to us unless He is formed within, the hope
of glory. If we do not know Him as our personal Saviour, a theoretical
knowledge will do us no good. Water will not quench thirst unless we
drink it. Bread will not satisfy hunger unless we eat it. If we are feeding
spiritually upon Christ we are partakers of His nature, we are eating of His
flesh....
When Christ uttered these words many of His disciples were in doubt
as to what He meant, and He explained His words, saying: “It is the spirit
that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto
you, they are spirit, and they are life” (
John 6:63
).
If Christ is to you as a valuable treasure, if you find in Him your
greatest satisfaction, if He is prized and cherished above all others, if you
regard everything else as loss that you may win Him, you are eating of
His flesh and drinking of His blood and are becoming conformed to His
image. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. The
invitation is: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he
that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that
which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? ... eat ye
that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness” (
Isaiah 55:1,
2
)....
All heaven rejoices at the redemption of the lost race. Christ rejoiced
in the secret consciousness of what He purposed to do for man. He desires
to do far more abundantly than we are able to ask or think. The fountain of
His inexpressible love is inexhaustible, and it flows toward all those who
believe in Him
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The Youth’s Instructor, March 12, 1896
.
108