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triumphant in the combat. Fixing his gaze on the reward of the faithful,
he exclaimed in tones of victory, “Our light affliction, which is but for
a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal.”
Very earnest and touching is the apostle’s appeal that his Corinthian
brethren consider anew the matchless love of their Redeemer. “Ye
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he wrote, “that, though
He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His
poverty might be rich.” You know the height from which He stooped,
the depth of humiliation to which He descended. Having once entered
upon the path of self-denial and sacrifice, he turned not aside until He
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had given His life. There was no rest for Him between the throne and
the cross.
Point after point Paul lingered over, in order that those who should
read his epistle might fully comprehend the wonderful condescension
of the Saviour in their behalf. Presenting Christ as He was when
equal with God and with Him receiving the homage of the angels,
the apostle traced His course until He had reached the lowest depths
of humiliation. Paul was convinced that if they could be brought to
comprehend the amazing sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven, all
selfishness would be banished from their lives. He showed how the
Son of God had laid aside His glory, voluntarily subjecting Himself to
the conditions of human nature, and then had humbled Himself as a
servant, becoming obedient unto death, “even the death of the cross”
(
Philippians 2:8
), that He might lift fallen man from degradation to
hope and joy and heaven.
When we study the divine character in the light of the cross we see
mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice.
We see in the midst of the throne One bearing in hands and feet and
side the marks of the suffering endured to reconcile man to God. We
see a Father, infinite, dwelling in light unapproachable, yet receiving
us to Himself through the merits of His Son. The cloud of vengeance
that threatened only misery and despair, in the light reflected from
the cross reveals the writing of God: Live, sinner, live! ye penitent,
believing souls, live! I have paid a ransom.
In the contemplation of Christ we linger on the shore of a love that
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