True Sign
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was this that came between them and Christ, making them so little in
sympathy with His mission of self-sacrifice, so slow to comprehend
the mystery of redemption. As leaven, if left to complete its work, will
cause corruption and decay, so does the self-seeking spirit, cherished,
work the defilement and ruin of the soul.
Among the followers of our Lord today, as of old, how widespread
is this subtle, deceptive sin! How often our service to Christ, our
communion with one another, is marred by the secret desire to exalt
self! How ready the thought of self-gratulation, and the longing for
human approval! It is the love of self, the desire for an easier way than
God has appointed that leads to the substitution of human theories and
traditions for the divine precepts. To His own disciples the warning
words of Christ are spoken, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees.”
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God’s glory
is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual
working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of
God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign
of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and
pretense, when it leads us to seek God’s glory and not our own, we
may know that it is of the right order. “Father, glorify Thy name”
(
John 12:28
), was the keynote of Christ’s life, and if we follow Him,
this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to “walk, even as
He walked;” and “hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep
His commandments.”
1 John 2:6, 3
.
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