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From Heaven With Love
The life spent on self is like the grain that is eaten. There is no
increase. A man may gather all he can; he may live, think, and plan
for self; but his life passes away, and he has nothing. The law of
self-serving is the law of self-destruction.
“If any man serve Me,” said Jesus, “let him follow Me; and
where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me,
him will My Father honor.” All who have borne with Jesus the cross
of sacrifice will be sharers with Him of His glory. They are workers
together with Christ, and the Father will honor them as He honors
His Son.
The message of the Greeks brought to the mind of Jesus the
work of redemption from the time when in heaven the plan was laid,
to the death now so near at hand. A mysterious cloud seemed to
enshroud the Son of God. He sat rapt in thought. At last the silence
was broken by His mournful voice, “Now is My soul troubled; and
what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour.” Christ’s humanity
shrank from the hour of abandonment, when all would see Him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He shrank from being treated
as the worst of criminals, from a shameful, dishonored death. A
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sense of the awful burden of human transgression and the Father’s
wrath because of sin caused the spirit of Jesus to faint, and the pallor
of death to overspread His countenance.
Voice of God Heard
Then came divine submission to His Father’s will. “For this
cause,” He said, “came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.”
Only through the death of Christ could Satan’s kingdom be over-
thrown, man be redeemed, and God be glorified. Jesus accepted
the sacrifice; He consented to suffer as the Sin Bearer. A response
came from the cloud which hovered above His head: “I have both
glorified it, and will glorify it again.” In the coming trial Christ’s
divine-human sufferings would indeed glorify His Father’s name.
As the voice was heard, a light encircled Christ, as if the arms of
Infinite Power were thrown about Him like a wall of fire. No one
dared to speak. All stood with eyes fixed on Jesus. The testimony of
the Father having been given, the cloud lifted, and scattered in the
heavens.