It is the
man who has gone down into the tumult and uproar of the arena of life
and fought and conquered in some good cause who tastes the supreme cup
of happiness. The master words of the Christ were, "fight," "watch,"
"pray"; here is the entrance to the Utopia so long sought by men. The
man who has no control over his appetites, passions and temper, and
who cannot endure hardness in a service in which he is interested, can
never know what genuine joy is. Read the roll call of the heroes in
the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.
1. A great object in view. There can be no greater object than to
serve Christ in all the relations of life (Matthew 6:33; 10:38; 8:22;
16:24; 19:21).
2. Harmony with the will of God (Matthew 6:10).
3. Endurance. Paul exhorts Timothy, "Thou therefore my son, be strong
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast
heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful
men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure
hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:1-3). It was
this quality of endurance in service which Jesus sought to set before
His followers in the strongest light (Matthew 10:22; 24:13).
Here then are the elements of the greatest human happiness and a
divine joy. It is only as the human heart is thus prepared for the
reception of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit that He can be
received in His glory, which He desires to impart to men and to bring
them into joyous fellowship with the Father and the Son.
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