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\ / Charles Spurgeon's MORNING & EVENING
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Saturday, April 5, 2008
MORNING:
"On him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after
Jesus."
-- Luke 23:26
We see in Simon's carrying the cross a picture of the work of the
Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus.
Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your
suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you
may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow.
Remember that, and expect to suffer.
But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in
Simon's, it is not our cross, but Christ's cross which we carry. When
you are molested for your piety; when your religion brings the trial of
cruel mockings upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is
Christ's cross; and how delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord
Jesus!
You carry the cross after him. You have blessed company; your path is
marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of his blood-red
shoulder is upon that heavy burden. 'Tis his cross, and he goes before
you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and
follow him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It is the
opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not
the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may have carried the
heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon may have borne the
lighter end. Certainly it is so with you; you do but carry the light
end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little
while, it gave him lasting honour. Even so the cross we carry is only
for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the
glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking from
it, count it very dear, when it works out for us "a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory."
EVENING:
"Before honour is humility."
-- Proverbs 15:33
Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. If we
empty our hearts of self God will fill them with his love. He who
desires close communion with Christ should remember the word of the
Lord, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." Stoop if you would climb to
heaven. Do we not say of Jesus, "He descended that he might ascend?" so
must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the
sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls, and by
them alone. God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,"
with all its riches and treasures. The whole exchequer of God shall be
made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able
to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all
up to the full measure and extremity of what it is safe for him to do.
If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to
have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win
a victory in his holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and
meeting with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim; so that you are
kept low for your own safety. When a man is sincerely humble, and never
ventures to touch so much as a grain of the praise, there is scarcely
any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be
blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with
our fellow men. True humility is a flower which will adorn any garden.
This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you
will find an improvement in every case. Whether it be prayer or praise,
whether it be work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be
used in excess.
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