(b) The Inverting Impulse “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back . . .” Never postpone a moral decision. Second thoughts in moral matters are always deflections. Give as many second thoughts as you like to matters of prudence, but in the presence of God never think twice—act. Our Lord puts it very clearly in Matthew 5:23-24, when you are at the altar, i.e., in the presence of God, and your heart answers to the conviction of the Spirit of God, you know exactly what you must do: First go. There is no mid way. If you say “I don’t mind going half-way, but I was not altogether in the wrong,” God’s touch is gone instantly. The slightest revision of what I know God is telling me to do is the first element in the damnation of my character in that particular (see John 3:19). Immediately I see what God wants me to do when I am in His presence, I must do it and care nothing for the consequences. “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” The reply of Jesus sounds harsh, but remember the man’s meaning was that he must stay with his father till he died. It was a point of view that put Jesus Christ right out of court. So with the rich young ruler, the wish to be all that Jesus wanted him to be awoke as soon as he came in contact with Him, but when it came to the first step of the will in acting it out, to become a mere conscious man, separated from all his wealth, dead fundamentally to the whole thing, then his countenance fell and he went away sorrowful. It is better never to have had the light than to refuse to obey it. Chambers - The moral foundation of life
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 16:18:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015