There is no middle
ground.
Every part of our
lives, not some only, must either be a sacrifice to God, or to ourselves.
Even giving all our
lives to God will profit us nothing.
Unless we give our
hearts, all our hearts to Him, it is as if we had done nothing.
“The circumcision of
the heart… is that habitual disposition of soul which, in the sacred writings
is termed ‘holiness’; and which directly implies, the being cleansed from sin
‘from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit’; and, by consequence the being
endued with those virtues which were in Christ Jesus the being so ‘renewed in
the image of our mind’, as to be ‘perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect’.”
John Wesley
The simplicity of
intention and purity of affection are the wings of the soul.
To give everything we
speak or do and let Him to rule our tempers is how we can ascend to the mount
of God.
It is absolutely
impossible to be half a Christian.
Where to find the
only standard of truth?
And the only model of
pure religion?
“… I began not only
to read, but to study, the Bible, as the one, the only standard of truth, and
the only model of pure religion.”
John Wesley
It is necessary to
have the mind of which is in Christ.
And to walk as Christ
also walked.
And not only in many
or in most respects, but in all things.
The Christianity is a
uniform following of Christ, and entire inward and outward conformity to our
Master.
How to find the way
of least disconformity to our grand Exemplar?
“’Love is the
fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment’. It is not only ‘the first
and great’ command, but all the commandments in one. ‘Whatsoever things are
just, whatsoever things are pure, if there be any virtue, if there be any
praise’, they are all comprised in this one word, love.
In this is
perfection, and glory and happiness: The royal law of heaven and earth is this,
‘Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength’. The one perfect good shall
be your one ultimate end. One thing ye shall desire for its own sake, -- the
fruition of Him who is all in all.
One happiness shall
ye propose to your souls, even an union with Him that made them, the having
‘fellowship with the Father and the Son’, the being ‘joined to the Lord in one
spirit’. One design ye are to pursue to the end of time, – the enjoyment of God
in time and in eternity. Desire other things so far as they tend to this; love
the creature, as it leads to the Creator. But in every step you take, be this
glorious point that terminates the view.
Let every affection,
and thought and word, and action, be subordinate to this. Whatever ye desire or
fear, whatever ye seek or shun, whatever ye think or speak, or do, be it in
order to your happiness in God, the sole end, as well as source, of your
being.”
John Wesley
To be continued...
This post is part of the Thursday Devotionals series.
