| Finding the Way |
Chapter 11 |
Page 4 |
“But if Himself He come to thee, and stand
Beside thee, gazing down on thee with eyes
That smile, and suffer; that will smite thy heart
With their own pity to a passionate peace;
And reach to thee Himself the holy cup
(With all its wreathen stems of passion flowers
And quivering sparkles of the ruby stars),
Pallid and royal, saying, ‘Drink with me,’
Wilt thou refuse? Nay, not for Paradise!
The pale brow will compel thee, the pure hands
Will minister unto thee; thou shalt take
Of that communion through the solemn depths
Of the dark waters of thine agony,
With heart that praises Him, that yearns to Him
The closer through that hour. Hold fast His hand
Though the nails pierce thine too! Take only care
Lest one drop of the sacramental wine
Be spilled, of that which ever shall unite
Thee, soul and body, to thy living Lord.”
“I am able” is the motto also for service. Christian life is a continual call to heroic deeds. It is not easy to be the kind of Christians Christ wants us to be. We can make life easy for ourselves if we will, but this will not please Christ. The two disciples wanted first places, and first places are never easy to fill. Jesus showed them that in His kingdom rank meant service. “He that would be first among you must be servant of all.” That is what it is to be a Christian. The mission of the Church is to bless men, to lift up the fallen, to succour the tempted, to relieve the distressed, to be a friend to the weary, the desolate and the lonely. “Are you able?” There is no other way to the high places. There is no other way to become a true minister of Christ. Four years in a college and three years in a theological seminary will make no young man a minister. A Presbytery may license and ordain him to preach the Gospel after he has finished his course, but that will not make him a minister. Nothing will make any one a minister but drinking Christ’s cup and being baptized with Christ’s baptism. Nor will anything else make one a Christian of the kind the Master wants. Uniting with the Church will not do it. “Are you able to drink of my cup? Are you able to put your life into the service of men along side your Master?”
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