April 25
Daily Gleanings of the Saintly LifeThursday after Third Sunday in Lent
For the fruit of the Spirit is in all . . . truth; proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. Ephesians 5:9, 10.
THE great test of sincerity is awfully enforced in our Saviour's words, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" To know one's own weakness, to know that this weakness involves sin, and yet to shrink from the needful effort, from cutting off the dangerous occasion—what is this but hypocrisy? To confess one's weakness and the fall it caused, to seek for absolution and peace, and yet no change to follow—what is this but the hypocrite's false anodyne. To be honest with God is, alas! one of the rarest gifts. There is a subtle dishonesty, which is one of the most frequently besetting sins of the devout. Convictions of sin are not wanting, tears are not wanting, resolutions are not wanting, the vision of righteousness and of judgment is ever present to the mind. What is wanting is the honest dealing with one's own weaknesses and the occasions of our falls. Thou must now learn to have a continual eye inwardly to thy soul and spiritual life. Thou must submit and give thyself up unto the discipline of Jesus, and become His scholar, resigning and compelling thyself altogether to obey Him in all things. Every word thou wilt speak thou must ask leave of Him in thy heart, and ask thyself whether, having so done, it is according to His will and holy example, and with sincere intention to His glory.
Do good, shun evil; live not thou As if at death thy being died.