June 15

"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ."—Romans 1:16.

LET St. Paul's conception of the gospel of Christ be mine. May the great and absorbing sights on which I never weary dwelling be my Saviour's cross and my Saviour's empty tomb. For the one speaks to me of the precious blood shed to wash away my ill-desert and my defilement. And the other speaks of the living strength and love which will never fail nor forsake me. He died; He was buried; He rose again; and He had me in His thought all the while.

Let St. Paul's commendation of the gospel of Christ be mine. It is the power of God, said he. Power indeed in its strangest guise, for never did anyone reign from such an unlikely and unlovely throne before. Yet power in its happiest operation, leaving no track of red ruin behind it like the legions of Rome—bringing, on the contrary, salvation and peace and life. And power in its widest sweep, its virtue and efficacy reaching out to everyone that believeth.

Let St. Paul's enthusiasm for the gospel of Christ be mine. For I am not ashamed, he declared. And neither will I be ashamed. Every argument of reason bids me glory in Jesus and His good news. Every page of history testifies to the mighty things which He has done. Every fact of personal experience summons me to thank Him who has loved me and given Himself for me—I have heard Him myself, and I know.

Let me tell it out firmly, joyously, hopefully—the old-new story of the gospel of Jesus Christ. With so much ice around me, I must heap more fuel on the inner fire. I must rouse my soul to a more vigorous faith, a more steadfast loyalty, a more stalwart confession.