August 21
A Universe is in His Face
In the Hour of Silence"Looking unto Jesus."—HES. xii. 2.
IN running the race it is an impulse to me, a strong and sovereign encouragement, that I am compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses—
"Saints of the early dawn of Christ, Saints of imperial Rome, Saints of the cloistered Middle Age, Saints of the modern home."
But Jesus is first, midst, last.
First; for I start from Him: His cross seen and rejoiced in, His pardon welcomed, His righteousness received, His love tasted, His rule and government embraced. He is Author and Beginner of my faith, and until I know His grace it is impossible for me to run.
Midst, too; for I must be like Him all along, laying every weight aside, taking the Father's chastisement without murmur, resisting unto blood if need be, resolved at all hazards that God shall be glorified, that mind in me which lived and reigned in the Master of my days and nights.
And last, as well; for it is to Christ that I speed; when the course is finished, I shall see His face, and bear His likeness, and share His throne, and serve Him in His temple. He is Finisher and Perfecter of my faith, Consummation as well as Commencement, Omega no less than Alpha.
For me, from starting-point to goal, "He greatly hath sufficed." Every day I find new aspects in Him, I enter chambers that were sealed before, I discover that I am the inhabitant of a universe whose boundaries are continually receding and travelling farther away.