November 1

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

—Acts 16:31.

IT SEEMS artless simplicity itself. There is no elaborate code of rules to be complied with. There are no troublesome fees and imposts to be paid. There is no long novitiate which I must pass through.

Only, I must throw my heart into my believing. My faith must be linked with ardent love for the Son of God who gave Himself for me. And I must throw my mind into my believing. Some knowledge and apprehension I must have of Christ's work for me, Christ's obedience and sacrifice in my stead, Christ's righteousness provided for my doomed and derelict soul. And I must throw my strength into my believing. My will must be fully surrendered. I must have no concealments and no conditions. "Thine am I, Jesus, and on Thy side, Thou Son of God"—it must be my irrevocable vow and my perpetual consecration.

Then shall I be blessed more than tongue can tell. Saved, the text says. And salvation is one of God's biggest and noblest words. There is safety embraced in its scope and sweep—safety and pardon for all the guilty past. But there is far more: there are peace, and holiness, and character, and usefulness, and hope, and the shining walls and battlements of heaven in the distance. Truly my Lord gives munificently. He heaps bounty upon bounty, grace upon grace. There is no niggardliness with Him. When life ends here, I shall only have touched the outermost fringe of salvation; through all eternity I shall be exploring its continents, and sailing its oceans, and penetrating farther and deeper into its undiscoverable secret.