This is a portion from the book, The Beauty and Glory of Christ. It is excellent.
"I have to confess that I am on something of a campaign to stop testimonies–at least, the kinds of testimonies that people often tell. I hear people standing up to give their testimony, and they tell us about things that happened ten, twenty, or thirty years ago when they could say, "My beloved is mine!" That is good, of course; I am not decrying it. But I want to know how much more beautiful Jesus has become with the passing of the years. I want to hear how He sometimes dimmed the lights with dark providences and robbed you of much so that you were left with nothing but Him. I want to know how much more beautiful He has become to you, when God in His providence removed so much else on which you leaned once, and left you leaning only on Him. I want to hear how altogether lovely He has become as He has brought you along roads that made you say, 'O that I knew where I might find him! I look up and He is not here. I call to Heaven, and Heaven is silent. On my left hand and on my right hand, and He is not there. O that I knew!' Those moments when He left you saying, 'But he knoweth the way that I take' (Job 23:1-10)"
"In all these afflictions and trials, in the things that came into your life since you came to Christ, in the things that shaped you, not by the choices you made for yourself, but by the providences you would never in a million years have chosen for yourself–I want to know how much more lovely He has become in these things. That is the testimony I want to hear. What have you learned in your pilgrimage. that makes Him attractive still? You have left behind so many of your dreams and prospects in what has gone by of your wilderness journey. He has stripped you just as the bride in the Song seems to have lost everything in her search for her beloved in the way he has dealt with her. Yet all the time for her, and for you, the experience is designed to elicit an even more sweet appreciation of His beauty and loveliness and magnitude."
"So if, with all these valleys behind you, you can still say that 'he is the chiefest of ten thousand to my soul,' then I will listen to your testimony gladly."
Soli Deo Gloria
Thank you for posting, dear Brother in Christ! This is a powerful and profound word that needs to be shared...and often! To keep the love of God alive and burning in our hearts through every temptation, trial and affliction that we must pass through on this pilgrimage...Oh how He must become more and more dear unto us, while the things of this world fade ever more from our minds. Each day we should have a special touch from His hand...and we shall be changed ever more like Him! Let us set our hearts and minds firmly upon Him and advancing His Kingdom! Onward, thou valiant heart! Quit yourselves like men! The battle is set in array before us...there is yet much to be done for the King and His cause!
ReplyDeleteThis is so true! There are so many testimonies without a life of Godliness to back them up. It is such an encouragement in hard times to see the hand of God working your life. It is also a wonderful thing to identify so closely with those who also experience the hand of God. There are the times when I wonder what is going on in my life and then there are times when I am filled with joy for the wonderful work God is doing. I find myself realizing more and more the importance and value of being conformed to the image of Christ. Thanks for that wonderful quote!
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