Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

PAUL CLAIMS, AND WAIVES, HIS RIGHTS.

45

his ruling aim throughout is to shew that he only asks the Corinthians to do for their weak brethren what he himself has done for them—viz., to forego rights which they might exact, to restrain their lawful freedom of action when by using it to the full they might injure and offend those for whom Christ died. It is to induce them to this self-restraint, this brotherly self-abnegation, that he tells them why he did not claim and use rights which he knew to be his.

And, first, he did not use his rights in the gospel to the full, "lest he should hinder the gospel of Christ" (ver. 12). Then, as now, there were men who were very ready to find selfish and interested motives even for the wisest and most generous conduct,-men who were very ready to say, even of the apostles themselves, "Ah, these men talk about charity and self-denial and magnanimity! It is their trade. They are like all the priests who came before them. If it were not for the gifts laid on the altar, they would not serve it. They talk big, and well; but it is the pocket, not the heart, which prompts them. They do not care for our good, but for their own gain: why should we listen to them?" To save his message from any such reproach, to save his ministry from any such hindrance, to take away any even the slightest ground for this miserable misconstruction of his motives, Paul resolved that he would not claim his right of maintenance; that he would work with his own hands; that, as he pathetically expresses it, he would "bear all things"-all the fatigues of labour, all the pain of having to expend on work which others might have done as well as he, powers which they did not possess, to the injury of the one work for which he was specially fitted. Whatever others might do, and ought to do, he would give no occasion of offence, no ground for suspicion, to the sharp Greek traders of the sea-coast and to the keen Jewish brokers among whom so much of his life was spent. Even though in some respects it might be bad for them, and bad for him, that he should abstract from their service, or from his own time of rest, many hours for the manual labour by which he earned his bread, he would work "night and day" rather than suffer the progress of the gospel to be impeded by their base suspicions. He would be able to stand before them and say, "I have taken, I have coveted, no man's silver or gold. I am the poorest man here this day. These hands, worn with toil, must still earn my bread. I have given you the gospel for love, not for hire: I have given you myself."

Secondly, he did not "use his rights in the gospel to the full," lest he should lose his boast (vers. 15-18). "Better," he says, "for me to die than for my boast to die. No one shall rob me of that." It was no merit in him that he preached the gospel; he was bound to preach it, could not help preaching it. A sacred and overmastering "necessity to preach it was laid on him. When he had preached his best, he was but an unprofitable servant; he had simply discharged the stewardship entrusted to him. But if he preached willingly, not of necessity, but of his own cheerful and unforced accord, then he rose into a holy freedom, and would still have been "free of all men," even though he had permitted them to sustain him. But if he went further still, if he waived his right to a sustenance; if, to avoid misconstruction, he went beyond the bounds of duty, if he did more than God demanded of him,

and much more than men had a right to expect, then he had whereof to boast. Not that this excess of duty was a boast to be flaunted before the eyes of men-a boast in the vulgar sense: Paul knew very well that it was the grace of God which wrought in him: but it surely was something to be glad about, and to be thankful for, that God's grace was so evidently at work in him that it could carry him beyond the lines of mere duty, and constrain him to waive the rights which other men and apostles used. So that Paul's choicest reward for the present was, that he had no reward of men, just as the freedom he valued most was that which made him the servant of all men. His boast was, that he was not only a servant, not only a faithful and diligent servant, but a servant who took no wages, in order to prove that love was the sole motive and inspiration of his service.

Now there is a fine principle here, which we shall do well to study and appropriate. Necessity was laid on Paul: and he turned "necessity" into "freedom," by doing of a willing mind what he felt bound to do. And, in like manner, we become free, so soon as we do freely what we must do somehow. When "I must" becomes "I will," we enter into perfect liberty. If you would be free, do not say, "I must serve God in my daily life," or "I must love my neighbour as myself," or "I must contribute to the work and maintenance of the Church." Say rather, "I will love God, I cannot help loving Him;" "I will love my neighbour, since God, who loves me, wishes me to love him;" "I will serve and help the Church, for I love it, and am willing to sacrifice myself for its good." Only thus do we rise out of the hard grinding necessities of unwelcome duty into the freedom of a voluntary and happy service, and walk at large because we seek the commandments of God.

Thirdly, Paul did not use his rights in the gospel to the full, that he might "gain the more" (vers. 19-23). The narrow bigotries of the Jewish converts were, no doubt, very narrow and repulsive to Paul, the licence of the Greeks very puerile and repugnant, the scruples of the weak very babyish, the arrogance of the strong very base; and to be suspected of selfish and interested motives, or even to have to guard against such suspicions, must have been almost intolerable to a man of Paul's generous self-devotion. But he "bears all things," even these, that he may win men of every grade and kind to the service of Christ. To the Jew he became a Jew, to the weak, weak; although not under the law, he came under it; although not an outlaw to God, he could dispense with law. Wherever he found a man, he found a brother for whom Christ died: and that this man might be taught the grace of our Lord Jesus, Paul could stoop to his prejudices, to his weaknesses, to his conditions and needs, that he might win him for Christ.

Finally, Paul did not use his rights in the gospel to the full, because self-denial and self-restraint are conditions of all high culture, all noble work (vers. 24-7). In the closing verses of the chapter-verses on which, despite their beauty, we cannot now linger as they deserve-he draws an illustration from the athletic games or sports of classical times. The athlete, he says, the racer, or the boxer, must go into training. He who trains best will win. Each must be temperate in all things, must deny himself pleasures of the table and of the couch, must compel himself to exercises which are very tiring and exhausting. He must both

THE EBONY CROSS.

47

do much which else he would not do, and abstain from much which would be perfectly lawful were he not about to contend for the prize. And he must carry on his training to the very end. It is nothing that he has trained well, that he has contended well before; nothing that he has carried off the prize in many a previous and lesser contest. If he neglect training now, or train insufficiently, he may be rejected, cast away, even before the contest, as unfit: he is certain not to win. Now Paul had entered himself, not for a corruptible crown, for no fading wreath of parsley or laurel, but for an incorruptible: and he meant to win. And therefore he would train heartily, willingly. He would shrink from no necessary toil of exercise. He would deny himself much that he held lawful, and abstain from much which would have been pleasant, that he might be able to run and to contend; that he might be able to take his line certainly and swiftly; that he might learn to plant his blows, not in the air, but on his adversary. His body, or "the mind of his flesh," as he calls it, was his adversary, with its foolish eager cravings for this or that enjoyment, its reluctance to encounter pain and effort. He would bruise and punish it till he had reduced it to subjection, till he could lead it in triumph a conquered victim, as the victor in the games led his defeated rivals. Paul felt that only thus could he acquire a high spiritual culture, and inure himself to the conflict in which he was engaged.

Do not we feel it too, and know it? If we are seeking to live in the spirit rather than in the flesh, that we may win the crown of glory which fadeth not away, must we not train ourselves if we are to run as not uncertainly," to "fight as not striking the air?" Must we not punish the body, and keep it under ? must we not deny ourselves much that would else be lawful to us, if we have set our hearts on winning "glory, honour, and immortality?" If, then, we are of those who mean to run and strive for "the incorruptible crown," let us, like Paul, be temperate in all things; let us abstain from whatever may hinder us, not only from things unlawful, but also from things which, though lawful, are not expedient for us. Let us not pamper the body, or be for ever aiming at ease and enjoyment; but for the joy set before us, let us train ourselves by self-denials hard to flesh and blood, that we may be fit for the sacred conflict, and win the eternal prize.

[blocks in formation]

THE SUREST WAY OF BRINGING THE YOUNG TO CHRIST.

Ir is a settled point with us, and all our fellow-workers in the Home, the Sunday School, and the Church, that we do mean to bring the young to the Lord Jesus. For this our schools exist; our teachers think and speak, and pray; and our evangelistic band conducts its special services. Sure that the chief need of the child is Christ, that there is no other foundation on which to begin building the character of the youngest and feeblest; no other Teacher who so fully understands or can so thoroughly enter into the spiritual susceptibilities and yearnings of the young; no example so sweetly inspiring; no nurture so gentle and delicate as His; we make the union of the young with Him the one goal of our endeavours, the main business of our hearts and lives.

Nothing less can content us. Other results will please; this only will satisfy. As the astronomer who has journeyed to India to watch the transit of Venus will reckon himself to have failed if he has taken neither photograph nor observation of that phenomenon, even though he may have gained many valuable collateral results, so with us. The clear apprehension of certain ideas about Christ, accurate knowledge of the geographical and historical details of His biography, shrewd and acute replies concerning the meaning of His mission, firm intellectual grip of the contents of a creed referring to Him, and even well-regulated behaviour and sweetness of disposition will do no more than slightly soothe our disappointment and self-censure if the young are not brought into living trust in the Lord Jesus as an actual Saviour and a personal and loving friend.

We know, too, that Christ wants them to be brought to Him. Not more sure are we of anything than of the heartiest welcome when we stand at His school-door leading these young disciples by the hand. He rises to embrace them. He is eager to confer His blessing. His kingdom looks principally to children: and the King actually compels adults to take means to recover "that which was lost," even the childlike spirit, before they can go to their place at His feet, and receive His quickening words. As David, in the eighth Psalm, speaks of children as a stronghold of hope and a defence to troubled men, so David's Lord utters some of His most pathetic and thrilling strains concerning the young. What music there must have been in His sayings, what grace in His speech, when, with uncontrollable eagerness and overflow of confidence, those mothers of Perea hasted to carry their children into His presence for His blessing before He left their neighbourhood. How the stricken heart of the bereaved has been healed and gladdened by His assurance that the angel-guardians of our "little ones" do always behold the face of their Father who is in heaven! What worker has not toiled with more faith and fortitude as he has remembered that it is not the will of the Father that one, even one, of these should perish! How many a youth, anxious for eternal life and yet regretfully leaving the false pleasure and fleeting joys of this present world, has been strengthened and encouraged by Christ's firm but loving teaching of the young man who had great possessions, and a great yearning for the life that is everlasting! Refreshing as is the revelation of God in Christ at every point of its wide range, yet it is richest in tender love, winning gentleness and grace, in the attractive attitude taken by the Redeemer towards the

BRINGING THE YOUNG TO CHRIST.

49

young. We must, therefore, labour to bring them to Him that we may fill to the full His joy, and add the richest lustre to His glory.

But when is a child brought to Christ? What does this oft-repeated phrase exactly mean? Substantially what John means when he says that Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and Philip brought Nathanael. They were already acquainted with John the Baptist, and had heard his stirring words on the banks of the Jordan about the coming Deliverer : and their souls were on fire with desire to see Him. Two of them, Andrew and John, were the first to hear the word, "Behold the Lamb of God," and follow Him, and in response to His welcome to dwell with Him for a brief space. Now Andrew knew Simon's heart, and so he brought him to Christ, secured an interview between them, got him enrolled as a learner in his school, and thus provided the needed opportunity for the formation of that friendship that lasts beyond death and through eternity.

We seek a similar result, even to get an interview between the child's spirit and Christ; to bring it to trust in Him as a real Saviour from wrong thoughts, evil tempers, falseness, jealousies, envies, disobedience, and all the "little sins" which no less mar the beauty and weaken the force of the young than of the adult. We try to introduce them to a new personal friendship-and they are brought to Christ when they can thus trust Him, talk to Him, and feel the stirrings of love in their hearts towards Him. They may only touch the fringes of His robe: but the touch heals. They may have but cloudy and indistinct conceptions of His character and work, but, like Nathanael, they are conquered, and admit His gracious power. Unable to interpret in clear language their experience of His help, and shrinking from public avowal of discipleship, yet they sit at His feet, learn their lessons from His lips, defer to His will, seek His approbation in all things, in a word, they are disciples-taking their first lessons, it may may be, but still disciples of the Lord Jesus. You don't look for the strength of the oak of a century in the sapling of a month. Nobody expects a giant's blow from a babe's fingers. The lad stumbling over his alphabet is not set to translate Eutropius and demonstrate Euclid. Nor do we expect in those first brought to Christ a perfectness of self-control, a fulness of joy, a richness of character, and a wide compass of knowledge, only acquired by long subjection to our Master's blessed culture. No. We want a sense of need, a willingness to learn, a distinct choice of Christ as Saviour and Teacher, a ready trust, and a hearty, open, face-to-face talk with Him, and that is enough. They are brought to Christ.

Strictly speaking, then, our work is that of bringing a person to a person, a heart to a heart, a soul to its Saviour: and from the very nature of the task it follows that the "surest way of bringing the young to Christ" is that of personal influence through directly personal action.

Christ Himself adopted that plan. It is His own. It bears the stamp of His approbation. He made friends first, and then called them to be His disciples; He made disciples, and chose out of them apostles. He was full of compassion towards all, and His pity streamed out to thousands; but His followers were those in whom His own love begat love for Himself, and who felt they must go after Him and stay with

« ForrigeFortsæt »