Psalm 73:25 – Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You!
THEME OF THE DAY. THE WHOLE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. If I were restricted to one sentence describing today’s nugget theme, it would be this . . . “The whole of the Christian life is an ongoing relationship of holy intimacy with Jesus Christ produced by an uncompromising commitment to obeying His Word, seeking Him in prayer, and sacrificially serving Him in His church and world.” And such a life rises and falls on one thing; a desire for God – an all-consuming desire to know and love Him. To that end, I want to do two things. First, put an advertisement in for a free email service called “Grace Gems.” This is a gold mine of scripture truth from another age. One may access and sign up at www.gracegems.org. You will be blessed beyond words. The next I want to do is share one of those gems (they are not copyrighted and free to use) from one of my favorite Puritan pastors, Thomas Watson. He is writing about what I just stated on how to live out the whole of the Christian life – desiring God. Let Pastor Watson minister to us . . .
Thomas Watson writes, “We may know the kingdom of grace is set up in our hearts—by having true desires after God. By the beating of this pulse—we conclude there is life. A true desire after God is sincere. We desire God for Himself, for His intrinsic excellences. The savor of the ointment of Christ’s graces draws the virgins’ desires after Him. A true saint desires Him not only for what Gad has—but for what He is; not only for His rewards—but for His holiness. No hypocrite can thus desire God. He may desire God for His jewels—but not for His beauty! A true desire after God is insatiable. It cannot be satisfied without God; let the world heap her honors and riches—they will not satisfy. No flowers or music will content him who is thirsty. Just so, nothing will quench the soul’s thirst—but the blood of Christ! He faints away, his heart breaks with longing for God. A true desire after God is active. It flourishes into endeavor. A soul that desires aright says, “I must have Christ! I must have grace! I must have Heaven, though I take it by storm!” A true desire after God is supreme. We desire Christ, not only more than the world—but more than Heaven! Heaven itself would not satisfy—without Christ. Christ is the diamond in the ring of glory! A true desire after God is increasing. A little of God will not satisfy—but the pious soul desires still more. A drop of water is not enough for the thirsty traveler. Though a Christian is thankful for the least degree of grace—yet he is not satisfied with the greatest degree of grace. He still thirsts for more of Christ, and His Spirit. A saint would have more knowledge, more sanctity, more of Christ’s presence. A glimpse of Christ through the lattice of any ordinance is sweet; but the soul will never stop longing—until it sees Him face to face! It desires to have grace perfected in glory! It desires to be wholly plunged into the sweetness of God. We would be swallowed up in God, and be forever bathing ourselves in those perfumed waters of pleasure which run at His right hand!”
Those are beautiful words taking us to the “Beatific Vision” of the Lord Jesus. May we truly grasp and seek the whole of the Christian life – knowing Christ and let it begin by asking the Lord to give us the strongest desire possible to make knowing Him a daily reality.
PRAYER: “Father, shape my heart to make Your Son the supreme object of my affection and attention.”
QUOTE: “Christ is the Christian’s all in all, all the time.”