BE FIRST WHAT YOU WOULD DO
BE FIRST WHAT YOU WOULD DO
It is quite possible for the word to reach the heart, and even to interest one very much, as the seed which fell on the rock (Luke 8), and yet for no real power to be there. The Spirit of God is careful on this subject to show the difference between receiving the word humanly and divinely. “Our glad tidings were not with you in word [or sense] only, but also in power [the power of action], and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1: 5). The latter was wanting to the soils Nos. 1, 2, and 3. No. 4 - the good ground - only had it. I believe one’s practice is the measure of the truth one has received in the Holy Spirit. You are an exponent of that by which you are controlled, and you like to be so. “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15: 14). The expression in action is the grand result - the life of Jesus manifested in the body, which is “full of light, having no part dark”. It is thus that the Father is glorified. It is not only what is in my heart but what is the effect in my body. The works James compares to the spirit of the natural body (James 2: 26).
We are to exhibit in our bodies the colour and beauty of the truth committed to us. The act indicates the [p. 105] power. The external in everything indicates the internal. Let a man ape as much as he likes, or study to represent himself in a light not genuine, only give him time, and he is sure to betray himself. The effort to express any quality in action, is of itself indicative that the quality does not exist. The quality ought to be expressed, but it cannot be expressed unless possessed, and the attempt at expression without possession is affectation; it is an effort to exhibit a right thing without the power.
Hence we should seek not so much to do, as to be. You may remark in your prayers whether you are praying to be, or praying to do. You may say, ‘But it is right to do.’ I admit it; but the question is, How do I get strength to do? I reply, By first being. As I depend on Christ, as I draw from Him, as I feed on Him, I am enabled to act Him. It is a great thing to do, but I cannot do until I am first qualified. A child attempts to be a man, and the desire is right; but he must go through many an exercise and many a lesson, before he can act as a man. The effect of over-education in the present day, both in the church and in the world, is to lead the young into the idea that they are qualified to do anything that their seniors do, and it is simply burlesque. I do not at all want to weaken the desire to do. The “friends” of Christ do (John 15: 14); but I say, if I am only seeking to do, I am occupied with my doings; and I am like a tree over-weighted with leaves and wood, and no fruit. If Christ is living in me, I cannot but express Him; but I am making no effort to do so. The deeper anything is in our hearts, the less we care to let others see it, but because of its depth and power it tells of itself, as it is said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12: 24). I believe, if I am studying to be true to what I am as of Christ, I shall do with ease and cheerfulness what is pleasing to Him, without any of the effort which the one trying to do constantly evinces. Every one can see what is natural and easy to a person and what is not; and we all know [p. 106] that that which is done with ease is generally done with skill. This is a doing day in one sense; that is, there is a great deal of activity towards others, but there is very little of the life of Jesus manifested in the body, which is an action that expresses Him with regard to every one, as He walked here; and it imparts a colour and a tone to every duty and occupation of life.