THE BLESSING MUST BE CONNECTED WITH THE SOURCE

^[p. 13] THE BLESSING MUST BE CONNECTED WITH THE SOURCE

“Knowing what had taken place in her”, she “came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth” (Mark 5: 33). To ensure enjoyment of any blessing conferred, it is necessary to connect it with Christ the source of it. Independence was the ruin of the first man; dependence is the normal characteristic of the new man. The more conscious I am of my gain, the more necessary is it that I should be assured of its continuance and perpetuity. The deepest misery of man is traceable to this, that in proportion to the value he sets on anything, so is his anxiety as to its continuance; and the less apprehension there is of its being lost, the more enjoyment there is in it. Man in nature cannot connect any favour or blessing with its source; but as to all spiritual blessings, we have the guarantee of their perpetuity in the knowledge of Him from whom every favour comes. Gifts or acquisitions in themselves only make one unhappy in proportion as they are valued, unless we connect them with Christ, and realise Him as the Giver; not only as One able to give, but as One to whom we are brought in the closest relationship, and who imparts to us of Himself, in order to qualify us for Himself. If I know His mind about me, I am not only assured of the continuance of His love but I also know that every gift is an expression of a love which passeth knowledge. I enjoy all that He gives me, all that is unfolded to me in His word, because it acquaints me with His heart; and hence my heart, in order to have full rest, seeks His heart, and not merely what He confers, which is only the expression of it. The very eagerness to acquire, and the extent of the acquisitions, is often followed by a winter of depression, simply because there has been too much occupation with the acquisition, and a losing sight of the source. Acquisitions, even spiritual ones, if held apart from Christ, the Head, cannot maintain freshness of joy and vigour ^[p. 14] in the soul, any more than the action of the heart in the human subject is enough for healthful consciousness without the head, or seat of feeling. For healthful action there must be an unbroken correspondence between the two. Just so, there will not be real enjoyment in the soul unless there be the consciousness of union with Christ as the spring, fountain, and Giver of it all. And the more simply and fully dependence on Him is maintained the better. The thanksgiving in our hearts to Him imparts, it may be unknown to ourselves, this gain to us, because we therein acknowledge our dependence on Him, and realise His love from which all springs.

Hence it is in the trials and the vexations here, which appear to be the very contrary to love, that we, in turning to God, are assured of His love. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which He hath given unto us. As we receive from God so must our dependence on Him consciously increase, and our independence be repudiated. Trials break down the independence, but the dependence must keep pace with every favour received, or the independence of the flesh will supervene, and there will be darkness, because there is not dependence coeval with the acquisition. Light and heat may be found in many substances in nature, but in none, excepting the sun, is there the quality to disengage the essential food of life, the oxygen, from the vegetable world to sustain us, while at the same time imparting the most perfect light and heat. What is light and heat, if life be not sustained to enable me to enjoy it? Just so, if I would enjoy the light and heat of grace, I must connect all with Him, who is the Sun, the centre and source of everything from God unto me. And the more fully I do so, thanking Him for His favours, owning His gifts to me, praising Him for the light and truth He imparts to me - the more fully will my soul enjoy all in the unquestioning assurance that all comes from Him who gave Himself for me.