“But ye have not so learned Christ!” Reader! have you been sitting at the feet of Him who “pleased not Himself”? Are you “dying daily;”—dying to self as well as to sin? Are you animated with this as the high end and aim of existence—to lay out your time, and talents, and opportunities, for God’s glory, and the good of your fellow-men; not seeking your own interests, but rather ceding these, if, by doing so, another will be made happier, and your Saviour honored? You may not have it in your power to manifest this “mind of Jesus” on a great scale, by enduring great sacrifices; nor is this required. His denial of self had about it no repulsive austerity; but you can evince its holy influence and sway by innumerable little offices of kindness and good-will; taking a generous interest in the welfare and pursuits of others, or engaging and coöperating in schemes for the mitigation of human misery.
Avoid ostentation—another repulsive form of self. Be willing to be in the shade; sound no trumpet before you. The evangelist Matthew made a great feast, which was graced by the presence of Jesus; in his Gospel he says not one word about it!
Seek to live more constantly and habitually under the constraining influence of the love of Jesus. Selfishness withers and dies beneath Calvary.
Ah, believer! if Christ had “pleased Himself,” where wouldst thou have been this day?
“ARM YOURSELVES LIKEWISE WITH THE SAME MIND.”
Eighth Day.
