“Will not the end explain the crossed endeavor, earnest purpose foiled? The strange bewilderment of good work spoiled? The clinging weariness of the inward strain? Will not the end explain?
Meanwhile He comforteth them that are losing patience. Tis’ His way: but none can write the words they heard him say, for men to read; only they know he saith sweet words and comforteth. Not that he doth explain the mystery that baffleth, but husheth the quiet heart, that far far hense lieth a field set thick with golden grain wetted in seedling days by many a rain.
The end it will explain” ~ Gold Cord
The road does grow weary and at times nothing does make sense. We don’t always see what God is doing, and there are moments when it appears all is lost. At times there seems to be no grand design to our journey, just existence, just waiting to be set free from this flesh to go to our eternal home and be with Him.
Life goes by and sometimes it seems all that we try to accomplish seems fruitless, our efforts spoiled and our mistakes seem ruinous, our heritage squandered. One thing is for certain, in the midst of many a disappointment, God is faithful, God is merciful. He knew it all along and He is here with us. Yes we reap what we sow. He who sows to his flesh will reap corruption. For some of us sadly, the only way to God will be through a long journey to a far off country that leads to a pig pen. We would never chose this for ourselves, or those we love, but sometimes its the only way there. We all know someone like this, and when they find life at last in the Lord, we rejoice with them. God still works! He has great mercy and long suffering towards his children.
What if however, you don’t know him. What if you have never become a child of God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ? Then we must come to Him, and recognize our sinfulness and hopelessness before Him, and put our trust, our personal stake in what He did at the cross on our behalf.
Faith must be personal. Simple knowledge of the Saviour’s gift, and provision for us is not enough. It must be received. It must be personally hoped in. You can know about something, some free gift out there that is yours for the taking anytime you want it, but until you go get it, its not really yours is it? Thats the way it is with salvation. You can know about it, intending to one day retrieve it, when you get around to it. Meanwhile you’ve tucked it away for future, some day later, when you finally chose to receive what has been offered to you. Or, you may say, “I must earn so great a gift, it will cost me to have it.” So you go about trying to earn it in hopes one day the giver will bestow it on you as a reward for your efforts, when you have finally proved worthy to receive it. Ah, but in both cases you are left empty, as you have not yet in your possession the gift you so earnestly seek and require for eternal life. But if you do not take it by faith now, make it your own, you are not saved, but lost and will die in your sins one day, and find your despair in hell.
Salvation must be possessed by faith now! You must claim it as your own. Once this is done it is yours! No doubt or sin will forfeit it. So many think, I don’t deserve it, therefore I cannot have it yet. I must be better. I want to work for it, to prove I’m worthy. NO, my friend! You must receive it now in your present filthy sinful condition. For this is the only way to get it. You’ll never be worthy of it later, thats the devil’s lie.
In truth, we will never be any less sinful than we are at this moment. For we are full of sin, and we define sin in its entirety. We are the very essence of sin in our true natures and will never, apart from Jesus Christ’s divine Spirit, be anything but that. If we cannot accept God’s love and grace in our true condition before Him, we will fail of it in this life.
There are two parts to play in the act of salvation. There is the sinner and there is the Saviour. We will always be the sinner. We cannot take the place of the Saviour, and be our own Saviour. Our good deeds will never qualify us to become our own Saviour. If we depend on ourselves, we will be greatly disappointed in hell. We must realize and accept what we are before a Holy God, that we cannot impress Him, that He knows us all so well. We can never patch ourselves up or hide who we are to win His favor. It can’t happen! He’s God! Yet He loves us! This is a fact! He is willing to give anyone, even you or I the free gift of salvation if we will believe Him for it.
The gift needs to be received today. There is no time to ” get it later”No! It’s today! You will never be any better or more worthy than you are today, in truth.
The hardest thing to accept and believe is that God in all His Holiness is willing to save and forgive our sins, right here and right now, just as we are, with no promise on our part to be any better in the future. Oh but to just fully rest in what He has done! To believe He is ok with that and He is willing and able to save us by Himself!
Just rest, thats our part. Sit back, rest and let Him do it.
Sarah Hopkins Art 