We should remind ourselves each day of We should remind ourselves each day of Christ’s gift of life and the quality of it. Nothing men do and are by themselves is abundant and lasting, however admirable. Without the life that comes from Christ everything crumbles away to dust. This is the significance of Christ’s account of the two men who built their house, one upon the rock, and one upon the sand (See Matt. 7:24-27).
We do not live the abundant life unless it has the quality of eternity about it. If our life is hid with Christ failure is impossible; for in Him is the highest and the best. In Him we become new creatures with every aspect of life abundant. In our gardens we have rosebushes, and flowers loaded with buds. Daily we anticipate their opening, the petals’ unfolding, the delicate colors’ developing, their fragrance exuding. But these must first answer the call of the warm sun and the gentle rain. So to live the abundant life, the mind and heart must respond to the Sun of Righteousness, who comes with healing in His wings. Edvard Grieg, the Norwegian composer, wrote, “I passed my childhood among some of the grandest scenery of the North; and ever since I can remember, the beauty of my country has impressed me as something wonderful and magnificent beyond expression. It is our mountains, our lakes and forests, which have influenced my work far more than any human being has done; and even now, though I am forty, they have the selfsame power over me.” – Quoted in D.S. Marden, The Secret of Achievement, Thomas Y. Crowell and Company, p.195. So it is under the influence of the living Christ. What a man lives in Christ is forever right and true. The millenniums to come bring man only to greater glory and enternal possibilities. Men many spend their lives to multiply possessions, power, and popularity. But the secret of life is not here. Life at its best must have the pervading presence of Jesus Christ.Edward HeppenstallIn touch with GOD, p. 32.
