March
11
...That they all may be
one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You (John 17:21).
What, then, is union
with Christ? It is union with Him as the new creation, as the new creation Man;
union with Him in the Life which is the life of the new creation by the Spirit
of Life. What is the meaning of that union? It is that only by such union can
God's works be done. What governed Him in relation to the Father governs us.
Nothing can be done except on the ground of this union. It is not a matter of
action, or of undertaking for God, however well intentioned. What we see as
seeming necessary to be done for the Lord's glory is not the criterion of
service. Many things are embarked upon by the mere simple, though honest and
sincere, judgment of the heart, when confronted by what is judged as something
to be done for God, something needing to be done. A tragic situation, for
example, calls for action; we have the means to meet that situation, and so we
embark upon it for the Lord. A vast variety of undertakings have been embarked
upon in that way, from that basis, and the Lord Jesus in this chapter says,
"No! Not so!" He is not governed by the apparent demand of a
situation. He is not governed by the impact of things upon Himself, as calling
for an undertaking.
With Him it is a
question of what God is doing, and doing just at the particular time. With one
object, God does different things at different times, and has a different
emphasis from time to time, and those who are really in union with Christ have
to be governed by that which Christ at that particular time is Himself
undertaking, is giving Himself to: "...what things soever He doeth these
the Son also doeth in like manner." It is a matter of what God is doing,
and life-union with Him in Christ for the accomplishment of that.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Meaning of
Divine Life - Chapter 3
This photograph is by Kristofer Rowe.
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