April
10
We were so utterly
burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. (2 Corinthians
1:8 ESV).
The Lord Jesus said
"I am the true Vine," and it was prophesied of Him that He would
tread the winepress alone. The Cross was His winepress. How He was pressed in
the Cross! He was crushed and broken, but out of that breaking has come the
Life which you and I have, and which so many in all the nations have received.
That is true, in a measure, of His Church. It was out of the breaking and crushing
of the Church that the Life came to the world. And that is true of every
member, every branch of the vine. If we are to fulfill this true, living
ministry, it will only be through suffering, through the winepress, through
pressure and through breaking. Paul said: "We were
pressed out of measure, above strength" (2 Corinthians 1:8 –
A.V.) – but what Life has come out of that man's pressure! It is like that. We
are not talking about preaching and Bible teaching, but about this great
ministry of Christ giving His Life through us. It may be passed on to others
through preaching, or through teaching, or through living, but if it is His
Life it will come out of experiences of suffering. A preacher or a teacher who
has never suffered will never minister Life.
Well,
this may not seem a very pleasant outlook, but it is true. The best doctors and
nurses are those who know something about suffering themselves. Some are just
professional, treating you as a case – you are just case number blank. But, ah!
there are others who treat you as a person, a human being, who care for you. If
you ask why, you may find that they have a background of suffering themselves.
They know just a little of what you are going through. We have read in the
Letter to the Hebrews: "We have not a high priest that
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been
in all points tempted like as we are... He is able to succor them that are
tempted" (Hebrews 4:15, 2:18). He has been the way of
the winepress and we have received the benefit.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: The On-High
Calling - Chapter 6
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