I
have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10)
This
has long been the motto fixed before our eye upon the wall of our bedroom, and
in many ways it has also been written on our heart. It is no mean thing to be
chosen of God. God's choice makes chosen men choice men. Better to be the elect
of God than the elect of a whole nation. So eminent is this privilege, that
whatever drawback may be joined to it we very joyfully accept it, even as the
Jew ate the bitter herbs for the sake of the Paschal Lamb. We choose the
furnace, since God chooses us in it.
We
are chosen as an afflicted people and not as a prosperous people, chosen not in
the palace but in the furnace. In the furnace beauty is marred, fashion is
destroyed, strength is melted, glory is consumed, and yet here eternal love
reveals its secrets and declares its choice. So has it been in our case. In
times of severest trial God has made to us our calling and election plain, and
we have made it sure: then have we chosen the Lord to be our God, and He has
shown that we are assuredly His chosen. Therefore, if today the furnace be
heated seven times hotter, we will not dread it, for the glorious Son of God
will walk with us amid the glowing coals.
No comments:
Post a Comment