The Spiritual Meaning of Service # 2

The Priestly Ministry of  Christ and the Father's love (continued)

I suggest to you, dear friends, that the thing that you and I need, and perhaps more than anything else desire, to be assured about, is: What is there, peculiarly precious to the Lord, into which we may be brought, in which we may be found, which may be entrusted to us? What we really are seeking for all the time is: What is it that the Lord wants more than anything else? What is it that is more precious to the Lord than anything else? Can there be something in the life of God's people corresponding to this "belovedness" of Christ? It is very important to know that. There are many things that may be of value, but them may be of comparative value. What we want to know, what we must know, is: What is that which the Lord really looks upon as most precious to Himself, which will serve Him to the greatest value? The Lord Jesus received the assurance that the Father's love, appreciation and valuation were focused upon Him, just at the point when He stepped out into His public ministry. It is a great thing to start any work or move out into any service on a basis like that, is it not? Just think of what strength there would be if we had absolute assurance that that to which we were committed was something of tremendous value to God!

As we go on in our Christian lives and in our manifold work for the Lord, we find that time is a great sifter. Trial, testing, adversity and suffering, and all the things which come to bear upon us, very often make us rise seriously the question of values. "Is it worth it? Is it justified? Does this really matter? Is this of such importance?" From time to time we are forced to ask, "Now, what does it all amount to, after all,?" and it is then a great delivering and confirming thing to have the answer: "This is precious - of very real value - even of supreme importance to the Lord." It was a starting-point of the Lord Jesus in His life-work - His belovedness to the Father, not only in His Person and Sonship, but in the thing to which he was committing Himself.

It is very important to know, and it is not wrong to say, that we can be brought into that belovedness. The Levites, representing God's thought for all His people, came into that in a very real way. The Lord let it be known right through the centuries that they represented something very valuable, very precious to Himself. "My covenant was with him of life and peace."

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 3 - (An Open Heaven)