“When He Has Come”

When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . —John 16:8

Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.

Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.

my utmost for his highest

It Will Be Worth It All
by C. P. Hia

Read: Hebrews 11:8-16

But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. —Hebrews 11:16

We wondered why a friend of ours kept traveling to Hobart, Tasmania. Recently she invited us to join her there. From the airport we drove over a bridge and through the city and suburbs. Nothing outstanding—but we kept on traveling. After a few difficult hairpin turns that took us slowly and sharply uphill, we saw the outline of the coast below. Still quite ordinary looking.

But as we drove up the steep driveway and arrived at our destination, the spectacular panorama of the city became clear. Even the bridge we had driven over that seemed so drab looked beautiful! Now we knew why she so often traveled there.

The lives of the pioneers of faith in Hebrews 11 had their share of “hairpin turns” and “humdrum” situations. But they pressed on and did not turn back. Their destination? Heaven, “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (v.10).

Esther Kerr Rusthoi wrote about our journey to heaven in her hymn “When We See Christ”:
It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus;
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase;
So bravely run the race, till we see Christ!

Today, whether life is ordinary or difficult, keep pressing on. At the end of the journey, you will see the amazing place God has prepared for us. And it will be well worth it!

The joys of heaven will more than compensate for the difficulties of earth.

our daily bread