Philippians 1:15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The rising sun in the morning brings ten thousand noxious insects to life, brings miasma from the morass, and sets disease flying through the land; nevertheless, in spite of malaria, and in spite of all venemous insects that then begin to move, and in spite of all mischiefs which waking men begin to perform, it is infinitely better that the sun should rise, and that these evils should take place, than that it should be everlastingly dark. It was better to have Christ preached by bad men than not at all. It was better to have the gospel imperfectly delivered than not to have it made known in any way, or only to a limited extent. The truth preached with manifold and manifest error is a thousand times better than none at all. While the full and symmetrical truth as it is in Jesus will do far more good, and good of a far higher type, than any fragmentary views, yet such is the vitality and power of Christian truth, that its very fragments are potent for good. One may stand before an ample glass, long and broad, which reflects the whole figure, and the whole room, giving every part in proportion and in relation. Break that mirror into a thousand fragments, and each one of these pieces will give back to you your face; and though the amplitude of view and the relations of objects are gone, yet the smallest fragment, in its nature and uses, is a mirror still, and you can see your face withal. A full Christ reflects men, time, and immortality; but let error shatter the celestial glass, and its fragments, reduced in value, do in part some of that work which the whole did; and they are precious. (H. W. Beecher.) Parallel Verses KJV: Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:WEB: Some indeed preach Christ even out of envy and strife, and some also out of good will. |
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