Matthew 18:2-5 And Jesus called a little child to him, and set him in the middle of them,… There is very much in the best of us that resists Christ. We are not like that little child. Christ calls (it is all the better for you if I am not speaking truth), but there is no answer; Christ commands, but we do not obey; Christ stands at the door, and we do not open; He has been there long, He is there now, and will be there to-morrow. and many of you keep Him out. The comparison in the Bible to express this want of child-likeness, this want of non-resistance, is a rock. The rain comes, the rock is not softened; the winds blow, the rock makes no response; the sun shines, the rock is not made fertile; summer comes, autumn comes, winter comes, spring comes — spring, summer, autumn, winter find and leave the rock the same cold hard, insensate thing as it ever was. I do not know you, but I am describing exactly the state of many hearts even in the Church of God. The gospel comes like rain showers upon the rock, but it has not softened you; breezes from the eternal mountains blow upon you — they are not vivifying; God's eternal love shines upon you — it has not changed you; life with its wonderful lessons comes — you grow very little better. Do you not know men in the circle of your acquaintance who are not at all better than they were ten years ago? Success came — they were no better; disappointment came; the marriage morning came, they were the same ". the funeral day — they were the same. All the elements of the gospel, all the. influence of the Divine Spirit, all the wonderful events of life, all its friendships, all its love, left them where they were. They resist God, they resist His influences. Brethren, I ought to be a better man, having enjoyed the friendship of many of you. for many years; I should be unworthy of that friendship, if I were not wiser and better, and more humble and more reverent. You ought, as day after day carries you nearer to eternity, to resist God less. Oh, my friends, be as little children; lean to Christ, resist not the Holy Spirit of God. (Thomas Jones.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,WEB: Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the midst of them, |
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