Daily Devotionals

Devotional: June 8th

"I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you." - John 14:18.

More literally, I will not leave you orphans - bereaved of all that you hold most dear, most necessary - helpless in the presence of many foes - friendless in the presence of many trials - skilless in the presence of an immense task. The parents are the complement of the little child. It operates through their wisdom and power and resources, to keep its place in the world, and act its part. The Christian without Christ, if such a thing can be conceived, is the most deplorably helpless being in the world. For he has been awakened from the delusion that possesses mankind, that they are complete in themselves; he has seen the length and breadth of the law of God; has discovered the bitter hostility of the world to the righteous; and just in the measure that his sense of need has been increased, he has seen the ability to help him vanishing from the world and all created things, to concentrate itself in Christ.

The nearest approach to such an orphan state of the Church was in the period between Christ’s death and the resurrection. To the disciples at that time Christ was really dead; his power, wisdom, grace, were all dead; the promises were dead and buried with him; all the advantages conferred by his teaching, all the blessings derived from his presence, were crucified and gone. These disciples had been taken up by the Saviour almost into heaven; and now by the unexpected death of their leader and commander, they were let drop to a point of helplessness far below that of the rest of men. They shut the doors for fear of the Jews who had crucified him, and who might come at any moment and crucify them; and they looked upon the swords which Christ had told them to take, instead of all the promises; and a full conception of their misery burst upon them. Hundreds of thousands of enemies on the one hand; and they, a few inexpert fishermen with two or three rusty swords on the other. Could anything be more absurd than the idea of a conflict? One little word of promise had once invested them with power over all the power of the enemy; but all the promises were now buried with Christ, and a great stone rolled upon them; and they were left alone with their wretched swords. But Christ fulfilled his word. He left them not a prey to the wrath of man and the malice of the adversary. He came unto them; and with him came all the promises. In fact, they themselves with him arose. They breathed, they lived, when they again saw him breathing, living.

If at any time a soul be brought into a state of orphanage, and seem to itself separated from all grace and power and hope; let it lay hold of this word. It may have been fitting that it should have a taste of the misery of being without Christ, under a sense of the need of Christ; but a taste suffices: " I will come unto you," says Jesus.

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