Master,
am I ready?
"I am ready." That is
what consecration means. It is doing what Christ commands. It is going where
Christ sends you. It is not a mere devout sentiment- warmth of heart, good
feeling it is being good and doing good. Oh, be earnest. Be faithful. Be true.
Be strong. Believe in Christ. Cleave to him. Do your work for him. Lift up
your face toward your beloved Master's face, and say to him, "Master, I am
ready. I know not what thou hast for me to do— to work or to suffer, to live
or to die— but I am ready. I am ready to speak for thee, to endure persecution
for thee, to live for thee. I am ready; I am ready."
I am no longer my own,
but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; put me to
doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty; let
me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and wholeheartedly yield all
things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And the
covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
But whatever gain I
had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as
loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his
sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in
order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…. That I may know him and the
power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in
his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. |