March

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich. 2 Cor.8.9 (R.V.)

The greatest victory. Faithfulness unto death on the part of the Redeemer, represents the greatest victory which has ever been enacted. Moreover there was no other way to lift the sentence resting upon Adam. Jesus died the Just for the unjust; and as we remember the cost, his humiliation, the pain he bore, his shameful treatment at the hands of wicked men, it calls forth all that is within us in the way of appreciation and gratitude.

Then there is the love of the Father, for it meant more than our minds can grasp, for him to part with his Son and to see him suffer unto death. Who of us can appreciate to the full the message which runs: "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Happily the outcome will be wonderful and infinitely more far‑reaching than the measure of many a timeworn creed. This is evident by the very next verse: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3: 16.17).

Whatever the genuine likeness of Jesus, since his resurrection, his glory goes far beyond our imagination. He is now "the express image of his (the Father's) person." (Hebrews 1: 3).

O Thou who in the fullness of time didst raise up our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to enlighten our hearts with the knowledge of Thy love, grant me the grace to be worthy of His name. Amen.

A Diary of Private Prayer