"Though
I be nothing." 2 Cor 12:11
THIS was Paul's estimate of himself: less than the least of all saints, and the chief of sinners. The more we know of ourselves and of Jesus, the more shall we be humbled in the dust before God; and the lower we lie before God, the happier and holier we shall be. Man will, MUST be something; this is his pride and his misery: the Christian is willing to be nothing, that Christ may be all in all. If we daily felt that we are nothing, how many mortifications we should be spared; what admiring views of the grace of God would fill and sanctify our souls. Apart from Christ we are less than nothing, but in Christ we are something. We are empty, but He fills us; naked, but He clothes us; helpless, but He strengthens us; lost, but He finds us; ruined, but He saves us; poor but He supplies us. All we are, is by Christ; all we have, is from Christ; all we shall be, is through Christ. Believer, thou art nothing: therefore beware of thinking too highly of thyself, or fancying that you deserve more than you receive, either from God or men. Humble souls are soon satisfied.
O could I lose myself in Thee,
Thy depth of mercy prove,
Thou vast unfathomable sea
Of unexhausted love!
I loathe myself when God I see,
Content if Christ exalted be.
THIS was Paul's estimate of himself: less than the least of all saints, and the chief of sinners. The more we know of ourselves and of Jesus, the more shall we be humbled in the dust before God; and the lower we lie before God, the happier and holier we shall be. Man will, MUST be something; this is his pride and his misery: the Christian is willing to be nothing, that Christ may be all in all. If we daily felt that we are nothing, how many mortifications we should be spared; what admiring views of the grace of God would fill and sanctify our souls. Apart from Christ we are less than nothing, but in Christ we are something. We are empty, but He fills us; naked, but He clothes us; helpless, but He strengthens us; lost, but He finds us; ruined, but He saves us; poor but He supplies us. All we are, is by Christ; all we have, is from Christ; all we shall be, is through Christ. Believer, thou art nothing: therefore beware of thinking too highly of thyself, or fancying that you deserve more than you receive, either from God or men. Humble souls are soon satisfied.
O could I lose myself in Thee,
Thy depth of mercy prove,
Thou vast unfathomable sea
Of unexhausted love!
I loathe myself when God I see,
Content if Christ exalted be.
The Believer's Daily Remembrancer by James Smith
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