January 8

Morning

And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be acceptable before the LORD. — Exod 28:38 BSB

What a veil is lifted by these words, and what a sight it reveals! It’s both humbling and useful to pause and take in this sobering picture. The sins in our public worship—our hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness, irreverence, wandering thoughts, and forgetfulness of God—how abundant they are! The sins in our work for the Lord—our ambition, selfishness, carelessness, laziness, and unbelief—what a heap of filth is there! Our private devotions—their inconsistency, coldness, neglect, sleepiness, and vanity—what a mountain of dead weight we see! If we examined more closely, we’d find that the iniquity in our holy acts is far greater than it first appears.

Payson, writing to his brother, said, “My parish, like my heart, is much like the garden of the sluggard; and worse, many of my desires for improvement come from pride, vanity, or laziness. I see the weeds growing in my garden and wish they were gone. But why? What’s motivating my wish? Is it so I can walk through and think, ‘Look at how nice my garden is!’ That’s pride. Or is it so others will see and say, ‘Your garden looks great!’ That’s vanity. Or maybe I just don’t want to pull up the weeds anymore. That’s laziness.”

Even our desires for holiness can be corrupted by bad motives. Beneath the greenest patches of grass, there are worms hiding. We don’t have to look too hard to find them. But how comforting it is to know that when the High Priest bore the sins of our holy things, He also wore on His forehead the words, “Holiness to the Lord!” In the same way, while Jesus bears our sins, He presents not our unholiness, but His own holiness before the Father. O, for grace to look upon our great High Priest with the eyes of faith!

Evening

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine. — Song 1:2 BSB

Nothing brings more joy to a believer than fellowship with Christ. We find enjoyment, like everyone else, in life’s everyday blessings. We can take delight in God’s gifts and His works. But even when we add all those things together, they don’t compare to the joy we find in the person of our Lord Jesus! We have wine that no vineyard on earth could ever produce; we have bread that no earthly fields could ever grow.

Where can you find such sweetness as we have tasted in communion with our Beloved? The pleasures of this world are nothing more than food for pigs when compared to Jesus, the heavenly manna. We’d rather have one taste of Christ’s love and a sip of His fellowship than an entire world full of earthly pleasures! What is chaff compared to wheat? What is a cheap imitation gem compared to a true diamond? What is a fleeting dream compared to glorious reality? Even at its best, how does the happiness of this world compare to our Lord Jesus, even in His most humble state?

If you’ve experienced spiritual life, you’ll confess that your highest, purest, and most lasting joys have come from the fruit of the tree of life, which grows in the paradise of God. No earthly spring offers water as sweet as the well of God, which was opened by the soldier’s spear. All earthly happiness is just that—earthly. But the comforts that come from Christ’s presence are like Him—heavenly. We can look back on our times of fellowship with Jesus and find no bitterness in this wine, no impurities in this ointment. The joy of the Lord is solid and lasting. Vanity hasn’t touched it, but wisdom and understanding affirm that it stands the test of time and will endure for eternity. It is truly the only real delight. For nourishment, comfort, joy, and refreshment, nothing compares to the love of Jesus. Let us drink deeply!