September 20

Our Sheet Anchor!

That we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things. — Eph 4:14-15

'Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. — 1 John 3:3

Our destiny is the highest possible—“We shall be like Him.” For this we were created, redeemed, and sanctified, that we should be conformed to the image of God’s Son, that He might be the First Born among many brethren (Rom 8:29).

The Apostle says that those who have this Hope will purify themselves. A young friend of mine once asked me if I would try to see her lover, as my train stopped at a wayside station in a far-distant western State. It was a dark night when we arrived, and a hurried conversation took place on the steps of the great Pullman car. I found that amid the many temptations of a rancher’s life, this young fellow was holding on to purity and truth. He said that he had very infrequent opportunities of attending any religious services, but that the letters which came from the old country had been his sheet anchor. I understood what he meant. He realized the strong drift of circumstances, but to be loved by a sweet pure girl, who made him the object of her incessant prayer, and to receive her inspiring letters, kept him from yielding to the evil which enveloped him as an atmosphere; the thought that before long he might claim her as his bride helped to purify and steady his life. So the expectation of being with, and like Christ, should be to us as a sheet-anchor, who bear His Name.

To see Christ face to face, to be with Him in unbroken fellowship, and to be like Him—this is the threefold destiny of every Christian soul. But how little can we imagine our future life! We strive to penetrate the dense veil of mist in vain—what the resurrection body will be like; what the converse with holy beings will amount to; what ministry may be assigned to us—we know not what we shall be, but “we know that we shall be like Him”—and it is enough! All that we have ever dreamed and hoped for will find its flower and fruitage in that glad summer time.

Prayer

O God, it is my earnest desire that I may not only live, but grow: grow in grace, and in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May I grow in patience and fortitude of soul, in humility and zeal, in spirituality and a heavenly disposition of mind. Amen.