Steps to Christ A SENSE OF NEED
They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matt. 9:12, 13.
One morning one of the fellows who worked at a college farm returned to the dormitory with a gunnysack full of dry cereal. It had been stored at the farm to feed the cows. "The cows can eat grass," he said. "We'll eat the cereal." And he put it in his closet. Everyone at his end of the hall came every morning with a bowl and dipped in for a bowlful of dry cereal. Who needs a cafeteria anyway? They didn't know that the reason the cows had been given the cereal was because it had been swept up off the floor at the cereal factory--until the morning they discovered some "pets" in the bag. Then the fellows made a beeline for the cafeteria. Suddenly they decided they needed the cafeteria after all.
You never feel the need for fire insurance as mush as when your house is on fire. You never feel your need for a service station as you do when your car sputters and stops on the side of the road and you are out of gas. It's when you feel sick that you realize your need for a doctor. "It is absurd, therefore, to offer a physician to them that are whole, or that at least imagine themselves so to be. You are first to convince them that they are sick; otherwise they will not thank you for your labor. It is equally absurd to offer Christ to them whose heart is whole, having never yet been broken."--The Great Controversy, p. 264.
It is the sense of need that makes the difference. This sense of need comes from the contemplation of the love of God. You don't have to wait for some other person to introduce you into His presence. You can sit down and, even though you find it hart at first, deliberately study and contemplate the revelation in God's Word of the love of God through the life of Jesus Christ. This is the short route that can bring you to a sense of need that perhaps a lifetime would not accomplish otherwise. Come to Him where He is revealed, realizing at the same time that He has been out looking for each one of us. "If you take even one step toward Him in repentance, He will hasten to enfold you in His arms of infinite love."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 206.
They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matt. 9:12, 13.
One morning one of the fellows who worked at a college farm returned to the dormitory with a gunnysack full of dry cereal. It had been stored at the farm to feed the cows. "The cows can eat grass," he said. "We'll eat the cereal." And he put it in his closet. Everyone at his end of the hall came every morning with a bowl and dipped in for a bowlful of dry cereal. Who needs a cafeteria anyway? They didn't know that the reason the cows had been given the cereal was because it had been swept up off the floor at the cereal factory--until the morning they discovered some "pets" in the bag. Then the fellows made a beeline for the cafeteria. Suddenly they decided they needed the cafeteria after all.
You never feel the need for fire insurance as mush as when your house is on fire. You never feel your need for a service station as you do when your car sputters and stops on the side of the road and you are out of gas. It's when you feel sick that you realize your need for a doctor. "It is absurd, therefore, to offer a physician to them that are whole, or that at least imagine themselves so to be. You are first to convince them that they are sick; otherwise they will not thank you for your labor. It is equally absurd to offer Christ to them whose heart is whole, having never yet been broken."--The Great Controversy, p. 264.
It is the sense of need that makes the difference. This sense of need comes from the contemplation of the love of God. You don't have to wait for some other person to introduce you into His presence. You can sit down and, even though you find it hart at first, deliberately study and contemplate the revelation in God's Word of the love of God through the life of Jesus Christ. This is the short route that can bring you to a sense of need that perhaps a lifetime would not accomplish otherwise. Come to Him where He is revealed, realizing at the same time that He has been out looking for each one of us. "If you take even one step toward Him in repentance, He will hasten to enfold you in His arms of infinite love."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 206.
RSS Feed
