Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away (James 1:9, 10).
This is a promise that we need always to remember and never to forget. The demotions and exaltations of this world are transitory. They really mean little, but may have great results. If we seek worldly approval, or even indulge in religious or spiritual pride, or seek to exalt ourselves, we need to remember this promise, which will surely come to pass: "As the flower of the grass...[we] shall pass away." Not merely the glory, but we ourselves. Life is short, but it is long enough for the purposes that God has in mind for us. Let us not become exalted when things go well; nor discouraged, downhearted, even despairing, when things go ill. It is all but for a moment when measured with the endless cycles of eternity.
One of George Fredrick Watt's most suggestive pictures is in the Tate Gallery in London. It is entitled Sic Transit, and is a theme of great simplicity. Lying upon a bier there rests a shrouded figure. Life is over. What does it all mean? Around the deceased lie certain things that show what was his station on life--a plumed helmet, a spear, a shield. He was a warrior. "He was loved," says the rose. "He traveled," says the scallop shell. He was not without culture, for on the ground lie the musician's lute and the book of the scholar. A golden cup proclaims that he has drunk of the rich wine of life. But now he is dead. What is the sum of life? What remains of all the years spent in living? The artist sums it all up in three lines written upon the canvas:
What I spent I had;
What I saved I lost;
What I gave I have.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted" (Ps. 89:16).
This is a promise that we need always to remember and never to forget. The demotions and exaltations of this world are transitory. They really mean little, but may have great results. If we seek worldly approval, or even indulge in religious or spiritual pride, or seek to exalt ourselves, we need to remember this promise, which will surely come to pass: "As the flower of the grass...[we] shall pass away." Not merely the glory, but we ourselves. Life is short, but it is long enough for the purposes that God has in mind for us. Let us not become exalted when things go well; nor discouraged, downhearted, even despairing, when things go ill. It is all but for a moment when measured with the endless cycles of eternity.
One of George Fredrick Watt's most suggestive pictures is in the Tate Gallery in London. It is entitled Sic Transit, and is a theme of great simplicity. Lying upon a bier there rests a shrouded figure. Life is over. What does it all mean? Around the deceased lie certain things that show what was his station on life--a plumed helmet, a spear, a shield. He was a warrior. "He was loved," says the rose. "He traveled," says the scallop shell. He was not without culture, for on the ground lie the musician's lute and the book of the scholar. A golden cup proclaims that he has drunk of the rich wine of life. But now he is dead. What is the sum of life? What remains of all the years spent in living? The artist sums it all up in three lines written upon the canvas:
What I spent I had;
What I saved I lost;
What I gave I have.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted" (Ps. 89:16).
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