Evening, March 2, edited from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.” — Ephesians 3:8

The apostle Paul felt it to be a great privilege to be allowed to preach the gospel. He did not look upon his calling as drudgery, but he entered upon it with intense delight. Yet while Paul was therefore thankful for his office, his success in it greatly humbled him. As a shipping vessel becomes fuller, the deeper it sinks in the water. Loafers may indulge in a fond conceit of their abilities, because they are untested; but the earnest worker soon learns his own weakness. If you seek humility, try hard work; if you would know your nothingness, attempt some great thing for Jesus. If you would feel how utterly powerless you are apart from the living God, attempt especially the great work of proclaiming the unfathomable riches of Christ, and you will know, as you never knew before, what a weak and unworthy thing you are. Although the apostle therefore knew and confessed his weakness, he was never confused as to the subject of his ministry. From his first sermon to his last, Paul preached Christ, and nothing but Christ. He lifted up the cross, and extolled the Son of God who bled on it. Follow his example in all your personal efforts to spread the glad tidings of salvation, and let “Christ, and him crucified” be your forever recurring theme. The Christian should be like those lovely spring flowers which, when the sun is shining, open their golden cups, as if saying, “Fill us with your beams,” but when the sun is hidden behind a cloud, they close their cups and droop their heads. So also, should the Christian feel the precious influence of Jesus; Jesus must be his sun, and he must be the flower which yields itself to the Sun of Righteousness. Oh, to speak of Christ alone, this is the subject which is both “seed to the sower and bread for food!” This is the God-given fire for the lips of the speaker, and the master key to the heart of the hearer.