Evening
Time: 12:25 PM PST
"Serve the Lord with gladness." --Psalm 100:2
Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with
a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving
Him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent. Our God
requires no slaves to grace His throne; He is the Lord of the empire of love,
and would have His servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God
serve Him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in
their ranks. That obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord
looketh at the heart, and if He seeth that we serve Him from force, and not
because we love Him, He will reject our offering. Service coupled with
cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness
from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity. If a
man be driven to battle, he is no patriot; but he who marches into the fray with
flashing eye and beaming face, singing, "It is sweet for one's country to die,"
proves himself to be sincere in his patriotism. Cheerfulness is the support
of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the
remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a
railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and
if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be
clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves
that obedience is his element; he can sing,
"Make me to walk in Thy commands,
'Tis a delightful road."
Reader, let us put this question--do you serve the Lord with
gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to
be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that
we serve a good Master.