_THE SAFETY OF THE OCCUPIED HEART_
GALATIANS v. 16-25.
Two friends were cycling through Worcestershire and Warwickshire to
Birmingham. When they arrived in Birmingham I asked them, among other
things, if they had seen Warwick Gaol along the road. "No," they said, "we
hadn't a glimpse of it." "But it is only a field's length from the road!"
"Well, we never saw it." Ah, but these two friends were lovers. They were
so absorbed in each other that they had no spare attention for Warwick
Gaol. Their glorious fellowship made them unresponsive to its calls. They
were otherwise engaged.
"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." That
great Companionship will make us negligent of carnal allurements. "The
world, and the flesh, and the devil" may stand by the wayside, and hold
their glittering wares before us, but we shall scarcely be aware of their
presence. We are otherwise engaged. We are absorbed in the "Lover of our
souls."
This is the only real and effective way to meet temptation. We must meet
it with an occupied heart. We must have no loose and trailing affections.
We must have no vagrant, wayward thoughts. Temptation must find us engaged
with our Lover. We must "offer no occasion to the flesh." Walking with the
Holy One, our elevation is our safety.