_THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE UNLIKELY_
MATTHEW ix. 1-13.
A Disciple from among the publicans! In what waste places our Lord Jesus
finds His jewels! What exquisite possibilities Ruskin saw in a pinch of
common dust! What radiant glory the lapidary can see in the rough,
unpolished gem! The Lord loves to go into the unlikely place, and lead
forth His saints. "In the wilderness shall waters break out!"
We must prayerfully cultivate this sacred confidence in the possibilities
of the unlikely. We can never be successful helpers of the Lord unless we
can see the diamond in the soot, and the radiant saint in the disregarded
publican. It is a most gracious art to cultivate, this of discerning a
man's possible excellencies even in the blackness of his present shame. To
see the future best in the present worst, that is the true perception of a
child of light.
"O give us eyes to see like Thee!" Well, this is the medium of
vision:--"Blessed are the pure in heart, for _they shall see_ God," and
the god-like, even in the wilderness of sin. "Anoint thine eyes with
eye-salve, that thou may'st see!"