_He Had No Rights_
He had no rights:
No right to a soft bed, and a well-laid table;
No right to a home of His own, a place where His own
pleasure might be sought;
No right to choose pleasant, congenial companions, those who
could understand Him and sympathize with Him;
No right to shrink away from filth and sin, to pull His
garments closer around Him and turn aside to walk in cleaner
paths;
No right to be understood and appreciated; no, not by those
upon whom He had poured out a double portion of His love;
No right even never to be forsaken by His Father, the One
who meant more than all to Him.
His only right was silently to endure shame, spitting, blows; to take
His place as a sinner at the dock; to bear my sins in anguish on the
cross.
He had no rights. And I?
A right to the "comforts" of life? No, but a right to the
love of God for my pillow.
A right to physical safety? No, but a right to the security
of being in His will.
A right to love and sympathy from those around me? No, but a
right to the friendship of the One who understands me better
than I do myself.
A right to be a leader among men? No, but the right to be
led by the One to whom I have given my all, led as is a
little child, with its hand in the hand of its father.
A right to a home, and dear ones? No, not necessarily; but a
right to dwell in the heart of God.
A right to myself? No, but, oh, _I have a right to Christ_.
All that He takes I will give;
All that He gives will I take;
He, my only right!
He, the one right before which all other rights
fade into nothingness.
I have full right to Him;
Oh, may He have full right to me!
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: This word is not used in any disparaging sense, but
simply meaning "originating in a given place."]
[Footnote 2: Colloquial Chinese term for a bride.]
[Footnote 3: Bound small in childhood.]
[Footnote 4: Adapted from _The Lord Stood by Me_ (Philadelphia: China
Inland Mission, n.d.), pp. 67-75 (out of print).]
[Footnote 5: Cf. ch. 8.]
[Footnote 6: General Director of the China Inland Mission at that
time.]
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Title Page: The title and author have been changed from lower case to
title case.
Page 45: Typo corrected: vistior to visitor.
Page 105: Typo corrected: gardner to gardener.
Page 119: Typo corrected: happend to happened.