“Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you” (John
xvi. 23).
Two men go to the bank cashier, both holding in their hands a piece of
paper. One is dressed in expensive style, and presents a gloved and
jeweled hand; the other is a rough, unwashed workman. The first is
rejected with a polite sentence, and the second receives a thousand
dollars over the counter. What is the difference? The one presented a
worthless name; the other handed in a note endorsed by the president of
the bank. And so the most virtuous moralist will be turned away from the
gates of mercy, and the vilest sinner welcomed in if he presents the name
of Jesus.
What shall we give to infinite purity and righteousness? Jesus! No other
gift is worthy for God to receive. And He has given Him to us for this
very end, to give back as our substitute and satisfaction. And He has
“testified” of this gift what He has of no other, namely, that in Him He
is well pleased and all who receive Him “are accepted in the Beloved.”
Shall we accept the testimony that God is satisfied with His Son? Shall we
be satisfied with Him?