"O mother, don't do so much for me; love me more."
I tell you the truth whether you hear or forbear: as preachers and
teachers many of you are doing too much for the Lord. You are busy,
morning, noon and night in His name, running here and there,
tinkering religiously and morally, putting things together and
increasingly active; so busy doing for the Lord that like Martha you
have no time to sit still at His feet as did Mary and hear His Word,
hear what He has to say to you; so busy doing for Him that you are
losing sight of Himself. This was the "somewhat" He had against the
Ephesian Church.
That Church was full of works and labours. They had tested false
doctrines and false teachers. They stood squarely for fundamentals
and were theologically sound; but they had left their "first love,"
love to Himself, love to His person, devotion to His person, a
flaming, outbreaking, overflowing enthusiasm for a personal, a
realistic Saviour and Lord. They were taken up with what they were
doing for Him rather than with Himself. They had got away from the
loving, impelling touch and contact with Himself.
The personal touch with Christ!
That is what He wants from us. Not so much what we are doing for
Him, but what He is to us personally. He wants to be the first and
the last, the chiefest among ten thousands and the one altogether
lovely. This is the definition of true and efficient Christianity
--personal devotion to a living and loving Saviour.
Looking down from heaven He is saying to us, no matter how much we
may be doing for Him, He is saying this to us:
"Love me more."
And until there is this flaming, burning, out-flowing enthusiasm for
and devotion to a personal Lord, to Him for what He is as well as
for what He has done for us, there can be no sweeping, wide,
resultant revival and ingathering of the elect of God. You may plan
and organize and get together, you will have only a flame that will
flare for a time and then go out.
Nay! only when we are on fire for Him can we make the hearts of men
to burn with the faith that shall turn them to Him and make them
hate and forsake whatever does not honour and glorify Him.
Over all the noise and rush of things, and all the machinery well
motived men sometimes set going in His name He is saying:
"Love me more! love me more!"
When some one you love with this intense personal love is absent you
are not satisfied till that absent one returns, fills your vision
and responds to the touch of your greeting and your love.
If you love the very person of the Son of God; if you have a
quivering, all-pervading enthusiasm for Him so that He is, indeed,
above all personalities in the universe to you, you will want Him to
return where you may look upon Him--not as Thomas did for doubt's
sake and stumbling hope's sake--but for the very joy of it until the
print of the nails in His hand and the print of the nails in His
feet shall be to you as the apocalypse of His glory and the
illumination of your soul.
Do you really want Him to come--this long absent Redeemer and Lord?
He is listening to hear whether you want Him to come; whether above
every plan and scheme you may have been building in His name; above
any religious, even spiritual ambition you may have, you want Him to
come for--Himself.
He is very still. He is listening to hear whether you will say that
one little word that has in it such vibrant meaning, that one word:
"Come."