' J. B. M. Grimea,
268 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
Kiches I hold in light esteem ;
And love I laugh to scorn ; And lust of fame was but a dream
That vanished with the morn:
And if I pray, the only prayer
That moves my lips for me Is " Leave the heart that now I bear,
And give me liberty!"
Yes, as my swift days near their goal,
'Tis all that I implore; In life and death, a chainless soul
With courage to endure.^
2. Christ does not challenge the truth of what the young ruler has said ; but bases on it an immeasurably higher demand, one to which he was not prepared to respond. What a contrast is here to the method most of us would have pursued — spiritual directors, evangelical pastors, helpers in the inquiry room. Almost certainly we should have challenged his assertion ; should have set him judging himself by the law, pointing out its " exceeding breadth," especially in the light of its spirituality as interpreted by Christ. We should have said, "Were you never disobedient to your parents ? never angry with any one without cause, or in excess of the occasion ? never lustful, never covetous of anything belonging to another man, never untruthful, evasive, unfair in your judgment of your neighbour ? " And we should perhaps have wound up with the words — "Whosoever offends in one point is guilty of all." This is what we should have called " searching the young man's conscience " ; and it would have revealed ignorance of the fact that, in Christ's world, the conscience is searched, not by the law, but by His Spirit. The self-dissatisfaction of the virtuous cannot be reached by casuistry; their conscience is to be touched by pointing out, not what they have done, but what they are unready to do. Repulsion from the law of Christ, refusal to follow Him — until this is exposed and repented of, these troubled spirits can have no peace. The Spirit of truth, the Comforter, when He is come, will work in the world conviction concerning sin, con- cerning righteousness, and concerning judgment. " Concerning
^ Emily Bronte.
ST. MARK 269
sin, that they believe not on me ; concerning righteousness, that I go to my Father, and ye see me no more ; concerning judg- ment, that the ruler of this world is judged."
^ The story told of Mary of Bethany is that she went to a shop to buy a box of ointment. The man in charge showed her a box, but she said that she must have something better. He showed her a second box, but even that was not good enough. The third box, costly as it was, did not seem sufficiently worthy. Then the merchant said, " I have a box, but its price is so high that I do not dare to show it to you." " That is what I want," she said ; " there is nothing too good for my Lord." ^
3. The sale and distribution of his property were the /^ necessary preparations in this man's case for the complete dis- cipleship which admits to the Divine Kingdom. The words are not a general counsel of perfection, but a test of obedience and faith which the Lord saw to be necessary in this particular case. The demand of the Divine Lover of souls varies with the spiritual condition of the individual ; for one equally great see Gen. xii. 1 ; Heb. xi. 8 ff. Whether this precept led to the sacrifices described in Acts ii. 44 f., iv. 34 ff., cannot now be known; the Life of St. Anthony relates its effect on the great Egyptian hermit.
^ One day the little group of worshippers upon the plain at the foot of the rock-strewn summit of Saug-keh-soa found themselves in a difficulty. It was necessary to replace the lowly room which served them as church by a larger building, and the funds were difficult to find. Ti:,i8 had been spent in making plans and gathering money, but little had come of it, and the brothers of the "Jesus Church" were losing heart. They met together and prayed about it. Next morning Ah-Chhoang walked a distance of fifteen miles to Chinchew city, to the house of a friend, who might, he thought, help in the matter. They had discussed the matter in every way at Ho-Chhi, he told his friend, but talking was no use. The funds were short; alas! nothing would make them button over. "Have you prayed about this matter?" "Yes; prayer is good. I have prayed,
and " Here he lifted the edge of his cotton jacket, and,
thrusting one hand into his pouch, worn sporranwise, produced a paper package. It proved to be a roll of ten dollars. " But, brother Chhoang, you cannot afford to give ten dollars." "I sold one of the fields, a field I bought myself," he added deprecatingly, as if to avoid the possible imputation of having
» J. G. K. M'Clure.
\
270 THE GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
alienated any of the ancestral possessions of his family. The eyes of his friend dimmed, and the words came surging to his lips — " You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din." No wonder that churches are built in China, when the love of money lies shivered in humble hearts, and simple people like Ah-Chhoang bring such messages from the hills.^