QUESTIONS; AND HOW TO MEET THEM
I have been very much interested of late in looking at the
excellent in which John the Baptist met the various questions which came before
him, for there were many questions is his day, as there are in ours.
What I specially refer to now is presented to us in chapters 1 and 3 of
Johns Gospel. The first question which this dear and honoured servant of
Christ was called to answer had respect to himself, and of this he makes short
work indeed. "This is the record of John, when the Jews sent Priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?"
It is
unwelcome to any rightminded person to be asked to speak about himself. So, I
doubt not, John found it. He readily told them that he was not the Messiah,
that he was not Elijah, that he was not even the prophet. But they wanted a
positive answer. "They said unto him, Who art thou? That we may give an answer
to him that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?" Little indeed had he to say
of himself. "I" had a very small place in Johns thoughts. "A voice." Was
this all? Yes; this was all. The Spirit in the prophet had spoken; John quotes
the words and there he leaves it. Blessed servant! Honoured witness! Would we
had more of his excellent spirit, more of his method of answering questions!
But these Pharisees were not satisfied. John's self-hiding spirit was
entirely beyond them. "They asked him, and said unto him, Why baptisest thou
then, if thou be not the Christ, nor Elias, neither the prophet?"
Here
again the Baptist makes short work. "John answering them, saying, I baptize
with water; but there standeth One among you whom ye know not. He it is who,
coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoess latchet I am not
worthy to unloose."
Thus, as to himself, he was merely a voice. And,
as to his work, he baptised with water, and he was only too glad to retire
behind that blessed One whose shoes lachet he felt utterly unworthy to
unloose.
This is uncommonly fine. I feel assured, my beloved friend,
that the lovely spirit displayed by this most illustrious servant of Christ is
what you earnestly covet for yourself. And I think I am one with you. I do long
to know more of this self hiding- this losing sight of self and its doings,
this retiring spirit. Truly it is much needed in this day of egotistical boast
and pretension.
Turn with me for a moment to John 3. Here we have
another kind of question. It is not now about himself or his work, but about
purifying. "There arose a question among some of John's disciples and the Jews
about purifying. And they came to John and said unto him, Rabbi, He that was
with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same
baptizeth and all come to Him."
Now this was a mistake, for "Jesus
Himself baptized not, but His disciples. " But this is not the point here. What
strikes me is John's mode of settling all questions, right or wrong. He finds a
perfect solution for all in the presence of his Lord. "John answered and said,
A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven."
How
true! How simple! How perfectly obvious! What a complete settlement of every
question! If a man has anything at all, from where did it, where could it,
come? Surely only from heaven. What a perfect cure for strife, envy, jealousy
and emulation! "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights." What a tale this tells of earth. What a
record it bears to heaven and to God! Not one atom of good on earth but what
comes from heaven. Not an atom of good in man but what comes from God. Why then
should anyone boast or be jealous or envious? If all goodness is from above,
let there be an end of all strife and let all hearts go up in praise to "the
Father of lights."
Thus it was the Baptist met the questions of his
day. He let all the questioners know that their questions had little interest
for him. And more than that, he let them know where all his interests lay. This
blessed servant found all his springs in the Lamb of God, in His precious work,
in His glorious Person. The voice of the Bridegroom was enough for him, and
having heard that, his joy was full. The question of purifying might be
interesting enough in its place, and like all other questions, it had its right
and its wrong side, but for John, the Bridegroom's voice was enough. In His
presence he found a divine answer to every question, a divine solution for
every difficulty. He looked up to heaven and saw every good thing coming from
there. He looked into the Bridegroom's face and saw every moral glory centered
there. This was enough for him. Why trouble him with questions of any kind -
questions about himself or his work, or about purifying? He lived far beyond
the region of questions, in the blessed presence of his Lord, and there he
found all his heart could ever need.
Now, my much loved friend, it
seems to me that you and I would do well to take a leaf out of John's book as
regards all this. I need not remind you that in this our day there are
questions agitating men's minds. Yes, and some of us are called to account for
not expressing ourselves more decidedly on some of these questions. But I
believe the devil is doing his utmost to alienate our hearts from Christ and
from one another by questions. We ought not to be ignorant of his devices. He
does not come openly and say, "I am the devil and I want to divide and scatter
you by questions." Yet this is precisely what he is seeking to do.
Now, it matters not whether the question be right or wrong in itself; as of a
wrong one, provided he can succeed in raising that question to undue
prominence, causing it to come between our souls and Christ, and between us and
our brethren. I can understand a difference in judgment on various minor
questions. Christians have differed about such for long centuries and they will
continue to differ until the end of time. It is human weakness. But when any
question is allowed to assume undue prominence, it ceases to be mere human
weakness and becomes a wile of Satan. I may have a very decided judgment on any
given point, and so may you. But what I long for now is a thorough sinking of
all questions and a rejoicing in hearing the Bridegroom's voice and going on
together in the His blessed countenance. This will confound the enemy. It will
deliver us from prejudice and partiality and from cliques. We shall then
measure one another, not by our views of any particular question, but by our
appreciation of the Person of Christ and our devotion to His cause.
In
a word, my beloved and valued friend, what I long for is that you and I, and
all our dear brethren throughout the whole world, may be characterized by a
deep-toned, thorough devotion to the name and truth and cause of Christ. I long
to cultivate broad sympathies that can take in every true lover of Christ, even
though we don't see eye to eye on all minor questions. At best "we know but in
part," and we can never expect people to agree with us about questions. But if
Christ be our one absorbing object, all other things will assume their right
place, their relative value, their proper proportions. "Let us, therefore, as
many as be perfect (as many as have Christ for their one object) be thus
minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this
unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the
same rule (Christ), and mind the same thing" (Christ). The moment anything else
but Christ is introduced as a rule to walk by, it is simply the work of the
devil. Of this I am as sure as I hold this pen in my hand.
May the
Lord keep us all close to Himself, walking together, not in sectarianism, but
in true brotherly love, seeking the blessing and prosperity of all who belong
to Christ and promoting in every possible way His blessed cause until He come!