Adventures in the Land of Canaan Part 8

3. If a sanctified person receives words of appreciation, he feels pleasure; not that they exalt him, but that they create in him a natural joy at being so appreciated. It is said by some that sanctified persons are "dead," and the point is ill.u.s.trated by saying that pins might be thrust into a dead man and he will not wince. If sanctification destroyed the natural feelings, it would be a disaster rather than a blessing. It purifies them, but does not destroy them.

4. G.o.d planted in man the sense of justice. G.o.d made man in His own image. What we find in G.o.d, we find in man. G.o.d is just; so the principle of justice abides in man. Sanctification destroys the selfish vindictiveness of anger, but it does not destroy the sense of justice, and a sanctified person will feel the rise of a righteous indignation at evil. This is ill.u.s.trated in Jesus, when He "looked round about on them with anger" (Mark 3:5), and also when He made the whip of cords and drove the robbers out of the temple (Matthew 21:12, 13). If the righteous man can not feel indignant at evil, how can G.o.d judge the world? Justice implies anger at evil. If righteous anger is wrong in man, it is wrong in G.o.d. Because G.o.d is G.o.d does not mean that He can do a moral wrong and it be right because G.o.d did it. His acts must be intrinsically right of themselves. Therefore, on the fact that He will judge the world we predicate the righteousness of sanctified indignation. And this is not carnal anger, which raves and slays and destroys unmercifully and wickedly.

5. It is rather hard to divide impatience into a just impatience and an unjust impatience. The point may be too fine for definition, but Scripture and experience both prove that sanctification does not make one perfectly patient. In fact, who should judge as to what perfect patience is if it were a possible attainment? Sanctification does make us patient. The constant ruffling of soul over untoward events stops. We grow patient. We trust G.o.d. We wait and hope. But we read that "tribulation worketh patience" (Romans 5:3); so hard experiences make us patient, that is, if we bear them. James says, "The trying of your faith worketh patience"

(James 1:3). So what tribulations and trials work is not completely done by the Spirit when we are sanctified.

6. It used to be said by some that sanctification destroyed social instincts to the point of making social diversions distasteful. It seems very hard to disentangle the true state of holiness from asceticism.

Once, holy men were supposed to be dead to social enjoyments--they would not marry, they would not wear ordinary clothing, they would not a.s.sociate on a common plane with their fellows. But Jesus did not live that way.

He made wine for a marriage feast; He ate dinner at a rich Pharisee's house; He enjoyed being at Martha's home. John leaned on His bosom at the last supper. Jesus was no ascetic.

Sanctification lifts social contact to its highest level. Brilliant conversation on a plane of purity is as enjoyable to holy people as to others. Figures of speech, puns, and riddles may mark the conversation of holy people as well as others. Yet their talk does not descend to the vulgar, frivolous, giddy, jay chatter of the wicked. As is said of conversation, so may be said of parties and picnics, which are names for outings or gatherings of various kinds at which refreshments may or may not be served. Should G.o.d's children be debarred from these pleasurable a.s.sociations because the world goes too far in them?

7. Sanctification does not destroy s.e.x impulses, but it does enn.o.ble them and bring them under control. Hence the drawing of natures to each other is common to all, and courtship and marriage are honorable, as Paul said.

8. Since sanctified persons can appropriately feel pleasure at words of appreciation, so can they feel hurt at slights and impositions heaped on them by others. Perhaps the dividing line between what is right and what is wrong in this matter is this: so long as one feels hurt but does not feel like hurting in return, he may be safe; but when one is hurt and then feels the retaliating spirit which boils over in anger, that one feels the mark of an unsanctified soul. We may be hurt, but we also commit and trust it to G.o.d.

9. Joy is not always overflowing in the hearts of the sanctified. Heavy trials will produce a heaviness of spirit (1 Peter 1:6-9).

These trials are profitable, really indispensable.

Sanctification restores the soul. It purifies the affections and motives of the life, it lifts all of life up to a plane of holiness and love, but it leaves us men and women. Do not expect impossibilities of it, but expect it to cleanse out sin and carnal wicked elements.

G.o.d's plan for the earth is for salvation to extend to all men until this world shall be ruled by divine principles and love instead of l.u.s.t and selfishness.

Give yourself wholly to G.o.d, then, dear soul; fully yield all up to the divine will and care not how you feel. Let G.o.d care for your feelings as well as for everything else. He will "keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on" Him. Glorious peace, precious rest, delightful confidence!

A certain woman lived a precarious existence, but she was so happy in her life with Jesus that she was the marvel of her town.

You have given all to G.o.d, let Him keep all of you and for you.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE ROUTING OF GIANT DOUBT

Doubts! doubts! doubts! Just a company of them around me all the time worse than Job's miserable comforters. What can I do with them? I should like to dismiss them, but it seems I can not. They make me much trouble, but it seems I can not get them to leave me. Especially are the doubts concerning my entire consecration aggravating, and those, too, concerning my entire cleansing. I fear to come out boldly and declare that I believe that Christ fully saves me now. I believe He can and will, but the words die on my lips when I attempt to bring it down to the present moment.

Yet I know these doubts are dishonoring to G.o.d, who has made such great and glorious promises. Can you give me some instructions on what to do with doubts? How did you overcome yours? Please help me, in Christ's name.

Pilgrim Sincere lives in what I hear is one of the best parts of Canaan.

He had a great encounter with old Giant Doubt; so let us pay him a visit.

We have met the old Giant already, and we have no hesitation in saying that if there is a worse giant than he in Canaan, we are not eager to meet him. Pilgrim Sincere may tell us something about him that it will be of profit to us to know.

Here! We are at Sincere's place already. There is no question of his victory over Giant Doubt. Such a shield of faith as his is I never saw before!

"Pilgrim Sincere, we have been talking with pilgrims and residents of Canaan, and now we have come to see you. Will you tell us something that will enable us to gain a freehold in Canaan? We have met many poor pilgrims who say they have never yet gained a clear t.i.tle to a home here.

They have been driven here and there by this or that old giant. We are eager not to be defeated in this great adventure in Canaan."

"If you will give all honor to Immanuel and none to me, I will relate my experiences--a few at least. There are many giants in Canaan, very many of them. There is Giant l.u.s.t, who has slain thousands. Poor souls! Giant Puff-up, who causes pilgrims to act as foolish as did the toad that saw an elephant and burst itself trying to be as large; Giant Lethargy, who operates an opiate factory in a hollow that runs directly down into Egypt; Giant Covetousness, who decoys pilgrims to the silver-mine run by Balaam and Demas; Giant Pride, an evil giant who has troubled pilgrims for time out of mind; Giant Liar, who uses an abundance of camouflage; and others [Galatians 5:19-21]."

"My, you almost scare us naming them! Can it be we must fight all of them? Is not this that rest-land!"

"My dear pilgrims, this is Beulah-land, and Sabbath-land. Here is the true rest. But remember, Canaan has its giants, more so than the wilderness; the true rest is found in overcoming them. Do not be frightened. Look at the armor with which you are equipped."

"Sincere, the armor is all right, but it is ourselves that we are doubtful of. Can we use the sword and the shield as they should be used?"

"Indeed you can, pilgrims, no doubt of it. Why, when I got into Canaan I was so weak I nearly lost my life fighting."

"Tell us about it."

"About twenty-five years ago I entered Canaan. It was a great day for me! At last the long journey through the wilderness was over, the deep, wide waters of Jordan pa.s.sed! Canaan was my own! I praised Immanuel and began to possess the land [Joshua 1:2, 3].

"Not long after that I met a lean, white-whiskered man named Legality.

He said he was my friend. He looked venerable and sincere, even if he did appear rather stern and immovable! 'Now friend Sincere,' he said, 'I have something here that will help you walk safely and straight,' and with that he slipped a peculiar jacket over my head and buckled it up pretty tight around my waist [Galatians 5:1].

"'There,' he said, 'that jacket just fits you. You are in Canaan now, and must walk, oh, so straight and carefully! Why, if you make even ever so little a mistake, you will be punished, I fear, dreadfully. But that jacket will help you and keep you from doing anything far out of the way.' And with that he left me.

"Well, I wanted anything that would help me, so I kept the jacket on.

It bothered me considerably. It was made of stiff, iron stays, woven in with rough haircloth, both of which were made, so Mr. Legality said, by one Mr. Over-Conscientious Scruple who lives in the town of Sensitive.

"Every move I made was r.e.t.a.r.ded by that jacket. By and by sore places appeared where the end of the stays engaged my flesh. I met Mr. Legality once and told him how bad the jacket was treating me, but he said the cure was to buckle it on tighter. Oh, my, how it did hurt! But he said it would be dangerous to take it off. So I continued to suffer. I could not act freely in any matter.

"Just about this time old Giant Doubt met me. He carried a book and a big pencil. 'Sit down here while I give you an examination; that is my business,' he said. 'My lord has commissioned me to do this work.'

Something inside me told me that here was an enemy; but he spoke with such a show of authority that I pa.s.sively sat down. And he began.

"'How do you feel?'

"'I do not feel very good, just now.' I said.

"'I thought so. No doubt there is something wrong with you. Have you gained an established home in Canaan yet?'

"'No, I haven't,' I replied.

"'Well, you never will; at least there are serious doubts about it. It is my business to make sure that pilgrims possess the land. Did you put up your memorial stone!'

"'Yes, I carried a stone out of the middle of Jordan and set it up. I suppose it is there yet.'

"'That stone was no good, a little rough rock it was. Why didn't you select a nice large stone such as Pilgrim Joyful carried out?'

"'I did the best I could; that was the only stone I saw in pa.s.sing through. I noticed it was not like Pilgrim Joyful's, and not like Pilgrim Honest's, either.'

"'No good, no good! Too small! I doubt if it is really stone at all. Did you leave all the wilderness luggage on yonder side Jordan?'

"'I intended to. I dropped the whole bundle as I stepped into the Jordan.'

"'I doubt it. I believe you have considerable wilderness trappings in your possession. More than that, I doubt whether you left all your load when you crossed the Red Sea. Did you?'