This quote from the first page of The Normal Christian Life is being impressed on me, as of late. Living in today's world is confusing at times. It seems that sometimes black is taken as white, and white, for black. Sometimes, it even seems that it is impossible to survive without conforming to the way of the world. Every man is for himself, trying to get the upper hand, taking advantage of the vulnerable. In this kind of environment, how can we live the Christian life, full of the virtues of Christ? It is conceivable that if we were to take this manner of living, we would not stay alive for long.
This was my thought, as I agonized over how I should live my life. But, recently, I was confronted with how the Lord lived His life. He knew everything that was going on. He even knew the thoughts within the heart of men. Despite knowing what was in man, He still loved man, served man, and died for man. The reason that He did this without any complaint was because He had the spirit of a servant, a slave. He set aside His will and His preferences, and He took the Father's will, and carried out the Father's desire. God the Father loved man, and wanted to redeem him from being under Satan's usurpation. So, the Lord obeyed faithfully suffering the mistreatment of man.
I believe that this spirit is something that I lacked. Due to my not seeing this, I could not face mistreatment. I could not love those who hated me, and I was justified in doing so. This was because I did not see myself as a slave. I was free to do whatever I wanted.
But, the fact is that the Lord had died for me, and had redeemed me. Now, I do not belong to myself. Rather, I belong to the Lord. My prayer is that He would make my heart a duplication of His own, that I would also follow Him in taking the way of the cross, by having the spirit of a slave.
As I go on, these quotes I read from Brother Nee's books gradually become real to me.
Updated on March 3, 2011