[Songs in the Night - August 5]
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful. I Timothy 1:12
AH, YES, what a blessed satisfaction it is to us to
know that while the Lord knows of our every word and
every deed he is pleased to count us something different,
even from our words and our deeds—something
better!
Our words do not always represent the full
sentiments of our hearts; our conduct does not come
up to the standard: after the words have been spoken
and after the deeds have been done—perhaps to the
very best of our ability—we realize that they have
come short of the glory of God, and short of our own
ideals, desires, and efforts.
How consoling it is to us,
then, to know that our imperfect work shall be acceptable
through Christ to God; that the Lord counts
us according to our intentions, according to our wills.
Praise his name!
We would have no hope of coming
up to any standard of perfection which he would approve,
were it not for his gracious arrangement by
which our imperfections are covered by our Redeemer's
perfection and sacrifice, and our works accepted
according to the intentions and desires of our
hearts. Z'02-133 R3002:1 (Hymn 125)