"If ye call on Him as Father, who judges." An extraordinary conjunction. I had anticipated: "Father, who loveth!" "Who pitieth!" "Who forgiveth!"
I had interpreted "Father" as the fireside; but here it stands indicative of the throne.
The element of holy sovereignty must be cardinal in our conception of the Fatherhood of God.
Jowett expected the fireside. Peter gave him the throne. Father who judges. Not who indulges. Not who overlooks. The child must grow into the holiness of the Father. Begin with the throne. The fireside follows.
Love without holiness is deoxygenated — its ministry is that of an opiate.
Pity without holiness is a bloodless sentiment.
Forgiveness without holiness is cheap and superficial — nothing of the saving strength of sacrifice.
Begin with these, and you have dispositions without dynamics — poor limp things.
But begin with holiness, and you put a dynamic into every disposition which makes it an engine of spiritual health.
Forgiveness with holiness — a medicated sentiment, fraught with healing.
Gentleness with holiness — the firm and delicate hand of a discerning nurse.
Exalt holiness, and you enrich your entire conception of the Fatherhood of God.
The "river of water of life" flows "out of the throne."
Jowett dismantles every sentimental religion in one paragraph. Love without holiness — an opiate. Pity — bloodless. Forgiveness — cheap. Dispositions without dynamics — poor limp things. But begin with holiness — and everything transforms. Holiness is not the enemy of love. Holiness is what makes love real.
The 500 denari forgiveness was not cheap — it cost the blood of the Lamb foreknown before the foundation of the world. The holiness behind the forgiveness is what gives the forgiveness its power.
The river flows from the throne. Kempis's Fountain. Augustine's overflow. Liguori's paradise. Jowett's river. All from the throne of the holy Father.
"Exalt the element of holiness, and you enrich your entire conception of the Fatherhood of God." "Begin with holiness, and you put a dynamic into every disposition."
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. This is what I am.
Three words that claim the whole inheritance: this is what I am. Not what I hope to be. What I am. Child of God. Heir. Fellow heir with Christ. The Spirit Himself bears witness — not Le's feelings, not her effort. The Spirit Himself.
Provided we suffer with Him. The inheritance is not without the suffering. The boxes, the stress, the "if" dismissed, the thinking corrected — the suffering with Him. And the glory? Incorruptible, undefiled, unfading. Kept in heaven for the child who suffers with the Father who judges in holiness and loves in power.
Our Father, hallowed be Thy name. The prayer begins with the throne. Then the kingdom. Then the will done on earth. The holiness comes first. The fireside follows. And the child of God prays it with the confidence of one who knows: this is what I am.
"This is what I am. A child of God. An heir. A fellow heir with Christ. The Spirit Himself bears witness."
Le's Heart · Caldas da Rainha · Day sixty-two · Jowett · 1 Peter 1:17 · Our Father — hallowedFather Who Judges
Not the fireside — the throne. Holiness is the primary element. Begin with the throne. The fireside follows.
Begin with Holiness
Love without holiness — an opiate. Forgiveness without it — cheap. Holiness puts the dynamic into every disposition.
The River from the Throne
The river of life flows from the throne. The Fountain, the overflow, the grace — all from the holiness of the Father.
This Is What I Am
Child. Heir. Fellow heir. The Spirit bears witness. Suffering with Him — glorified with Him. This is what I am.