Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadQuiet Talks by Samuel Dickey: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About Our Lord's Return: 02. A Brief Continuous Biography
TOPIC: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About Our Lord's Return (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 02. A Brief Continuous Biography
Other Subjects in this Topic:
A Brief Continuous Biography
Almost the first you hear of Him He was mending a break. It was a bad break, too. He mended it by His own direct touch. He gave a bit of Himself. It was just like Him. That's the sort of thing He has been doing ever since. The greatest act of His life was mending a break, and doing it by giving Himself utterly out.
The story of this first mending is in the opening page of our old Bible. The story of creation is told in the single opening sentence of ten words. There is no calendar, no process is given, just the simple tremendous fact of creation stated. The second sentence tells with pathetic brevity of a break, sad and tragic. Then He—our great Friend—gave Himself to mend that break. His Spirit "brooded tremulous with love" over the disorder. That personal touch of love and power does quick, wondrous work, and man's home is ready for him. Again He gave Himself—His breath, and so man comes to His home, and into sweet fellowship with this wondrous father-mother-God. They are alike, and so can be fellows in spirit and life.
This giving of Himself is His most characteristic trait. He has been doing it constantly, and is. Eden and Calvary are the two mountain peaks, but the peaks are merely the highest points of the whole mountain range. He gave His breath in Eden, His blood on Calvary,—simply two parts of one act. In giving His breath He let us know that whenever the need might come He would give His blood.
This reveals His heart's longing. It is a bit of His exquisite parable-teaching. He wants what He gives, one's very self. A clergyman in the Midlands in England told me of a father and little daughter. They were continuously together whenever possible. Then an estrangement seemed to come. She would excuse herself, saying she had something to do, and leave him. This went on for a long time. He was deeply grieved, but said nothing. Then one morning, it was his birthday, she brought him a pair of slippers with her face all aglow. "Oh," he said, "thank you so much; where did you buy them?" "Buy them! I did not buy them. I made them. See, every one of these pretty stitches I put in with my own fingers!" "Oh," he said, "and it took you just two months to do it." "Now who has told you my secret?"
"No one told me, daughter, but it's been just two months that I missed you so much, and felt so grieved and wondered what had happened, and why you stayed away from me." Then he said very tenderly, "Thank you so much for the slippers, but next time remember it's your-self I prefer to anything you can give me." That was his father heart speaking out. That revealed a bit of the God-image in him. We bring our service, our things. God gave Himself. He longs for us, ourselves. So He says in creation, in Eden, on Calvary, and evermore by His Spirit.
Before coming to fix that first break He was in the Father's presence, in closest touch, from the earliest untimed morn of the uncreated beginning. It was His love for us that drew Him down to our corner of the universe. After coming He remained in most intimate touch with all our life. But after the Eden break He had much greater difficulty in getting men to recognize His presence. Yet some did. Enoch and Noah used to take long walks with Him, and help Him in carrying out His great plans of love for men. He used to talk with Abraham under the stars about His longings for the race.
He had a hard time one night down by the little Jabbok stream to hold Jacob to His plan for helping the world. He had to change Jacob's step so they could walk together, though it grieved Him sorely to do it. He watched with tender care while the messenger-nation was having its birth pains in Egypt; patiently trained Moses to tend the new-born, and talked to him out of the desert bush; went along with them Himself from Egypt through all the desert road to Canaan; guided Joshua in the conquest; taught Samuel how to pray; and trained David how to shepherd sheep and people. When things were getting into bad shape He had a talk one day with Isaiah in the Jerusalem temple, and afterwards a series of talks with Ezekiel down by the Chebar.
All this time He was never absent from any part of His earth, or His race of men. They failed so largely to recognize or respond to Him. But, though deeply pained and grieved at His heart with what He saw, He patiently remained, sustaining life by His own direct touch; giving answer in the soil to all their requests; sending sunshine and rain and fragrant dew; speaking in their hearts; responding to every longing cry; and grieved that they understood so little what He was saying to them.
Then things got into the very worst shape. Something more must be done. So He wrapped Himself about in the garment of our humanity, and came in among us, through a very low door, and lived our life, shared our experiences, felt our temptations, met our tempter and worsted him. He went through the narrow Gethsemane gateway, up the steep hill of Calvary, where His great heart broke under the weight of our sin. So He made a new way for us back home. So He won the love of our hearts. So He forever worsted our enemy. The third morning He rose, then later rose up higher, back again to His Father's presence.
He was seen once after going back. It was by John. It was a sight never to be forgotten,—eyes of flame, feet like burnished brass, a face as the sun shineth in its strength, head and hair white as wool, as snow, a voice like many waters in the sense of authority it conveyed, but tender as a woman's in speaking with John. I do not know that the white hair speaks of the intensity of His suffering on earth; it may not be so; but so it always seems to speak to my own heart.
I recall the incident of the mother whose daughter confessed her wayward conduct, but was utterly hardened to the shame of it. The physician confirmed the truth of the young woman's statement. Not a word of reproach escaped the lips of the heartbroken mother, but the next morning when she came to breakfast her hair was white. And the sight made the daughter realize the mother's awful grief, and her own sin, and broke her heart into penitence. Our Lord's face in the glory bears the deep marks of His awful sufferings for us.
There He has remained since, praying for us men, thinking about us, doing all He had been doing before, and looking forward with eager expectation to coming back again. During the Kingdom time He will be seen on the earth as during the Transfiguration, in a wondrous glory.
After the Kingdom time is over He will gather all the race together around about Himself. He and they will walk together under the trees of life, by the river of life. His presence will flood the wondrous garden-city with light. And they shall see His face, and His likeness shall be in their faces.