January 9

The Test of Life

And they were both righteous before God. — Luke 1:6

This is a beautiful thing to have said of them. Yet, after all, that is the test which every life must endure. It is not enough to have human commendation: how do we stand before God? how does our life appear to Him? No matter how men praise and commend, if as God sees us we are wrong. The Pharisees were righteous before men; but if you would see how they stood in God’s eye, read the twenty-third chapter of Matthew. We are in reality just what we are before God, — nothing less, nothing more. The question always to be asked is, “What will God think of this?” If we would meet His approval, we must first have our hearts right, and then we must be true in every part of our life.

One of the old artists was chiselling with great pains on the back part of his marble. “Why do you carve so carefully the tresses on the head of your statue?” asked one; “it will stand high in its niche against the wall, and no one will ever see its back.” “The gods will see it,” was the reply.

We should learn a lesson from the old heathen artist. We should do our work just as honestly where it will be covered up and never seen by human eyes, as where it is to be open to the scrutiny of the world. For God will see it. We should live just as purely and beautifully in secret as in the glare of the world’s noon. There really is no such thing as secrecy in this world. We fancy that no eye is looking when we are not in the presence of men; but really we always have spectators, we are living all our life in the presence of angels, and of God Himself. We should train ourselves, therefore, to work for the Divine eye in all that we do, that our work may stand the Divine inspection, and that we may have the approval and commendation of God.