The life of those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High may be called a Hidden Life, because the animating principle, the vital or operative element, is not so much in itself as in another. It is a life grafted into another life. It is the life of the soul, incorporated into the life of Christ; and in such a way, that, while it has a distinct vitality, it has so very much in the sense, in which the branch of a tree may be said to have a distinct vitality from the root.

Friday, April 24, 2015

The Love of the Cross

O Father! Let me bear the Cross,
Make it my daily food,
Though with it Thou dost send the loss
Of every other good.

Take house and lands and earthly fame;
To all I am resigned;
But let me make one earnest claim;
Leave, leave the Cross behind!

I know it costs me many tears,
But they are tears of bliss;
And moments there outweigh the years
Of selfish happiness.

The Cross is Love, to action given;
Love "seeking not its own;"
But finding truth and peace and heaven,
In good to others shown.

The Cross doth live in God's great life,
In Christ's dear heart doth shine;
And how, without its pains and strife
Shall God and Christ be mine?

Christ in the Soul (1872) XXVIII.



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