27. There Shall Be No More Night
There Shall Be No More Night
But all in on the very verge of a flood-tide of life, for the seed-vessel has reached its highest ministry now. The last wrappings are torn and from every rent and breach the bare grain is shed forth and brought into direct contact with the soil. Suddenly, as if by miracle, the quickening comes, and the emerald shoot is to be seen.
THE MESSAGE OF THE TINY SEED interprets human life. Without it suffering remains an inscrutable mystery. The great Corn of Wheat showed forth the meaning of love by suffering.
If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow,
We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.
The heavens frighten us; they are too calm.
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us—where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by Thy scars, we claim Thy grace.
The other gods were strong, but Thou wast weak.
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne.
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds but Thou alone.
(Edward Shillito [source unknown])
As thousands have testified, were it not for wounds they would never have known so deeply Him whose wounds speak. Thomas refused to believe in the Christ of the Resurrection until He showed them His hands and His feet. “We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.”
We bow in gratitude for His willingness to take the cup the Father gave Him, a cup so immensely more bitter than the one He gives us. Shall we refuse it, or shall we grasp it with both hands, as it were, realizing it holds just what is most needful for our spiritual wholeness? Ours has been sweetened, as Rutherford put it, “at the lip of sweet Jesus.” We drink it—by trustful acceptance—and God transforms it for His glory. Thus our very suffering may become the substance of sacrifice—a love-offering to God and a sacrifice of praise, and our ambition may be changed as radically as was Paul’s, who said,
“All I care for is to know Christ, to experience the power of his resurrection, and to share his sufferings, in growing conformity with his death” (Phil 3:10).
We are on the very verge of a floodtide of life. The miracle will come, we do not know the moment, but “his servants shall worship him; they shall see him face to face, and bear his name on their foreheads. There shall be no more night, nor will they need the light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will give them light; and they shall reign for evermore” (Rv 22:3-5).