Numbers 14:21

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"As truly as I live all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." Num 14:21

No bolder word was ever uttered even by a Christian apostle. This prediction is founded upon the philosophy of the principles which it represented; that is to say such is the adaptation of divine thought to human need, that it must in the long run put down all competition, and prove itself to be the one thought which is full of rational satisfaction. It is not to be supposed that one set of principles is to get the better of some other set, as the result of a kind of pitched battle in which the one side has been cleverer than the other. Christianity is to triumph by virtue of its adaptation to every necessity of human need. By addressing itself to the experience of mankind, by waiting with long patience for a full reception into the heart, and an honest trial in the life, by answering questions which no other religion can settle, and in every way to the ministry of thought, Christianity will show itself to be the one religion which abundantly covers the whole space of human necessity. Other religions address themselves to races or kingdoms, to particular climates and modes of life; Christianity looks abroad upon the whole earth and proposes one blessing, the blessing of adoption and pardon for every member of the human race. The promise seems to be founded upon the very constitution of God: the terms are, "As truly as I live"; this is not a mere exclamation, or a varied form of oath, least of all is it a rhetorical embellishment; it would seem to be that the filling of the whole earth with the glory of God is a necessity of the very nature of God. God is love; God is light; love and light have undertaken to fill the whole earth with beauty and splendour. This is not the God of a mechanician who does so much work for so much reward, and who is willing to do a directly opposite work for higher compensation; it is the ministry of love, the energy of light, and the pressure of eternity. God will have all things like himself. He is holy, he is good, he is wise, and what he is he means all responsible creatures to be in their degree. The Christian worker is to conduct his service under the inspiration of this prediction. He is not to look at temporary discouragements, or vexatious details, or personal infirmity, or the supposed strength of an enemy; he is to stand upon the rock of divine promise, and daily sustain his confidence by the pledge of God. Love and light must always succeed. They are the forces which give energy to the Christian ministry in all its forms and activities, and because they are of the very nature and quality of God they cannot ultimately fail of their purpose.