| The Christian Life | August 1940 |
The Tie that Binds
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“Blest be the tie that binds —Hymns of Dawn
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THE words of this beautiful hymn strike a responsive chord in every consecrated Christian’s heart, because it puts into words that which we, who have been begotten of the Holy Spirit, have realized in our hearts. We know that the song is true, because we have experienced the blessedness of its sentiments in our associations with the Lord and with the brethren. It is this blessed association in Christ, with all that it implies of sweet fellowship with the Lord and the brethren, that affords so much joy and happiness to those who have entered into its realities.
The quest for happiness is an underlying motive in the lives of all people. Every one desires to enjoy life to the full. They like to be truly happy, but the peculiar part of it is that there are very few who really attain true and lasting happiness. The world’s happiness depends upon attaining a certain goal, and if that goal is not reached, happiness is not realized. But it nearly always happens that even though the goal of success is in a measure reached, the happiness that was expected to accompany such success is not fully realized.
But this is not true of the Christian, because his happiness, being based upon membership in Christ, is something that is enduring. We can drink of the same fountain of happiness year after year, and still find that it satisfies our longings as nothing else can do. Not only do we realize and rejoice in the continuance of the blessings vouchsafed to us because of our association in the family of God, but we find that the causes of our happiness are so entirely satisfactory that we have no desire for any change to be made.
It sometimes happens, of course, that the consecrated, for one reason or another, seem temporarily to lose the full sense of the joy which once they knew when first they found the Lord, and perhaps might inquire, “Oh, that I could have the joy that I had when I first came to a knowledge of the truth! Oh, if I only had the spirit that I had when I first knew the Lord!” This condition arises, not because anything has happened to the source of our joys, but because through laxity on our part along one line or another, we have failed to keep in proper touch with the arrangements which the Lord has made whereby our continued joy in Him can be maintained. This being true, the only thing needful for one to do in order to again realize the joy that was once possessed, but lost a while, is to return to the fountain of joy which the Lord has provided and which ever remains the same.
Because of the peculiarly trying times in which we are living, there may be many of the consecrated today who have partially lost the sweetness of the tune, “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.” They may know that they have been thrilled by it in the past, but possibly are not able to determine why it is not as sweet today as ever. Some who have lost the sweetness of the tune have not realized why they have lost it, and not having a clear realization of just what has happened in their Christian life, they may not, at the moment, be looking for the return of their joy in the right direction.
Some of them may have thought that the truth has lost some of its vitality, that it may have been growing a little old, and consequently they may have sought new paths in order to find the joy of Christian fellowship and the depth of spiritual vision which once meant so much to them. In their search to regain their joy in the Lord they may have sought new truth, by going down one bypath or another. At first the new-found truths which they supposed would mean so much more to them than the glorious gospel of the Kingdom that once so thrilled their souls, may have seemed better. They may have even wondered why some of the rest of us seem to be so satisfied with the old truths, not understanding that it was these very truths that constituted the true source of their joy, and that it still has the power to satisfy our longings as nothing else could do.
GOD AND TRUTH UNCHANGING
Our Heavenly Father, we know, is “the same, yesterday, today, and forever,” and we love Him for it. Our Lord Jesus, being the “express image of the Father’s person,” is also unchangeable, and we rejoice in that, too. In neither the Father nor the Son is there any “variableness, nor shadow of turning.” Fundamentally, therefore, association with them, and with those called to be co-workers in the divine plan, can be maintained only by our being “rooted and grounded” in the unchangeable program in which we have been invited to be partners. The tie that binds must, indeed, continue to be a “binding” tie.
Perfection of knowledge cannot be attained while we are still in the flesh, and for this reason, therefore, we should expect to make progress; yet the Lord has made it very plain that He wants us to be settled in the truth; and not to be “carried about with every wind of doctrine.” (Eph. 4:14) Certainly it would not please the Lord to see us inclined to flirt with every new idea that may be presented to us. The great fundamental truths concerning God and His plan are unchangeable. We learned these truths by divine grace, and proved them to be true. And it is these truths that constituted the basis of our joy in the Lord; and the basis also of our fellowship with Him and with the brethren. Without these truths we would have had no real knowledge of the blest “tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.”
Certainly then, we have a responsibility in. connection with the truth! If we feel a responsibility in safeguarding relatively unimportant earthly possessions, how much more alert should we be watching over our spiritual possessions—those possessions which are the source of our joy in the Lord. Nor should our interest in maintaining spiritual joys be a selfish one. Because we are members of the body of Christ, we should ever realize a deep sense of responsibility in safeguarding this community of interest. There is a “blest tie that binds” us to all the consecrated in Christ Jesus; and if that tie is to continue to bind us, we must do our part in helping to keep it strong, and in helping to repair it for any who may temporarily have permitted it to become damaged.
THE PATH OF THE JUST
We cannot increase nor maintain our joy in the Lord, nor help others to do so, by departing from the “path of the just,” which in this age is the “narrow way.” This path of the just, the prophet tells us, is as a “shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Prov. 4:18) Satan, the prince of darkness, would have us believe that this shining light is a changing light. By this ruse he attempts to lure the Lord’s people out of the pathway entirely, by flashing all sorts of varied colored lights in their eyes, in an effort to distract their attention from the pathway that is so clearly outlined by the light of the true Gospel.
The Apostle John says that it is only as we “walk in the light as He is in the light,” that we have “fellowship one with another.” (I John 1:7) We might properly think of the “path of the just” as the road that leads us to God, and to victory with Christ in the Kingdom. God’s own light of truth illuminates this road, and as we wend our way along it we get nearer to Him and to the light that emanates from Him, hence the pathway grows brighter. It doesn’t mean that we are guided by a certain light for a time, and then suddenly, that light becomes darkness, and a new light takes it place.
But the true light from God should and does grow brighter; not because the Lord changes it, but because we grow in appreciation of it. It is this that the Scriptures speak of as growth in “grace” and “knowledge.” As the pathway leads to God, true progress therein implies that our increased appreciation of the light is in reality an increased appreciation of Him and of His will for us. Increased knowledge which does not give us an increasingly brighter vision of God, does not represent true progress in the narrow way.
Progress in the light—which is the knowledge of God—might be likened to one’s approach to a mountain. At first the bare outline of the mountain is discerned, but as we get nearer, its outline becomes sharper, and some of the details of shrubbery, etc., become apparent. But it is still a mountain—a mountain that has remained the same, irrespective of how clearly we may have been able to comprehend its details.
So we rejoice that the details of the truth become clearer, and that daily we are thereby becoming better acquainted with God, and with His will for us. Our rejoicing in this increasing light will continue as we “walk in the light, as He is in the Light.” This means that we will continue to “have fellowship one with another.” (I John 1:7) But this does not mean that we should expect the truth to change. It does not mean that its principles will change, nor that the basis of our fellowship will change. If we tire of the truth, and the responsibilities it imposes upon us, we may try to make changes; but God will not recognize those changes; hence, in such an event, we will suffer loss. No longer will we be able to sing, “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.”
THE QUEST FOR TRUTH
Most people who are alert, are ever in search for truth. Frequently the motive for such a quest is merely to have one’s questions answered and thus to have curiosity satisfied. The Christian’s search for truth should be inspired by a more important motive than mere curiosity. Our concern should be to know God and to know His will for us. But when we found the truth, we found the answers to our questions, and as long as we hold to the truth, we will continue to know the answers, and, through those answers, will ever be able to envision the justice, wisdom, love and power of God, and will rejoice in His will for us.
Before God gave us the truth we did not know the answers to many questions that were bothering us. The creeds of Christendom did not satisfy, because they not only were contradictory, but they outlined the character of a God which was revolting to us—a God who did not inspire us to love and serve Him. If, before we found the truth, we did desire to love and serve God, it was in spite of the contradictory theories that misrepresented Him. It was because our hearts were better than our heads, and thus in our hearts we worshipped an unknown God.
But what joy was ours when God gave us the truth, and through it we began to know the unknown God! For the first time the glorious attributes of His character stood out before us in bold relief, and our whole beings cried out to Him in grateful adoration and whole-hearted devotion. We realized, too, that nothing short of full devotion to the One who had now revealed Himself to us could justify us in expecting to continue in the light. So the truth brought responsibility, responsibility that could be discharged only through the sacrifice of all that we had and were, in the service of our glorious God. We were glad to accept that responsibility, and rejoiced in every opportunity we had of “showing forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
How sad it would be now, if for any reason we should treat lightly that knowledge of God which means so much to us. This knowledge should satisfy us now, even as it did in the beginning; and even more so, because we should daily be acquiring more and more of it, both in our heads and in our hearts. Yes, the truth should continue to “satisfy our longings as nothing else can do.” If it doesn’t, then we may well wonder whether or not there isn’t something the matter with our longings. Perhaps the matter may be that we are not still willing td pay the price necessary to continue holding the truth. Perhaps we may be looking for an easier way than the way of self-sacrifice.
TRUTH LEADS TO SANCTIFICATION
St. Paul says of Christ that He is “made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption [deliverance].” (I Cor. 1:30) This is the divine purpose of giving us a knowledge of Himself, and of Christ. It means that we are to follow in the Master’s footsteps, and become like Him. This leads to righteousness, and to sanctification. Sanctification is the full setting of ourselves apart, by God’s help, to the doing of His will. Our joy in the truth when first we found it, should become deeper and more constant as we yield ourselves ever more fully to its sanctifying power in our lives. We rejoiced in the privilege of consecration, and our joy in the Lord can be maintained only to the degree that we now carry out its terms.
This is true of every consecrated child of God, and because it is true, we all should share the same joys, being bound in this one community of interest—an interest in doing the Father’s will which is inspired by the knowledge of His own dear self which He has so graciously revealed to us. How blessed indeed, therefore, is “the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.”
This fellowship with the Lord, and with His people, which is based upon a knowledge of the truth is a priceless heritage. A man in the world could possess millions of dollars, and enjoy all the physical comforts his money could buy, yet if he had no friends, his life would be barren indeed. Most of us are poor in this world’s goods; but if, through the truth, we have been introduced into this wonderful circle of fellowship in which we have the Heavenly Father, Christ Jesus, and His brethren, as our friends, we are possessors of untold riches. Shall we not value this treasure, and safeguard our interests therein by prayerful and studied faithfulness to all of its hallowed conditions?
Our share in this blessed fraternity is made possible through the blood of Christ. As sinners, members of the condemned race, we could have no share therein at all. But the blood of Christ covers our imperfections, and because of this we have the assurance that our unwilling imperfections will not bar us from fellowship in the divine family.
Love is the inspiration of our fellowship! The Heavenly Father Himself set the example of love by sending His only begotten Son to die for both the church and the world. Jesus emulated the example of the Father by willingly laying down His life, and commanded us that we should love one another as He loved us. If we love one another as Jesus loved us, it means that we will gladly lay down our lives for the brethren.
Thus seen, the “tie that binds” is more than merely a tie of words, or an interchange of thoughts, however blessed these may be when in harmony with the Lord’s will. If we maintain this “tie” unto the end, it will be upon the basis of our willingness to lay down our lives for those who are also within this charmed circle of the Lord’s grace. And if our zeal for the “house of God” is what it should be, we will not wait until some pressing need of a brother is forced upon us, but will be on the alert, watching for opportunities to help the brethren, and self-sacrificing in the use of these opportunities when we find them.
And there are so many ways to help! We can pray for each other! We can speak an encouraging word to those with whom we come in immediate contact. We can co-operate with others who come in contact with larger numbers of the brethren through the printed page, and otherwise. There are some of the brethren today who need our special help—help that can be given to them only through the truth. If the “tie that binds” means what it should to us, we will do all we can to strengthen, it; and, in the cases of any who may have temporarily broken it, will do all we can to help them make repairs, by encouraging them to return to the truth given to us by the Lord Jesus as “meat in due season” to the household of faith.
And we know that “present truth,” the truth that brought us into this blessed circle of fellowship, is from the Lord, through the messenger which He sent for the purpose. How much, then, it should mean to us! How faithfully we should be seeking to discharge the responsibilities it has imposed upon us! How it should influence our every thought, word, and deed, every day of our lives!
Do we realize how utterly empty our lives now would be without the Lord and without the truth and its associations and privileges? Do we appreciate the fact that the greatest joys of our lives have been because of our contact with the truth? Do we realize that the sweetest friendship and fellowship we have ever enjoyed is our friendship and fellowship with our Heavenly Father, with Jesus, and with the brethren, all of which have been made possible through the truth? Should we not, then, be more than ever on the alert that nothing be permitted to stint these joys—that no “earth-born clouds” be permitted to hide the Father’s face, or to hinder the freedom of our fellowship with the Son and with our brethren?