here is a snippet from the chapter titled “the true elder brother”
selfless love destroys the mistrust in our hearts toward God that makes us either younger brothers or elder brothers.
john newton, the author of the hymn “amazing grace,” wrote another hymn that puts this perfectly:
our pleasure and our duty,
though opposite before,
since we have seen his beauty
are joined to part no more.
in a few short words Newton outlines our dilemma. the choice before us seems to be to either turn from God and pursue the desires of our hearts, like the younger brother, or repress desire and do our moral duty, like the older brother. but the sacrificial, costly love of Jesus on the cross changes that. when we see the beauty of what he has done for us, it attracts our hearts to him. we realize that the love, the greatness, the consolation, and the honor we have been seeking in other things is here. the beauty also eliminates our fear. if the Lord of the universe loves us enough to experience this for us, what are we afraid of? to the degree we ‘see his beauty’ we will be free from the fear and neediness that creates either younger brothers or elder brothers.
john newton’s friend, the poet william cowper treates this idea in another hymn:
to see the law by Christ fulfilled,
and hear his pardoning voice,
changes a slave into a child
and duty into choice.
we will never stop being younger brothers or elder brothers until we acknowledge our need, rest by faith, and gaze in wonder at the work of our true elder brother, Jesus Christ.
i probably just broke the law somehow by copying such a large portion of keller’s writing,
but the repetition of the reality really takes home the point for me:
“to the degree we ‘see his beauty’ we will be free from the fear and neediness that creates either younger brothers or elder brothers.”
so the more we understand his beauty & his sacrifice, the more free we become, thus …
“…we acknowledge our need, rest by faith, and gaze in wonder at the work of our true elder brother, Jesus Christ” if we want to maximize our freedom, & we do this daily.
this means it is not by our works that we become more free,
it is not solely by us avoiding sin,
it is definitely not by us being good for our own sake (or control),
it is only by our recognition of the absolute need for Him…
daily…
through prayer & the constant reading of His word.
my prayer for us all today:
Perfect Father, may Your beauty become more recognized in our lives today; help us realize how much we need you; help us understand your sacrifice a little bit more today than yesterday; humble us; bless us with faith; bless us with a deeper understanding of You so that we can realize a free-er life today. In Jesus’ great name. Amen.
ltlo
