Church, Building up the – Charles Spurgeon

DID you ever win a soul to Christ? Did you ever get a grip of the hand of spiritual gratitude? Did you ever see the tear starting from the eye when the convert said, “Bless you! I shall remember you in Heaven, for you have brought me to Christ.” Ah, my dear friend, you will not be satisfied merely with this. This is a kind of food that makes men hungry. Oh that you had a rich banquet of it, and yet wanted more still. The church will be built. If you and I sit still, it will be built. This is a truth, though it is often turned to a mischievous end—the church will be built, even without us. But, oh, we shall miss the satisfaction of helping in its building. Yes, it will grow; every stone will be put in its place, and the pinnacle will soar into its predestined place, but every stone from foundation to pinnacle, will seem to say to you, “You had nothing to do with this! You had no hand in this!” When Cyrus took one of his guests round his garden, the guest admired it greatly, and said he had much pleasure in it; “Ah,” said Cyrus, “but you have not so much pleasure in this garden as I have, for I planted every tree in it myself.” One reason why Christ has so much pleasure in his church is because he did so much for it; and one reason why some saints will have a greater fullness of Heaven than others to rejoice in will be because they did more for Heaven than others. By God’s grace they were enabled to bring more souls there; and as they look upon the church they may, without self-reliance, and ascribing it all to grace, remember what they were enabled to do in its building up.