The Brave comradeship of god - Chambers, Oswald

Hen he took unto him the twelve. Luke 18:31.

The bravery of god in trusting us! You say but he has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing in me; i am not of any value. That is why he chose you. As long as you think there is something in you, god cannot choose you because you have ends of your own to serve; but if you have let him bring you to the end of your self-sufficiency, then he can choose you to go with him to Jerusalem, and that will mean the fulfill- ment of purposes which he does not discuss with you. We are apt to say that because a man has natural ability, therefore he will make a good christian. It is not a question of our equipment but of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what god puts into us; not a question of natural virtues, of strength of character, knowledge, and experience all that is of no avail in this matter. The only thing that avails is that we are taken up into the big compelling of god and made his comrades (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2630). The comradeship of god is made up out of men who know their poverty. He can do nothing with the man who thinks that he is of use to god. As Christians we are not out for our own cause at all, we are out for the cause of god, which can never be our cause. We do not know what god is after, but we have to maintain our relationship with him whatever happens. We must never allow anything to injure our relationship with god; if it does get injured, we must take time and get it put right. The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all god asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually assailed.