THE MAN GOD USES – CHAPTER IV – Oswald J Smith
THE SUPREME TEST
LOVEST thou Me?” The question was startling. The little group sitting round the fire on the shore of the Galilean sea, glanced quickly up at the speaker’s face. With expectation gleaming in His eyes, He sat quietly gazing at but one, 35 and waiting for the answer. The early dawn was gently stealing over the hills far away in the distance, ushering in a new day and chasing away the darkness of the night. Save for the rumbling of the waves along the shore, and the occasional cry of some lonely sea bird, no sound broke the quiet stillness of the early morn.
All through the long dreary night they had toiled with their nets and taken nothing. Then as the dawn began to break, a figure, strange, mysterious, stood upon the shore. Discouragement and weariness gave way to fear. With straining eyes they sought to pierce the rising mist, but all in vain, till, suddenly, the youngest of them recognized the silent, ghost-like form and cried:
“It is the Lord!”
Like a flash, Peter—poor, remorseful Peter, his great heart yearning with an almost superhuman devotion—leaps into the water, and with strong powerful strokes, soon reaches the shore. The others follow. The net is drawn in. A fire of coals is burnings and fish are cooking. Not a word is spoken until the Master, Himself, gives the simple invitation:
“Come and dine.”
Quietly the food is eaten. All is still. Awe and reverence make speech impossible. Finally, Jesus again breaks the silence with the words of our text; “Lovest thou Me?”
It is Peter to whom He is speaking, great, blundering Peter; the disciple who so recently denied Him, who “went out and wept bitterly.” 36 He would test him, Peter must make a triple confession of his devotion for his threefold denial, He would try him by the highest possible standard, the “Supreme Test.” “Simon, son of Jonas, esteemest thou Me?”
He is pleading for that higher love, the love of the intellect or will, rather than the human emotion. But Peter is no longer sure of himself. He failed once; he may fail again. And so, unwilling to make the higher profession implied in His Master’s question, he uses the word expressing mere emotional love or personal attachment:
“Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee.”
Again, the question is asked. The response is the same. Then the Master accepts Peter’s own word, seeing that Peter will not rise to His, and for the third time asks:
“Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?”
And Peter, great noble Peter, his heart almost bursting with grief to think that His Lord should doubt him, replies with throbbing pulse and quivering voice:
“Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee!”
“Dost thou love Me?” With emotion comes the answer of devotion:
“Lord Thou knowest that I love Thee.” “Feed My sheep,” He answers, softly.
“Peter, Peter, dost thou love Me More than these and all around thee? ”
“Lord, Thou knowest all together, And that I am Thine forever.”
Silence reigning, moments fleeting, Then the heart of love entreating: “Peter, dost
thou love Me?” “Master!” And the breath comes thicker, faster.
“Master! Master!” sobbing, sobbing— “Oh, Thou knowest!” throbbing, throbbing;
Stirred the loyal heart with emotion Bound to Christ by love’s devotion.
And we have called this question the “Supreme Test.” But was it after all the highest test of devotion and loyalty, the most binding avowal 37 that human lips could utter? Was there not a greater? Did Jesus make a mistake? The life of Peter does not seem to indicate any such mistake. Jesus didn’t seem to think so. In fact, He was willing to base all on that one simple question. He knew what He was doing, knew that He was asking the most vital question in all language. And to-day, after the lapse of nearly nineteen centuries, we may still look upon it as the Supreme Test of our spiritual life.
There are three things I would have you note in which “Lovest thou Me” becomes the Supreme Test. And the first of these is that it is . . .
THE SUPREME TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP
Day by day, all down the centuries, Jesus Christ has been binding men and women to Himself. Not by force, not by fear, but by love. Satan was quite willing that He should have the kingdoms of the world providing He recognize His allegiance to him. 38 But Jesus knew that it was not the Father’s will to force men to obey Him, Ah, no! He would draw, not compel, win, not drive; men should choose Him of their own accord; they should be won by love. Such a union would be far closer, far stronger, and more lasting than forced obedience could ever be, Love had brought Him to earth; love had caused Him to die for a lost race, and love would draw men and women to Him. Could any oath of allegiance be stronger than the simple test He chose to put—”Lovest thou Me?”
Not a word does He ask regarding any one of a hundred questions that would naturally arise in the mind. Doctrine, dogma, creed, theology—not a word. Sin, repentance, service—not a syllable. One question only is asked. And mark you, it is His last chance, He is soon to leave. This is the best opportunity He would have for parting instructions and warnings. Has He no other word; are there no further conditions of discipleship; is there no creed or church formula to accept? No, none. And why? Because “Lovest thou Me” includes and embraces all. The others will follow in their own places. The primary question will suffice for all else. “Lovest thou Me” will lead on to all that is needful.
Thousands, to day, are active church-members, splendid workers, but they have no personal love for Jesus Christ. 39 Form and ceremony can never suffice. To be true to the great fundamentals of the Faith does not prove that you are true in heart to Jesus. Multitudes who are right in their heads are wrong in their hearts. Brethren, I would rather be right in heart and wrong in head than right in head and wrong in heart. It is because of this that there is so much controversy and hard feeling to day. The lamentable fact of fundamentalism is its hardness and bitterness of spirit. God gave us a sickle, but not to use on our brethren. It is even possible to be a martyr for the Faith and yet not love Jesus Christ. Paul must have foreseen this when he wrote: “Though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.” 40
You will recall the declaration of Jesus Himself regarding the first and greatest commandment, which, with the second, embraces the entire law, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” 41
Oh, my brethren, we may not understand the great theological positions of our faith, yea, we may be ignorant of our own church dogmas, but if we sincerely love Jesus Christ we will have fulfilled all the law. It is the heart that must be right, and given a loving heart, a heart that yearns to please and follow Him, all else is certain.
But further: not only is it the Supreme Test of discipleship: it is also . . .
THE SUPREME TEST OF CONDUCT
No longer do we find it necessary to ask the old question regarding our attitude toward worldly things; “Is it wrong to do this?” “Is it a sin to do that?” We simply apply the ”Supreme Test” to all our actions. It becomes “the expulsive power of a new affection.” It is not a case of whether it is right or wrong to indulge in questionable amusements. A man becomes so filled with the Spirit of God, so permeated with the love of Christ, and so anxious to serve and please the One who has won his heart’s affections, that there is no room for sin, no room for the world, and he will have absolutely no desire for the things in which the unsaved delight. Think you a man would injure one whom he really loved? Nay, verily! Hence, the one great question, the “Supreme Test” of all, is love.
Oh, my brother, tell me, do you love Him, do you love Him? If so, you will want to please Him, if so, you will want to follow Him. If so, you will be fully satisfied with Him, Him and Him alone. The world will no longer draw. Its charms will cease to exist so far as you are concerned, and you will no more crave its empty pleasures, Jesus, Jesus, Himself, will be your all and in all. You will feed upon Him, dwell with Him, abide in Him, love Him, and crown Him as king of your heart, All your questions will be easily settled if you really love Him.
“Thou, O Christ, art all I want; More than all in Thee I find.”
And in the last place, “Lovest thou Me” is . . .
THE SUPREME TEST OF SERVICE
In other words, it is the incentive of “love” rather than that of “duty” The follower of the Lord Jesus Christ serves his Master because he loves Him, and not because of any obligation he may wish to discharge.
What was it that drove David Brainerd to the savage Indians of the great, howling wilderness? What was it that made him leave his home at twenty-four years of age, and dwell alone in the heart of the wild, trackless forests of the interior; that enabled him though dying with consumption, weak and feeble from lack of food, long tiring rides on horseback, dismal, comfortless nights in the open woods under a pouring rain, to still press on month after month in order to tell his beloved Indians that God loved them, loved them to the extent that He gave His Son, His only Son, to die for them? What, I ask? Duty? Away with such a thought! No man would feel it his duty to do so much. No! No! It was “love.” David Brainerd loved his Lord, and wanted to show it.
So with Judson, Livingstone, Morrison, Taylor, Carey, and all the great, heroic missionaries of the past. Yes, my brethren, and even so will it be with you, if you really love Him. You will prove it by glad, happy service. You will even lay down your life if need be—that is, if you love Him. Do you?
Oh, the breadth and length, the height and depth of His own great heart of infinite love and compassion! 42 Love demands love. And nothing will satisfy a heart that loves except love. And so, because He Himself loves so greatly, He can be satisfied with nothing less than the love of His followers. What are wealth, houses, lands, luxury, and all that money can bestow to one who yearns for love? Love, and love only is the ground of acceptance with Christ. Hence, “Lovest thou Me” becomes the “Supreme Test” for every Christian.
In one of the larger cities of France where Mrs. Booth Clibborn had been holding evangelistic meetings, she was one day visited by the wife of a very wealthy Frenchman. In her hand she held a small bottle marked “poison.” In her heart was the calm determination to take her own life. She was only one of the hundreds of that sad and Godless country who go down to a suicide’s grave. Before committing the deed, however, she made up her mind to see the only one in all France whom she felt she could trust, and look upon her face as she passed away. Let her own words tell the story:
“It was just the other day that I complained to my husband. Surprised and irritated, he replied:
“‘Why, whatever do you want? You have my pocketbook; you have my home; you eat at my table. All that wealth and position can give are yours, and yet you complain.’
“‘I want your heart,’ I replied, ‘I want you to love me.’
“‘Oh!’ he exclaimed, ‘you can’t have that. That belongs to another. You may have everything else, but my heart, my, love—that is impossible.'”
And we may offer Jesus Christ everything else that we have, and still He will be unsatisfied. Love demands love. Nothing less can be sufficient. And now in the same tender, pleading tones, and the same yearning heart, He comes to you and to me, and once again we hear Him ask the question that constitutes the “Supreme Test,” and demands an answer, ” Lovest thou Me ?”
But you answer, “I do love Jesus.” You do! Then what? “Feed my sheep.” Prove it, Love is service. You had a splendid Prophetic Conference. You were fed. Now what? Is that all? Does it end there? Then your Conference has fallen short, far short. What about the “other sheep?” Have you no outlet? Has a lost world no claim on your’ love? That is why I am so tired of the average Bible Conference. It gets nowhere, and the stream becomes a stagnant pool for want of an outlet. And that is why I enjoy the Conferences and Conventions of great Missionary Movements. They end up with a spiritual torrent that flows out to all the world and produces life everywhere. Lives and money are laid on the altar. The people are given a chance to prove their love by sacrificial giving for the Regions Beyond.
If Jesus Christ should appear in our midst just now and personally put this question, “Lovest thou me?” to each one of us individually, what would we say? How would we answer Him? How searching it would be? Would we endeavor to avoid Him? Or are we in love with Jesus Christ? “We love Him,” 43 declared John. Do you? Do I?
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35 John 21:15-‐17
36 Luke 22:62
37 Strong affirming statement asserting the existence or the truth
38 Matthew 4:8; Luke 4:5 (wilderness temptation)
39 Matthew 7:21-‐23
40 1 Corinthians 13:3
41 Mark 12:30
42 Ephesians 3:17-‐19
43 1 John 4:19
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