HERE we find three children, two sisters and one brother, as we suppose. The brother is drawing a picture of his little sister. How pleased she is! No doubt she thinks when he is done she will see a true picture of herself with dolly on her knee. (You know she has never seen herself.) But if we judge from the few marks already made on the slate, it will not be a very true picture. You children all like to have your pictures taken, and to receive those of your friends.
I want to tell you of an aged servant of the Lord; who was asked by a young man for his picture. “O, yes!” he said, “you will find it in full length in the third chapter of Romans.”
Do you know what he meant? Of course, you know, he did not mean that he would see a picture that would show how he looked to the natural eye. I think he meant that there would be seen a word picture of himself and thus God, who looks on the heart, sees every one of us.
I wish you would open your Bibles at Rom. 3, beginning at verse 10, you will find these solemn words:
10. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable;
13. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.
14. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15. Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16.Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17.And the way of peace have they not known:
18.There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
You may say, “That is a very ugly picture in words, I am sure that is not anything like me.”
Well, you are like the little girl who has never seen herself. You have never seen yourself in God’s sight.
Job was a righteous man before men, but when he found himself in the presence of God he said, “Behold I am vile,” and again, “I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Then God accepted his sacrifice and blessed him.
So with us, when we bow our heads and say, “It is true, that ugly picture is mine,” then God can receive and bless through the sacrifice of His Beloved Son, and put His beauty upon you.
ML 08/13/1916