HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
“When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Luke 7:9
So great faith — I give thanks that the generation of masterful believers is not yet extinct.
When I ask them about their own souls’ life and blessedness, they return an emphatic reply. It is not that they are only half alive to their personal sinfulness and ill desert; it is that they set their proper value on the surpassingly marvellous work of Christ their Saviour. They keep contemplating Him, and the mists and shadows roll away.
When I question them about the sublime truths and the arduous requirements of the Word of God, I get a quiet response. Not that they comprehend everything — but they receive willingly what their Lord reveals. Not that they can fulfil anything — but they welcome the Holy Spirit who works in them to will and to do.
When I consult them about the rough places of providence, and the winter in their life — they do not attempt to unravel all the problems — but they have their own peace-bringing creed:
- that pain has its sweet and cleansing uses,
- that affliction is an invisible cord drawing the earth-bound heart to God,
- that the soul is shaped into nobleness, on the anvil of grief.
These men and women walk at liberty. I ask for my own thriving and abounding faith. For I am too easily depressed; I am too quickly overturned and put to shame. Let the wind rise, and my heart sinks.
