The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 545

"

:

SELF-DENIAL

S^S

discord to the earnest, sensitive soul. But when we grasp the thought as an actual fact, then we find that this denial of our entire Self can is almost entirely beyond our grasp. such extent that we really think that it is gone and denied, while at the same time it stands behind our back, grinning with Satanic glee. Self, big and inflated, is not hard to deny. In

existence and being

minify

this

itself to

way

the unconverted stands before God, but not the saint.

That has been taken from him. Such is no more the impulse of But self shrunk, reduced, partly unclothed, hiding behis desire. hind pious emotions and piles of good works, is extremely dangerFor what more is there to be denied? There is scarcely anyous. thing left. He seeks no longer the world, nor his own glory his only end in view is the glory of God. At least, so he thinks. But ;

he

is

mistaken.

Self is there

for a time, but only to

It is like

still.

a spring tightly bent

rebound with accumulated

force.

And what

called self-denial is really nothing else than self taking care of own. And that is the worst of it, self is so dangerously cun-

was its

The heart of man is " deceitful above all things and desper? ately wicked who can know it When we are inclined to sin, self leaves its hiding-place and with all its power labors hard to make us sin. But when the Holy

ning.

;

Spirit

woos and constrains

a corner,

it

us,

weaning us from

sin, then,

slunk in

hides itself, decoying us into the delusion that it has

then that, with evident satisfaction, deluded piety asks whether the denial of self is not complete. But the true saint is known by this: while the self-deluded one ceased to be.

is satisfied

trick.

with this spiritual trickery, he

Then he reproaches

of concealment.

stands between "

It is

He

himself.

scolds and

him and

He

is not.

He

discovers the

drives self from

its

place

curses that evil being that always

his God.

And with

groans he supplicates

Almighty, merciful, and gracious God, have mercy upon me." Self-denial is not an outward act, but an inward turning of our

by the rudder, which is within our being a rudthere is wheel, means of a so swung by a small wheel, turned which is it, you may call whatever or der, and as we turn the entire craft either leeward or windward, we In its deepest sense we always deny deny either self or God. When we stand well we deny self; in either the one or the other. And the internal wheel by which we all other cases we deny God. turn the entire craft of our ego is our intention. The rudder deterbeing.

As

the steamship is turned about

by the

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen