March 20

Christ our environment


“The Lord is round about his people” (Psa. 125:2).
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

That is the same thing as to say, “The Lord is the environment of His people”; to “be round about” is just to environ.  Now the environment is a very important thing.  There is nothing so sad as to be unsuited to one’s environment.  When you take a fish out of water it dies.  Why?  Because the water is its environment.  When you keep a bird from the open air, it pines.  Why?  Because the open air is its environment.  When you debar man from God, he both pines and dies. Why? Because God is his environment. Man is the only creature in this world that does not know what is good for him—does not know his own environment. The fish darts from the hook that would draw it out of the water.  The bird tries to escape from the snare of the fowler.  But man is very easily led away from his water of life, from his native air.  He quits the real water for a painted imitation of it, the real air for a bit of colored space.  Therefore he is of all creatures the most miserable.—George Matheson.

As the bridegroom to his chosen,
As the king unto his realm,
As the keep unto the castle,
As the pilot to the helm,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.

As the fountain in the garden,
As the candle in the dark,
As the treasure in the coffer,
As the manna in the ark,
So, Lord, art Thou to me. . . .

As the ruby in the setting,
As the honey in the comb,
As the light within the lantern,
As the father in the home,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.

As the sunshine to the heavens,
As the image to the glass,
As the fruit unto the fig-tree,
As the dew unto the grass,
So, Lord, art Thou to me.
—J. Tauler.

Read full article...