Each instant of present labor is to be graciously repaid with a million ages of glory. ~ J.W. Alexander
From his deathbed, Alexander said: “If the curtain should drop at his moment and I were ushered into the presence of my Maker, what would be my feelings? They would be these. First, I would prostrate myself in the dust in an unutterable sense of my nothingness and guilt. Secondly, I would look up to my Redeemer with an inexpressible assurance of faith and love. There is a passage of Scripture which best expresses my present feeling: I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
This simple one line stood out to me. As I often do, I sought more from the source. It led me here. But first, little background on who James Waddel Alexander was.
Alexander was an American Presbyterian preacher rooted in Virginia of the early 1800’s. His father was a preacher and academic. Following his education at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), Alexander devoted his life to Christ as a pastor at a handful of churches throughout the remainder of his life. If you would like to know more about J.W. Alexander, give this a read.
The quote that is referenced above (and in today’s devotion) is the last line of Alexander’s Letters to Young Ministers – On Devotion to the Work of the Ministry which appears in 1864’s Thoughts on Preaching: Being contributions to homiletics.
He discusses the fact that – 150 years ago – there were conditions of men of fine character and education but were greatly lacking in their commitments and fire for serving God. They failed to devote themselves to their calling. Their Holy Calling! Of all things not to devote yourself! It seems that Alexander was keen to a trend of misplaced attention, and even goes as far to say so when he states:
His thoughts are more about the heads of divinity, the partitions of a discourse, the polish of style, the newest publications, or even the gathering of a library, than about the great, unspeakable, impending work of saving souls. He has no consuming zeal with regard to the conversion of men, as an immediate business. Let us not be too severe in our judgments.
We are called to put to death the longings of our hearts that are not fitting in service to the Lord. We are a mere week from the day commemorate as the anniversary of Jesus’s birth. Let us examine the focus of our lives. Where is our time most spent? How much glorifies God in service to Him? Have I “no consuming zeal” in making the “conversion of men” into the “immediate business” of my work?
Yes, there is much work to be done. There will be personal sacrifices made in the wake of completing that work. But don’t worry. Each instant of present labor is to be graciously repaid with a million ages of glory.