Explaining Chambers: Following our LORD’s will

Tonight’s writing is going to be a bit different. I’m going to share the devotional for the day and then break it down into individual parts to explain what Chamber’s means. Chambers always starts with a Bible verse:

“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem” Luke 18:31

In the natural life our ambitions alter as we develop; in the Christian life the goal is given at the beginning, the beginning and the end are the same, viz., our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him—“until we all attain to the stature of the manhood of Christ Jesus,” not to our idea of what the Christian life should be. The aim of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful, not to win the heathen; he is useful and he does win the heathen, but that is not his aim. His aim is to do the will of his Lord.

In Our Lord’s life Jerusalem was the place where He reached the climax of His Father’s will upon the Cross, and unless we go with Jesus there we will have no companionship with Him. Nothing ever discouraged Our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned Our Lord one hair’s breadth away from His purpose to go up to Jerusalem.

“The disciple is not above his Master.” The same things will happen to us on our way to our Jerusalem. There will be the works of God manifested through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude and the rest will show gross ingratitude, but nothing must deflect us from going up to our Jerusalem.

“There they crucified Him.” That is what happened when Our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that happening is the gateway to our salvation. The saints do not end in crucifixion: by the Lord’s grace they end in glory. In the meantime our watchword is – I, too, go up to Jerusalem.

As I read this devotion this morning, I saw two things: discerning the will of our Lord and the question of suffering. Discerning the will of our Lord means figuring out where in life God has called you to serve. The question of suffering asks, “Must I suffer to do God’s will?” Let’s approach these two thoughts as we walk through Chamber’s words.

The aim of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful, not to win the heathen; he is useful and he does win the heathen, but that is not his aim. His aim is to do the will of his Lord.

Missionary in this context means a follower of Christ. Chambers is blatantly saying useful Christianity and soul-saving Christianity is not the pinnacle of Christianity. Many are the ministries today whose aim is to be useful, but miss the will of God. Many are the ministries today whose aim is to save people from hell, but they too miss the will of God. The will of God is not only found in practical ministry or changing people’s hearts and minds, but in the individual who seeks God and follows were He goes. As we follow, we will perform practical tasks. As we follow, we will transform lives. But our eyes must be on our Lord, else we will fail to do either of these.

Nothing ever discouraged Our Lord on His way to Jerusalem. He never hurried through certain villages where He was persecuted, or lingered in others where He was blessed. Neither gratitude nor ingratitude turned Our Lord one hair’s breadth away from His purpose to go up to Jerusalem.

Our prayers often sound like this, “Lord, take these difficulties away and give me an easy path.” God cares about our suffering, but it is through suffering our character is revealed. Without suffering we would never know how aligned we are with God. We would never pray, “Lord, take these easy things away and give me a more difficult path.” Our journey will take us through blessings and difficulties. We should not cling to the material, but focus on the destination: Our Lord in heaven. It is with this image firmly implanted in our minds that we move forward, letting nothing hinder us. Good or bad, easy or difficult. It is here we encounter the question of suffering, “Must I suffer to do the Lord’s will?” No, you must not, but you will. Suffering and hardship is part of the journey. Hardship does not make us any more holy than accomplishing a task with ease. Both are required to teach and train. Both bring us closer to our Lord. Neither should be avoided.

“There they crucified Him.” That is what happened when Our Lord reached Jerusalem, and that happening is the gateway to our salvation. The saints do not end in crucifixion: by the Lord’s grace they end in glory.

We cannot run from the truth; Jesus died for our sins: that was His purpose in life, that is what God called Him to do. Jesus accomplished this task, though he waivered in the garden of Gethsemane. He waivered because He saw how huge the suffering was going to be. He was strengthened because He saw how huge God’s redemption and glory is. His suffering showed His alignment with God. "Not my will be done," If we take our eyes off God’s glory, we are in danger of only seeing the suffering. Like Jesus we need to look to God and see the greater work: eternity with God.

What does that mean for us today? We need to fix our eyes on God and follow the path he puts before us. That path will be filled with sorrow and pain, but it will also be filled with joy and life. We need to walk it steadfastly, neither running to flee from its dangers or lingering to hold on to its blessings. Our vision should always include His purpose for our lives: His glory.