April 13

“Ye are in our hearts to die together and live together.” 2 Corinthians 7:3

Paul was one whose whole being could be involved in the words he wrote. In a moral crisis such as the one he had to deal with at Corinth he could not just dash off a letter. What he wrote was wrung out of his heart through pain and tears. He was not like one who speaks with an unknown tongue, with the word coming in and going out without so much as touching the thoughts of his heart.

There will always be a human element in our work for God, whether it be counseling or the preaching of the Word. Unless the counsel we give or the word we preach is capable of causing us real joy or real anguish of heart, we might as well be dictating machines, first recording every word faithfully and then playing it back verbatim. No, God delights to use ordinary, sensitive men and women as his messengers.