“Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
UNTO JESUS and not to the apparent success of our efforts. The apparent success is not the measure of the real success; and besides, God has not told us to succeed, but to work; It is of our work that He requires an account, and not of our success, - why then concern ourselves with it? It is for us to scatter the seed, for God to gather the fruit; if not today, then it will be tomorrow; If He does not employ us to gather it, then He will employ others. Even when success is granted to us, it is always dangerous to fix our attention on it: On the one hand we are tempted to take some of the credit of it to ourselves; On the other hand we thus accustom ourselves to abate our zeal when we cease to perceive its result, That is to say, at the very time when we should redouble our energy. To look at the success is to walk by sight; To look at Jesus, and to persevere in following Him and serving Him, in spite of all discouragements, is to walk by faith.
(Theodore Monod - translated from French by Helen Willis)
N.J. Hiebert - 5823
