Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-06-10
LOOKING UNTO JESUS.

Salvation j. not a luxury but a ne
cessity. 1t is the greatest blessing be-
cause it LISTS the longest. Temporal
things are transient, but this is eternal.
Sometimes you say, when man has
done foolish thing, HE will only
rue 1t once" You mean he will rue
# always. So God only saves us once,
but his one salvation lasts forever.
But you say Perhaps it is not for
me. / may not be one Of those whom
God intends 70 bless" Look again.
To meet your difficulty there is an
other thought This blessing is for the
largest possible number.
This verse has a good, round sweep.
Its scope surely embraces you. See,
the earth is exhorted to look. and you,
surely, are included in that. God so
loved the world. Yea. his love is vast
as creation. it is not an island, nor
a country, nor a nation, that is TO look.
Not only Jews but Gentiles. For 1t
is written, I'm thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed"
None have wandered too far, or have
sinned too foully for the glorious in
vltation of the text.
This blessing comes to us with the
best possible security. For am God,
and there is none else" God. why,
if he be Cod you say. Il dare not
draw nigh to him, for it is God against
whom l have sinned. Let me fly else
where for refuge. Elswhere for ref
uger'
And whittier will you fee: There
is none other who can save you. Let
US rather be like Augustine, who said
81 fly to God. and hide in God from
God" We must hide IN Gods mercy
from his Judgment.
Look only TO Jesus, not to Satan and
his temptation. You need not know
all about the adversary and his wick
ed ways in order to be saved from
them. and indeed, the less You know
the better.
Look only to Jesus. not to sin and
its consequences. But you say. Il
must repent of my sin" True; but
repenting of sin is not looking at it,
but turning away from it, and looking
only to Jesus.
Look only to Jesus, not to the OBJ
stacles and hindrances in your path.
If you look at them they will be
stumbling stones, but If you look from
them to Jesus they win become step
ping tones. A stone will do for either
Look only TO Jesus, not to yourself
not IN vo,1r in+antianS vo11r nra I-arc
your repentances, your faith. Your
faith is your looking. Do not look at
your looking, but look only to Jesus.
You know how it is walking with
a friend in the early night, when he
sees the first star of the evening and
points 1t out to you. You do not see
it. He points again. why" he says.
sit is just there, right opposite you.
You are looking at it." Still you do
not see it. Presently you catch a
glimpse of it, and now you are sur
prlsed you did not see it before. and
are SO taken UP with it that you can
scarcely see anything else. SO ii is
when we point men 20 Jesus. We are
surprised that they do not see him. and
when they do see him they will be
surprised, too. and they will scarcely
see any one else besides.
Jesus, DO you think we could make
that name better? You think not. l
think we could. How? BY adding
four more letters to it-Jesus only.
Only looR to Jesus. That is all.
A simple thing. 1t is not to strive.
to philosophize, to argue-only to look.
But you say. Il am charitable; will
my charity avail me nothing?" Moth
ing. But l belong to a good family:
viii that avail me nothing?" Moth
Ing. The man who is net charitable,
who does not belong t. good family,
who has not been piously trained. can
look just as well as you. You and
he stand on the same level. The en-
trance is low down. Only look TO
Jesus,
Only look to Jesus. That is an in
stantaneous thing, sand therefore the
salvation is Immediate. Find how long
it takes to look, and you discover how
long it takes TO be saved. You may per
haps not know the moment; but one
thing you will know. that whereas you
We're blind, now you see. Even if you
feel powerless, yet look to him for pow
er to look. Behold the Lamb of God.
that takest away the sin of the world"
He takes the sin-you only look to
Jesus.
You are not to look for Jesus. He
is nos lost, a friend of mine at
children's meeting told the little ones
n thing right and proper-that if they
found Jesus they would be saved A
little girl went and began to upset all
the curtains in the house-bed cur
tains, window curtains. Her mother,
in establishment, inquired the cause.
when the little innocent heart said.
"Notaer teacher told US that IL we
found Jesus we should be saved, and.
mother. was looking for him" Fool
ish child you say. But more foolish
souls who try 20 discover a Christ in
some pet notion. or dream, or feeling
or Imagination. Dc not look for Christ
only look 10 him.
Look 10 HIN in the scripture, in his
Hfe in his death. in his resurrection. in
his glory. Look to him as God. as
Man. as Mediator. or Redeemer, as
Savior. as All IN AL Look TO him
when weak. for strength; when sick,
for healing; when hungry, for food;
when dark, for light; when dead. for