Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again. Job 34:32
“If I put my own happiness before the well-being of the work entrusted to me; if, though I have this ministry and have received much mercy, I faint, then I know nothing of Calvary love…
If I am inconsiderate about the comfort of others, or their feelings, or even of their little weaknesses; if I am careless about their little hurts and miss opportunities to smooth their way; if I make the sweet running of household wheels more difficult to accomplish, then I know nothing of Calvary love…
If there be any reserve in my giving to Him who so loved that He gave His dearest for me; if there be a secret “but” in my prayer, “anything but that, Lord,” then I know nothing of Calvary love…
If I become entangled in any “inordinate affection”; if things or places or people hold me back from obedience to my Lord, then I know nothing of Calvary love…
If I want to be known as the doer of something that has proved the right thing, or as the one who suggested that it should be done, then I know nothing of Calvary love…
If I ask to be delivered from trial rather than for deliverance out of it, to the praise of His glory; if I forget that the way of the Cross leads to the Cross and not to a bank of flowers; if I regulate my life on these lines, or even unconsciously my thinking, so that I am surprised when the way is rough, and think it strange, though the word is, “Think it not strange,” “Count it all joy,” then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If the ultimate, the hardest, cannot be asked of me; if my fellows hesitate to ask it and turn to someone else, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If I covet any place on earth but the dust at the foot of the Cross, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”
Amy Carmichael (1867-1951) in “If” (Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1999).
Amy Carmichael served as a missionary at an orphanage for 55 years in India. During her time of service, a worker came to her about another colleague who apparently was “missing the way of love.” That led to a sleepless night and list of thoughts about how certain behaviors reveal that we miss the whole point of the generous love extended to us at Calvary.
Today’s post contains a few of Carmichael’s “if”-related thoughts. To read more, click the “If” link above to read the entire list. I have included ones that relate broadly to the theme of generosity. The best part about life in light of Calvary is that the love demonstrated to us on the cross changes everything, and we never stop learning the implications of it.
Father in heaven, so that our lives extend your generous grace, mercy, and love to the world in the days after Easter, teach us what we cannot see. Show us by your Holy Spirit what we do not know. Remove the reserve in our giving so that our sacrifice and service follow your self-less example and so that others will discover Calvary love. Make it so, we pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.