VICTORY.

When you are forgotten or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you smile inwardly, glorying in the insult or the oversight, because thereby counted worthy to suffer with Christ—­that is victory.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your taste offended, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you take it all in patient, loving silence—­that is victory.

When you are content with any food, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God—­that is victory.

When you can lovingly and patiently bear with any disorder, any irregularity, any unpunctuality, or any annoyance—­that is victory.

When you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it all as Jesus endured it—­that is victory.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or to record your own good works, or to itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown—­that is victory.

When, like Paul, you can throw all your suffering on Jesus, thus converting it into a means of knowing his overcoming grace, and can say from a surrendered heart, “Most gladly,” therefore, do “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake”—­that is victory. 2 Cor. 12:7-11.

When death and life are both alike to you through Christ, and to do his perfect will, you delight not more in one than the other—­that is victory, for, through him, you may become able to say, “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death.”  Phil. 1:20.  “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15:54.

The perfect victory is to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” and thus to triumph over one’s self.  Rom. 13:14.

“In all things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”  Rom. 8:37.

THE FIRST LOVE.

You may wonder why we write so much about love.  It is for the very best reason in the world.  Nothing is so great as love, and no way so excellent.  It is difficult to bind people together where love is lacking.  A religious people may resolve to live in peace and confidence with one another; but this they will find to be very difficult if there is a deficiency of love.  Love solves the problem; it removes every difficulty, and is the perfect bond of union.  Nothing can separate hearts that are full of love.  Love must be suppressed before division can be admitted.  The most earnest exhortations and entreaties and the strongest reprovings fail to get men to attend to every Christian duty where love is wanting; but it is not difficult to persuade men to obey God and do all they can to glorify him when they love him with all their hearts.