I wonder if you understand this from experience? Of course, when we get older the things of this life and of this world do lose their interest for us, but I am not talking about the natural realm. This has to e just as true of the youngest Christian as it was true of Abraham. I do not know who may be the youngest Christian reading this book, but I want to say to that one, as to everyone else, that a real mark of the work of God in the heart is that we have been spoiled for this world. We have come to realize that there is nothing that can take the place of the heavenly things. I do wish this was true of all Christians, and especially of all young Christians - that heavenly things have become so real and precious to them that they would travel across half the world to get them, and that they were prepared to give up their holidays and all the earthly interests in order to get some heavenly things. Well, I think I am right in saying that that is why most of us are here now, that we have at least come this far on the journey that for us, there is nothing that can take the place of the things of God.
So what we are saying is that it is a very impressive thing that, although it was a country full of good things naturally, and although there were cities there, Abraham never settled down in any of it. God had done such a deep work in his heart, and that word "never" went right on to the end of his life. "These all died in faith, not having received the promises."
Now you see our connection with the last message. We said then that oneness with God is repudiating the natural life is a step forward. It is a most unnatural thing never to want to settle down in some abode or residence on this earth! It may be all right to dwell in a tent for a little while, but the time comes when we say: "Let us leave the tent and go home", where we have all the conveniences of a settled abode. I repeat: it is a very unnatural thing never to want a home, and Abraham, although he longed for a home, could never settle down in this world. That was a very unnatural thing; it was a spiritual thing.
So we see that in this journey we do have to come to this spiritual position of a gravitation toward the things of God and of heaven. God puts a law of spiritual gravitation into His born again children and, as surely as there come a times when the law works in the birds of the air and they say: "It is time we left the country", so in the true Christian the law of spiritual gravitation toward the heavenly things is a mighty work.
If we are moving with God we shall discover that He is never in favor of our having settled and permanent spiritual centers in this world. The horizon of the people of God is not the horizon of this earth. Perhaps you have heard of certain places where the Lord has given great blessings and you have said: "Oh, if only I could go and spend the rest of my life there!" If you did that you would be making a terrible mistake. God is never going to allow any center on this earth to be the end of the journey. We may get blessing there, it may be true that the Lord meets us there, but if we begin to think that this is the end of all things we are going to have a great disappointment.
And what is true of places is also true of experiences. Again and again in my own life God has given a new experience. When I had the first one I thought I had come to the end of all blessing. "Surely", I thought, "there can be nothing more than this!" But then, later on, the Lord did something else, and again I thought: "Surely there is nothing beyond this! I must be ready to go to heaven now!" And yet again there was another movement forward, and every fresh experience of the Lord was something in advance of everything that had gone before. Be very careful that you do not come to any position which says: "Now we have come to finality." They "greeted them from afar" - there was always something more beyond, and this is the true mark of a spiritual progress toward the heart of God.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 10)
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