Christian Union
Isaiah lii. 8 v.
“They shall sec eye to eye, when the Lord shall bringagain Zion.”
And so, vision is the last thing! I had always thought that men must see eye to eye before they were ransomed. Here, the ransom comes first, and the agreement afterwards. And truly it must be so. It is the captivity that hinders union. We do not see eye to eye, because we are all in separate cells. Each man’s cell is to him the universe. We see only one side of the Christ — that which breaks our special chain. I am oppressed by the fear of penalty; you are laden with the dread of being overlooked. 1 am weighted by the thought of the future; you are saddened by the clouds of the present. I am in search of a power; you are sighing for a tenderness. I am in terror for the cup of Dives; you are seeking for the cup of Grethsemane. I disparage your Christ and your cry; I say it is not the gospel. It is not the gospel for my captivity, and I forget your captivity I cannot see the whole Christ in my narrow cell; I see only the little hit that suits me. If I could get out, I would behold his fulness; if God would break my door, I would see your door. Fear casteth out perfect love, and, therefore, perfect light. The key which ojDens my brother’s prison does not open mine; I want mine to be opened, and I quarrel with the key. I cannot preach your gospel till I have lost my own chain. We shall see eye to eye when the Lord’s freedom has returned to Zion.
My Father, let me not wait for the union of the eye. I bless Thee that there is an earlier union. I bless Thee that the marriage of the heart precedes the marriage of the mind. I bless Thee that men can meet in love ere they are able to meet in faith. I cannot see Thee eye to eye with my brother; but the very difference may unite us. Is it not written that there is a “fellowship in the mystery”*? I thank Thee for that fellowship. My brother and I can be united by the thing we do not see. Help him and me to feel that each of us looks only on a fragment. Unite us by the limits of our eye. Join us by the clouds over our vision. Bring us together at our sunset — where each of our lights goes down. Put our hands in one in the spot where our experience is severed. Let us walk together through the night till the time comes when we shall walk by day. Let us meet at the barriers of the life till we can bask in the revelations of the soul. When the gates are opened, we shall see eye to eye.