December 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Ephesians 1:11–14

Devotional

Oh! what enlightenment, what joys, what consolation, what delight of heart that person who has learned to feed on Jesus—and on Jesus alone—experiences. And yet, the realization of Christ’s preciousness that we have in this life is imperfect at the best. As an old writer says, “’Tis but a taste!”

We have tasted “that the Lord is gracious,” but we do not yet know how good and gracious he is, even though what we do know of his sweetness makes us long for more. We have enjoyed the firstfruits of the Spirit, and they have set us hungering and thirsting for the fullness of the heavenly harvest. We groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption.

Here we are like Israel in the wilderness, who had just one cluster from Eshcol (see Num. 13:23–24); there we will be in the vineyard. Here we see the manna falling small, like coriander seed, but there we will eat the bread of heaven and the fruit of the kingdom. Now we are only beginners in spiritual education—even though we have learned the first letters of the alphabet, we cannot read words yet, much less can we put sentences together—but, as one says, “He who has been in heaven but five minutes, knows more than the general assembly of theologians and Bible scholars on earth.” We have many ungratified desires at present, but soon every wish will be satisfied; and all our powers will find the sweetest employment in that eternal world of joy.

O Christian, look forward to heaven for a while. Within a very little time you will be rid of all your trials and your troubles. Your eyes, now filled with tears, will weep no longer. You will gaze in overwhelming rapture on the splendour of him who sits on the throne. No, even more, you will sit upon his throne. You will share the triumph of his glory. His crown, his joy, his paradise will be yours, and you will be co-heir with him who is the heir of all things.

[July 20]

Extracted from C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (public domain), language modernized by Larry E. Wilson.