The standard which the Apostle gives!

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(George Everard, "All for Christ!" 1882)

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God the Father by Him." Colossians 3:17
"Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do--do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Whatever is done, even in the commonest matters of life, the food we eat, our conduct at the breakfast table or the dinner table--is to be done for the glory of the Father and the Son.

These precepts take in the whole field of a Christian's life and duty.
They cover every inch of ground.
They distinctly bear on every act and word and thought, and on every moment of our time.
They permit no exceptions.
From our first waking thought in the morning--to the last breath we draw before we sleep at night; from the first day of January--to the last day of December, and that of every year of our lives, until our course is run--all is to be yielded, gladly and willingly, to the service of our Redeemer-King!

No aim can be too exalted for one who has been purchased by the blood of Christ, and who has yielded himself as a living sacrifice to the Father in Heaven.

We dare not to please man, or lower the standard, or lessen the responsibility which is laid upon us. We dare not, and we must not, narrow the limit of our service, or the extent of our obedience.

The standard which the Apostle gives, reaches to every sphere and concerns every part of life. It touches the hidden world of the heart, and claims a control over every thought and motive and purpose. It comes to the little world of the family circle, and is our guide as to all we should speak and do amidst children or others about us. It follows us into the social world of friends and acquaintances, and is to control . . .
  our pleasures and recreations,
  the amusements we frequent,
  the books we read, and
  the company we choose.
All of this is taken into account by Him who searches the heart and knows all our ways.

"All for Christ!" is our motto!

In fact, there is no part of our life which can be exempted from this Christian principle--business and recreation, social fellowship, the use of our money and our time--all we are, all we have, all we do or say must be for Christ, if we would be true to Him. We must never mark out one acre, or one square yard, or one inch of our life, and say in our heart, "Christ has nothing to do with this!" If we willfully take one single moment of our lives, or one single act, or word, or thought out of the direct control of the fear and love of God--that moment, or act, or word, or thought is one of sin.

We can only enjoy the comfort and peace which Christ gives, in proportion as we walk as He directs. If we desire to spend a happy, useful life, if we desire to meet the trials and the cares it may bring in quiet confidence and hope--we must not only rely upon the Savior's all-sufficient grace, but carefully obey the precepts which He has given us.

Doing this, we need never be afraid. Dark clouds may overshadow our path, disease and death may visit our homes, losses and bad debts and hard times and multiplied troubles may come upon us--but doing God's will, trusting in His never-failing Providence, relying upon His free grace and mercy in Christ, we are assured that He is with us, and will never fail us.

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