December 27, Morning
C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling
"Can the rush grow up without mire?" — Job 8:11 · KJV
The rush is spongy and hollow, and so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind, just as formalists yield to every influence; and for this reason the rush is not broken by the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled by persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver, nor be deceived; perhaps today's text may help me test myself, whether I am a hypocrite or not. The rush by nature lives in water, and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture in which it has taken root; let the mire dry up, and the rush withers very quickly. Its greenness is absolutely dependent on circumstances: a present abundance of water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once. Is this my case? Do I serve God only when I am in good company, or when religion is profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from His hands? If so, I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush I shall perish when death deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly say that when bodily comforts were few, and my surroundings were adverse to grace rather than helpful to it, I still held fast my integrity? Then I have hope that there is genuine, vital godliness in me. The rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord's own planting can and do flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances decay. He who follows Christ for his moneybag is a Judas; those who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but those who attend Him out of love to Himself are His own beloved ones. Lord, let me find my life in You, and not in the mire of this world's favor or gain.