Devotedness is not a question of the head but of the heart, of the intellect but of the affections. The intellect may see clearly what one ought to do, but that gives no power to accomplish it.
Suppose the case of a husband and wife, who are not compatible in temperament. The husband sees clearly the duties that ought to mark a husband. The wife, on her part, sees clearly the duties that ought to mark a wife. They both set out to perform these duties. Outward acts are done with punctiliousness, but they lack warmth, life, reality, satisfaction. They are like synthetic foods that have all the ingredients and proportions of natural food, but lack the mysterious vitamins that carry with them life and vigour. Scientists have manufactured synthetic milk, and babies fed on it fade and wither, and would die, if the food were persisted in.
But if heart, love, affection that should mark the relationship of husband and wife, are present, then duties become pleasures, and punctiliousness vanishes in the warmth of responsive affection.
Apply this illustration to spiritual things. What is the great lack with us all, writer and reader? Surely it is devotedness to the Lord. The wise man in the Proverbs pleads for the affections of his son, for if he gets that he knows that he gets everything that goes with affection—devotedness, desire to carry out the slightest wish of the one on whom the affections are placed.
A wonderful illustration of devotedness is given in the list of David’s mighty men in 1 Chronicles 11. The choice lay between Saul and David—Saul an illustration of the carnal man and David a type of Christ. Saul is in the palace. He sits on the throne. The kingdom is at his feet. David is in the cave of Adullam with a band of men gathered round him, who are drawn by affection, and are devoted to his cause.
These men did valiant feats on David’s behalf. We read of Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, who slew three hundred men of the enemy with his spear at one time; of Eleazer, who fought on the piece of barley field till the Lord gave “a great deliverance”; of Abishai, who slew three hundred with his spear; of Benaiah, who slew two lion-like men of Moab, who killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day, who slew an Egyptian giant; of over forty names that are mentioned with great honour in despatches from the front.
But none of these, greatly distinguished though they were, earned the title of
“THESE THREE MIGHTIEST” (1 Chr. 11:19).
What did these three men do to earn such approbation? What wonderful feat of arms did they perform? What prodigies of valour covered them with immortal glory?
None of these spectacular things did they aim at. They simply procured a drink of water for David. How was it that such a simple bit of service carried with it such appreciation?
The answer is that it was an act of supreme devotedness to David. He lay in the hold. The hosts of the Philistines were encamped in Bethlehem, the place of his birth and bringing up, every bit of it known and loved by him. As he lay in the hold tired and thirsty, these three devoted men heard David say, “Oh! that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate.”
Now prudence would have said that water procured from some other spot would five done equally well to satisfy David’s thirst. That would have been perfectly true. Water is water wherever it is, and there were no special virtues in the water of the well of Bethlehem.
The hosts of the Philistines were encamped in serried rank between the hold and the well. These three devoted men did not count the cost of the simple act of gratifying David’s desire. They wanted to please David. Nothing pleased them so much as pleasing him. Devotedness nerved their right arms that day as these men broke through the astonished ranks of the Philistines, and procured the water for David.
Little wonder that David’s heart was strangely moved by this simple act. Little wonder that he poured out the water, secured at the risk of their lives, to the Lord as a drink offering, setting forth, as it did, the devotedness of these dear men. It was the spring of the action, which transmuted that simple act into one that placed those three men at the very top of the glory roll of the kingdom, when the fighting was all done, when power was established, and the day of rewards had come.
And shall there be no voice in this for us today? Our Lord is now rejected, but “The crowning day is coming by-and-by.” Now is the time to show which side we are on. Now is the time to prize the cross as great reward. Devotedness is not seen in waiting for tasks that will bring us into publicity, into work that is spectacular, but a readiness to do the humblest, most menial work that needs to be done in the service of the Lord.
There is an urge in some men’s minds for work of a public nature, that is lacking in deeds of humble and unseen nature. It may be in the coming day of manifestation that the reading of the Scriptures to a blind person may receive a higher appreciation than that of a popular preacher, who can attract the crowds.
We are not responsible for the gift that may be given to us, but we are responsible for the use of it. Every Christian has some grace “according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” It is devotedness that will lead to the full use of what has been given. Let us remember and be stimulated by the example of
“THESE THREE MIGHTIEST.”