”Jonathan spoke well of David.”  1 Sam. 19:5

David is as you well know a picture of Christ.  A brother in America once gave me this admonition, “Speak well of Christ!”  These words still echoes in my ears.

I was once as a young man enslaved in joyless legalism where the central point suddenly became my own holiness efforts and all that goes with it.  An American pastor came along and said, “You have changed, Jørn, you once exalted Christ, it´s not so now!” He was right.  The apostle Paul was concerned about the same thing concerning the Galatians when he wrote, “What has become of that blessed enjoyment that once was yours?”  (Gal. 4:15, The Amplified Bible).  That is, “What has become of your joy in Christ?”  Legalism had robbed them of that true gospel joy.

Jonathan spoke well of David, and he did it so persuasively that Saul was emotionally moved and “ heeded the voice of Jonathan”,  again wanting to have David in his presence (1 Sam. 19:7).  But it didn´t last long.  The lot of the evangelist is similar.  Christ may be presented so well that souls are stirred, and yet it doesn´t go very deep.  The Lord Himself saw that in His ministry. Many were moved ( in John 2:23 it looked like a powerful spiritual awakening), “but Jesus did not commit Himself to them”, because nothing had really happened after all.

And yet that shouldn´t refrain us from lifting up Christ. Disappointments will always be there.  Only one fourth of the seed had lasting fruit in Matth. 13 you remember? And on a personal basis when we are “down” we should lift Christ up! We should speak well of Him to our own souls.  That´s what I read John Bunyan did.  From memory I recall in his autobiography how he in the midst of many spiritual troubles, afflictions and doubts found himself on his knees holding forth (as he put it) Christ in his arms.

“I have but one passion, it is He, it is He alone”, Count Zinzendorf said.  That´s the kind of enthusiasm the gospel kindles us with contrary to legalism..

“Where is Christ?” a dear brother asked me once I tried to charge him with some doctrinal points.  My zeal shadowed Christ, so his question was very relevant.

Let us by God´s grace be Christ pointers and not law killers!

May 16, 2015 - jn