There is no service to Christ which is without a cross. As it is written, " He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me." (Matt. 10:38.)

The disciple is called to be as the Master (10:24, 25); and he will find faithful discipleship leads to much suffering ; and the worst of all is that which comes from what bears God's name upon earth, without the power of it.

Cruelty, shame, and disgrace are the three things which service to Christ will gain for you from earth. For the cross of Christ is not a thing that can be used merely to moralize, or to obtain a good or a healthful influence over men's minds. It is either eternal life, delivering a man into the liberty of a son of God, or it is the manifestation that Satan is blinding his eyes. G. V. W.