My Utmost for His Highest - May 9th - Grasp Without Reach

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is one who keeps the Law. - Proverbs 29:18

    There is a difference between an ideal and a vision. An ideal has no moral inspiration; a vision has. The people who give themselves over to ideals rarely do anything. A man's conception of Deity may be used to justify his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah argued that because God was a God of justice and of mercy, therefore everything would be all right (see Jonah 4:2). I may have a right conception of God, and that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of rectitude because the vision imparts moral incentive.

    Ideals may lull to rain. Take stock of yourself spiritually and see whether you have ideals only or if you have vision.

    "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" (Andrea Del Sarto by Robert Browning)

    "Where is no vision . . ." When once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless, we cast off certain restraints, we cast off praying, we cast off the vision of God in little things, and begin to act on our own initiative. If we are eating what we have out of our own hand, doing things on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on the downward path, we have lost the vision. Is our attitude to-day an attitude that springs from our vision of God? Are expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done? Is there a freshness and vigor in our spiritual outlook?

- From Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest" - Classic Edition

Highlights and Underlines are courtesy of Mom from her print edition.