The Vital Ingredient
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Guest Article
The Vital Ingredient
by Ancil Jenkins
"Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to
make your call and election sure, for if you do
these things you will never stumble" (2 Pet.
1:10).
Have you ever pondered the importance of one
ingredient? Have you ever had bread without salt?
Have you ever had a car but not have the key? I
remember in my youth several of us boys who had
our gloves and bats but could not find a ball to
play with.
How often there seems to be a missing ingredient
in our lives and in the life of the church. Often
every other vital element is present, but
diligence is missing. This is because it often
comes disguised as hard, perhaps unrewarding,
work.
I was recently impressed with this need for
diligent effort from a quotation from Everett
Donaldson's biography of "Racoon" John Smith, a
pioneer preacher of the nineteenth century.
Donaldson quotes from an earlier biography which
described Smith's efforts to study the Bible and
prepare himself to preach.
"He spent every moment that he could spare in the
close and earnest study of his Bible." The pine-
knots blazed on his hearth till a late hour every
night; for he poured over the sacred text with a
diligence that never tired. He saved the hour of
noon by reading while his tired yoke browsed in
the shade or stood at the rick. He laid the Bible
by his side on the dinner table, and committed to
memory, over his plate, some verse on which he
could ponder while at work. He studied even in the
fields, improving sermons as he piled up his log
heaps and exhorting imaginary congregations as he
plowed" (Racoon John Smith: Frontiersman and
Reformer, by Everett Donaldson, p. 86).
Often we hear the desire expressed, "I wish I knew
more about the Bible." In almost the same breath
come the next words, "But I just don't have the
time to study." Yet the apparent problem is
probably not a lack of time, but a lack of
diligence. Few of us have several hours of
unbroken, uninterrupted time to study. However, we
often have ten minutes or so. Carry a pocket New
Testament and spend your waiting time reading it.
We do not need more time - we need more diligence.
What would happen if we approached the enhancement
of our spiritual life with the same diligence with
which we approach our work or hobby? Few mind
arising early, even at dawn, to fish or play golf.
Would you do the same for the Lord? Most are
faithful to get to work on time and not miss a day
unless ill. Could we not do the same with our
appointments for God? If we are commanded to be
diligent in His service, how can we dare disobey?
If there is something lacking in your spiritual
life, why not examine your diligence? This may be
the missing ingredient.
Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol
24, pgs 30-31 for this article.
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