"For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me. "—Psa. lxix. 9.
Zeal in the Lord's service is that eager, arduous, active interest which is begotten of sincerest love for the "kingdom of our Lord and his Christ." The individual that is really in love with the heavenly Bridegroom will naturally express devotedness in such activity. When ardent love is in the heart, it prompts to action, and we cannot contentedly be otherwise than active. We shall seek and we will find avenues for usefulness. Our zeal and service, like that of our Master and the apostles, should be devoted to developing, strengthening, and encouraging, in the way of self-sacrifice.
When we engage in that service, the growing sense of the Love that is Good will be manifest in more and more of activity, until in the end we can say, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up,"—hath consumed me. If we are following closely in our Master's footprints, we shall find this consuming process going on and increasing in intensity from day to day. We shall find his work consuming our sense of time, our energies, our money, our reputation, our former earthly hopes and ambitions, and every talent we possess, however great or small. It will be realized how little it all is, even when judiciously used.
