The Abandoned Life
“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” -Acts 9:3-4
In a previous post, I mentioned what I believed to be the secret of greatness, which is faith. Now I would like to go into greater detail in a few specific areas and give examples of greatness, and the faith that God’s people have had in the past.
Paul’s example
The first example is Paul. While still unconverted—and staunchly opposing the church—he had a vision on the road to Damascus, and there encountered the Lord Jesus Christ as a light from heaven.
“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.” -Acts 9:3-9
This was a life-changing event for Saul. He would never quite be the same again; and though he regained his physical sight, perhaps in spirit he never fully recovered from his vision of the Lord.
As the hymn “All For Jesus” states:
Since mine eyes were fixed on Jesus,
I’ve lost sight of all beside—
So enchained my spirit’s vision,
Looking at the Crucified.
So too, I believe it was with Paul. He had forever lost sight of all that was of temporal worth in this world, and through faith, he continuously labored for that which was eternal. He no doubt treasured his heavenly vision that had been so graciously bestowed upon him, and pressed on in his work.
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, . . . I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 3:7-8, 14
We may call this sort of repentance—a turning away of all earthly ambitions, and a forsaking of all temporal endeavors—as living the “abandoned life.” Not utterly abandoned and hopeless, but abandoned to God, and having one’s hope and trust for future rewards in none other than Jesus Christ.
Amy Carmichael’s example
In a somewhat similar way to that of the apostle Paul, Amy Carmichael had a life-changing experience, one that seemed to stick with her for her entire life.
While walking home from church with her two brothers, they spotted an old woman carrying a heavy burden, and stumbling and struggling. She and her brothers stopped to help, meanwhile many others from church stopped and stared at the sight—for the old woman was quite rundown and messy in appearance. Filled both with compassion for the woman, and shame from her friends’ gazing, Amy felt uneasy about the situation.
It was then that she spotted a stone fountain, spouting water into the air, that she heard a voice—if not audibly, then surely in her heart—speaking the words of Scripture: “. . . gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; . . . the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward” (1 Corinthians 3:12b-14). It then dawned on her that it did not matter what others thought of her: if she did the work of God, she would receive a reward from God, and that reward would last.
From that day forward, she was a changed person. Already a Christian, true, but now an earnest Christian. Having seen and heard of God’s truth firsthand, she was determined not to waste any further time on temporal pursuits, or in worrying about what others thought of her. Instead, she made it her soul’s pursuit and intent to please God, and to follow His will, whatever the cost.
In effect, she had been built up in faith, and this faith strengthened her to live the abandoned life to God. Without this faith—the faith that eternity is the only thing that will matter in the end—life will be bland, selfish, ordinary, and will come to very little in the kingdom of God. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
If we do not truly believe this truth, then we will not be changed in our hearts, nor in our actions, nor in our everyday lives. This faith is the secret of greatness; no great man or woman of God has ever done anything of eternal impact without this essential faith. This faith gives us the strength to forsake this world and its deceitful riches and cares, and live a life abandoned to God.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” -Matthew 4:19-20
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