worthy of the Lord is our calling; and
worthy of the Lord we shall walk if we have the great fact of our
fellowship with the Son of God as a reality before our souls. It is
a sad state to speak theoretically of our position in Christ, to
know all this with our intellects and not to manifest it in our
lives and show forth the excellencies of Him, who has called us from
darkness into his marvellous light.

He is not ashamed to call us brethren. It should strengthen the love
for the brethren. Love one another. The weakest, the most imperfect
believer, that one who appears to us so unlovable and so ignorant,
is nevertheless owned by him. Just let us remember in looking upon
all believers, that he is not ashamed to call them brethren, that no
matter where they belong, what their knowledge in the Scriptures
might be, they belong to Christ, and are equally beloved of God. How
we need it in a day when Satan goes about dividing the people of
God. Love for the brethren, a deep, real heart love, will possess us
as our hearts feed upon the fact of our oneness with him and with
His Father and His God.

He is not ashamed to call them brethren. It will be an incentive to
witness for Him. Dishonored as He is, it falls upon us to honor Him
by our personal witness. While in the Father's presence He sings and
is the leader of the praises of His people, we must sing of Him here
and utter His praise on earth. He is not ashamed of us; _how could
we ever be ashamed of Him?_ What an honor to speak His worth, to
tell out, though in feeble way, His glory and exalt His name. And
yet we must beware of an unscriptural familiarity with Him, which
the Holy Spirit does not sanction in the Scriptures. We must not
address Him, as it is so often done, as "my brother," or other
sentimental terms, which our pen is reluctant to repeat. In all this
we must not forget His dignity and glory. While He thus identified
Himself with us and is not ashamed to call us brethren, He is
nevertheless the holy Son of God, the Lord of all. As such we must
adore and worship Him. Some blessed day we shall be just like Him.
We are predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the first born among many brethren (Rom. viii:29). That
will be in the glorious day when we shall meet Him face to face. "We
know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall
see Him as He is" (John iii:2). What it all will mean? What day of
joy and triumph f