ore, that seems such a loss to us; but when we see that our whole
being, spirit, soul, and body, with every affection and its object, must
be yielded up and truly laid upon the altar, we realize the subtraction
process of sanctification--the loss of all things. Our old man cannot be
crucified until everything is thus first yielded up. As long as any one
object of our affection is withheld, the consecration is incomplete and
the affections can not be purified from this depravity; hence the
necessity of an absolute yielding up of everything, to obtain the
excellency of this heavenly grace. In this condition we can assuredly
experience the meaning of the words: "Knowing this, that our old man is
crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed." Thank God!
this is a present-tense experience for everyone who is willing to be
conformed to the perfect will of God. In this condition, Jesus can have
the perfect right of way within, and work in us that which is
well-pleasing in his sight.

Some one might wonder if we are never permitted in this truly
consecrated condition, to set our affections upon anything in this
world, or, if we can possess anything as our own, if all must be yielded
up and laid upon the altar. If our affections and every object of the
same are yielded to Jesus, then we certainly cannot have them placed
upon anything else. This is one of the grand provisions of his grace.
Jesus now gets between us and every object of our affections. He not
only has our affections, but he has the objects of our affections. In
the consciousness of this loss to us we also become conscious of the
loss of our old, depraved nature, and the gain of a glorious, heavenly
purity which we before did not possess. But above all things, we become
conscious of the fact that Jesus has become enthroned within our hearts,
and now has full control of our entire being. In him we possess all
things. He gives us back, with himself, everything that is good for us:
father, mother, brother, sister, and every God-given blessing that we
had yielded up to him. But they do not seem to us now like they did
before. There is something between us and them. What is it? It is Jesus!
This makes every blessing so much more precious to us now. A sacredness
exists between us and our loved ones which we never realized before.
They now get our love only as they get it through Jesus, for he is
between us and them. Praise God for this precious experience! W