Triumphant Life Secret
By George B. Starr
The Plan for Continued Victory over Each and Every Besetment— The Personage and the Power That Assure Success
THERE has been but one absolutely triumphant life lived in this world, one life only that never failed to keep the world, the flesh, and the devil in subjection, and that ever kept them all under, no matter what the circumstances or the temptation or the pressure. He succeeded. He triumphed. That life was the life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Many ten thousands have been charmed by that life, and have tried with all their powers to imitate it, to reproduce it in their own. They have tried sincerely, honestly, earnestly, but have failed, mortifyingly failed, and that for the very simple reason that no one can live the life of Jesus Christ but Christ Himself. Why then was that one perfect life permitted to appear, and its every victory recorded, if we may not successfully imitate or reproduce it ourselves?— That we may be driven, by our very failures, to accept the provisions of the gospel, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27); to learn that man is not only saved from past sins by the blood of Christ, but "much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Rom. 5:10)—His life in us—Jesus Himself living His own life over again in us, reproducing Himself. But Jesus can only do this in the man or woman who is entirely dissatisfied with self, and ready to stop trying to prove that he can live the Christ life if he only struggles hard enough. Crab-apples only can be picked from a crab-apple tree; and if it is peaches we want, we must plant the peach-tree. So if it is Christ's character we want, we must have Christ's life to produce it. "Christ liveth in me," is the secret of success. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." Eph. 3:17-21. But now to the blessed promise to us all: "If any man . . . open the door, I will come in" (Rev. 3:20), says Jesus. Then all will be changed. The self-satisfaction of being rich and increased in goods and in need of nothing is seen in its true light. The man or woman who has everything but Christ in the heart is truly wretched indeed, blind without His light, poor without His riches, naked without His righteousness. But opening the heart to Him, we have all. "For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him." He has "all power in heaven and earth," "power over all flesh." John 17:2. He has power over your flesh and my flesh, to subdue it and to triumph in it and87over it, and to live over again His own life in it, and so glorify God. He prays to His Father: "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. . . . I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:21-26. This is the secret of a triumphant life—Christ Himself by His Spirit in the life. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God." John 1:12.