One Thing Needful

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3)

The truly humble man does not expect to find virtue in himself, and when he finds none he is not disappointed. He knows that any good deed he may do is the result of God's working in him.

When this belief becomes so much a part of a man that it operates as a kind of unconscious reflex he is released from the burden of trying  to live up to his own opinion of himself. The emphasis of his life shifts from self to Christ, where it should have been in the first place, and he is thus set free to serve his generation by the will of God without the thousand hindrances he knew before.

Should such a man fail God in any way he will be  sorry and repent, but he will not spend his days castigating himself for his failure. He will say with Brother Lawrence: "I shall never do otherwise if You leave me to myself; it is You who must hinder my falling and mend what is amiss," and after that "give himself no further uneasiness about it."

In the character of a Christian, humility is the one thing needful. Where this is wanting, all is wanting.

~A. W. Tozer~