Compromise With Another Order Of Things

                                                                              

The whole question of spiritual fulness is at stake.

I have spoken of what might have been in the case of Jonathan. David came to the kingdom in fulness, and Jonathan might have been there at his side, his strength and support in the kingdom.

But no; instead of that, he passes out in this tragic way. In a sense, there is nothing wrong with Jonathan; but he has become involved in compromise with another one and another instrument and another order of things, because he did not make a clean cut.

It is not for us to judge why, but it does seem that it must have been that he argued on the ground of natural reasoning about this thing. 

What does it all amount to? If spiritual fulness is to be reached, we have to be governed by Divine and heavenly principles, and not by human considerations.

Divine principles; not, What will the consequences be? not, What shall we lose? not even, What will the Lord lose? - because that is a very subtle argument.

The Lord does not ask us to reason this thing out on that level at all. He says, 'What is the Divine principle? Let that principle govern and guide.'

You may not see at all how it is going to work out.

If you are governed by Divine principles you may seem to lose a lot here; you may, for a time, have to go out with David and wait.

But in the end the principles will be vindicated. 

You have to recognise that compromise on principle only brings disaster. You see it everywhere.

~T. Austin Sparks~