The Present Truth, vol. 14
February 24, 1898
“The Secret and the Open Life” The Present Truth 14, 8, p. 117.
“WHEN thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” PTUK February 24, 1898, page 117.1
Note, this does not say that He will reward you in secret. No; He sees you in secret, He hears you in secret; but He rewards you, He answers you, openly. PTUK February 24, 1898, page 117.2
In this, then, He teaches you and me that we are to care for the secret life, and He will care for the open life. And as certainly as we are watchful upon our secret life, and keep it straight with God, so certainly will He be watchful upon our open life, and will keep it straight with men. PTUK February 24, 1898, page 117.3
Yet man’s way is the reverse of this: he is inclined to be ever watching his open life, trying to correct a wrong impression here, to straighten a crooked influence there, all the while neglecting the secret life, of which these outward things are but b the reflection. PTUK February 24, 1898, page 117.4
Can a crooked stick cast a straight shadow?—No more can a life that is crooked in secret be straight openly. When a crooked stick has cast its crooked shadow, is it the sensible thing to go tinkering the shadow to make it straight?—No; correct the stick, make it straight; then there will be no difficulty with the shadow; all who see it will see that it is straight. No more is it sensible to be tinkering your outward life to have it straight; straighten the secret life, and God has certified that your open life shall be straight. Then put your time and attention upon your secret life; keep your time and attention there; spend much time with Him who seeth in secret: and He will put His time and attention upon your open life; He will keep His time and attention there, and will spend much time with you openly, and before those who see only openly; and will see to it that your open life tells only of the good, the pure, and the true,—that it tells only of God. PTUK February 24, 1898, page 117.5
A. T. JONES.