Preparation For Justification
The first movement in the path which leads to our justification and supernatural life and salvation is simply and entirely from God. Even the consciousness of our misery and the oppressive effects of our sins will not lead us to take the first step of calling upon God for relief. The first actual step is God's call to us and a motion impressed on us. We cannot merit this by any natural actions of our own, however good they may be. We cannot repent of our sins, begin to resist temptation, or change the tenor of our lives on our own initiative. Still less can we apprehend God, appreciate Him, desire and love Him, but by the grace of God calling us to do these things. We cannot call upon His name until He has suggested the idea and moved us to accept it. Even the first conscious motion of the soul towards God is not of ourselves but inspired by Him. "No man can come to Me unless it be given him by My Father" (John vi. 66). "What hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received?" (1 Cor. iv. 7). Beware lest you take credit to yourself for having approached to God in the first instance, or for any subsequent fidelity. Remember also that those who approach to the consideration of divine truths in a spirit of self-sufficiency, relying on their own attainments, and scorning to humble themselves and pray for guidance, will remain for ever in the obscurity of the natural order, and will never attain to God or His truths.
