The lion of this world's ambition seems a small thing when set beside the Lion of the tribe of Judah, whose victory gives honey from the carcass of death itself. Do you seek success, to publish, teach, write, to be a famous international lawyer or judge? Yet what is the honey of fame compared to the honeycomb of full forgiveness, eternal forgiveness, which sparkles like dew of Heaven? The strong man, conqueror of the lion, did not hoard that sweetness for himself, he held it forth to his parents. So must it be with any true success the Lord gives; it is to be shared immediately, hands full of Divine Love extended to others.
Consider this: Jesus Christ is appointed Judge of the quick and the dead. The Father has committed all judgment unto the Son, for He is the Son of Man. He possesses the amplest knowledge, a perfect knowledge of the Law, He put on righteousness as a garment. What is the bar of an international court beside that bar before which every soul shall stand? The Judge is at the door! Before Him the secrets of all hearts are laid bare, and He will judge according to the strictest letter of the Law. If the Law says the sinner shall die, the Arbitrator declares that He will judge the sinner shall die. And what defense shall any of us make, we whose tongues have spoken evil, whose hearts have wandered? There is no success in our own hands that can answer the demands of such a court.
But oh, hear the Gospel's cry! This same Jesus who is Judge is also Savior. The Arbitrator has undertaken our cause. In the Great Arbitration Case, Christ has determined that full justice shall be done, but see here, full remission granted to my faith! He has put away my sin; the suit has been settled conclusively. Christ has made a full Atonement which God the Father has accepted. Why should you not, at this moment, obtain that full remission? To know that God has blotted out my sin is knowledge rich with unutterable bliss, this is to achieve the full potential of a soul, to be brought back to the full light of God’s favor, that heavenly likeness and heavenly favour lost in Adam.
You pray for career success, but have you yet made the full surrender? Come, just as thou art, and with a full surrender, say, "Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me." Do not seek to be a judge of men until you have stood as a sinner before the Daysman and received His award of innocence, even eternal life. The Arbitrator loves His Father and will decide on nothing that may taint His honor; He also loves the sinner with a fervent love. Flee to Him now!
Let your praise not wait for some future greatness. Why, praise Him now, even when poverty hovers, when temptations assail. Thou art not in torments, not in hell! Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. We have opened our mouth unto the Lord at His Table; we have given our word to the Lord, and we cannot go back. Having once become Christians, we cannot apostatize from the faith. What we cannot do is retreat from this allegiance, even for the world’s honours. Lay ambition at His feet, and if He shall prosper your path, go with your hands full of the honey of Divine Love and hold it out to others, not as a famous name, but as a servant of the Most High, trembling before the throne, yet rejoicing that Heaven begins below. This is the earnest of great success, for He who has overcome the lion of sin and death shall lead you in a land flowing with milk and honey, even while the Canaanites of this world remain.