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<p>&quot;Everyone brings out the choice wine first . . . But you have saved the <em>best </em>until now!&quot; John 2:10<br />
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    The <strong>world </strong>gives its <em>best </em>first — and the <em>worst </em>comes afterwards! <br />
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    It is so in all <em>sinful pleasures: </em>first exhilaration — and then bitter remorse. <br />
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    It is so in the <em>chase for wealth, power, and fame:</em> gratification first — and then painful disappointment. At first money brings gladness — a sort of satisfaction. But as time rolls on and wealth increases — cares multiply, anxieties thicken, burdens grow heavier, and at last — the rich man finds that in all his riches, he has less satisfaction than he had in the days when he was just a poor boy!<br />
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    It is so in all mere <em>worldly ambitions:</em> the first cups of fame are sweet — but soon they pall upon the taste. <br />
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    This truth holds especially in the<em> sinful life:</em> we need not deny that at the beginning, <em>sin is sweet</em> — but <em>bitterness </em>is found at the bottom of the cup!<br />
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    In <strong>grace</strong>, however, this is reversed — the good wine is kept to the last! Christ Himself first had humiliation, darkness, and the shame of the cross — and <em>then </em>exaltation, power, glory!<br />
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    In the <strong>Christian life</strong>, the same law holds:<br />
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    First there comes bitterness — but out of the bitterness, <em>sweetness </em>flows. <br />
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    There is first the deep sorrow of penitence — but this gives way to the blessed joy of <em>forgiveness</em>. <br />
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    First comes self-denial and cross-bearing — but out of these experiences comes a<em> holy peace</em> which fills all the heart. <br />
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    Sorrows are to be endured — but the good wine of <em>comfort </em>is poured into the emptied cup. <br />
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    There is also a <em>constant progression</em> in the blessings of the divine life. We never get to the end of them! Indeed, we never get to the <em>best! </em>There is always something <em>better </em>yet to come. Christ keeps the really best wine until the<em> very last</em> — in Heaven! As sweet as Christ's peace now is to the Christian — he will never know the fullness of the love of God, until he gets <em>home </em>to the Father's house!