To Win a fugitive Heart

"For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance". Deuteronomy 32:9

There is no possession greater than the possession of a soul. Many in this world value temporal things as their highest possession. But anyone who has ever truly loved, knows that the greatest possession is another's heart. We often use the expression "My one and only." At times like this, we feel the sense of a singular possession. We wouldn't give such a treasure up for all the world. That feeling of possession that says of another, "Thou art mine." It is the climax of conscious human gain. This is the meaning of the words before us. "The Lord's portion is His people.” Think of it. Jehovah is letting us peer into His own private lock-box. Into His own keepsake of Divine pleasure. It is not the mastery over stars and solar systems that He boasts of. It is not His presiding over storms and hurricanes or command over atoms and neutrinos, but the possession of a human heart. This is the great triumph of heaven. This is the pleasure of God.

But there is more to see here. The passage hasn't exhausted itself. The LORD’s boast is not just in people but a certain kind. He wants most is a soul like Jacob's, "Jacob is the lot of His inheritance." Isn't that a strange desire? Why Jacob? Why not an Abraham, or Isaac, or Joseph-like soul? These men were steadfast, unwavering, upright models. The best of examples. Jacob was limping, ever-stooping, stammering, and falling. Wasn't he a poor example? No, he was a prototype. Weak and frail, sleeping under Bethel stairs. Was Jacob not one of the flickering flames that struggled in the wind? Yes, he was. And therefore, he was worth conquering, worth possessing. Have you not read, "There is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety and nine which went not astray"? God's most precious inheritance is the sheep that wandered. To win by love a fugitive heart,

to master a wayward mind,

to rule a contrary desire,

to captivate an escaping conscience,

to win a stubborn will,

to prostrate a proud passion,

to soften a prodigal son—that is the inheritance in Jacob. That is the joy of the Lord.

May the LORD capture many a fugitive heart.