From Thomas Manton, Works, 3:216:
If a man did care for a thing, he would endeavour after it. Excuses are always a sign of an unwilling heart. Where the desires are vehement, they will not easily be put by: Matt. 13:45, The merchant that “found a pearl of great price,” “went and sold all that he might buy it.” Those that desire not Christ, do not look upon him as a pearl of price; if they did, their hearts would follow hard after him. Those that say they have no power, it is to be feared they have no heart. It was the slothful person said, “There is a lion in the way,” Prov. 26:13. Therefore strive after faith, if for nothing else, yet to show that Christ is worth your most earnest seeking and pursuit after him.
If a man did care for a thing, he would endeavour after it. Excuses are always a sign of an unwilling heart. Where the desires are vehement, they will not easily be put by: Matt. 13:45, The merchant that “found a pearl of great price,” “went and sold all that he might buy it.” Those that desire not Christ, do not look upon him as a pearl of price; if they did, their hearts would follow hard after him. Those that say they have no power, it is to be feared they have no heart. It was the slothful person said, “There is a lion in the way,” Prov. 26:13. Therefore strive after faith, if for nothing else, yet to show that Christ is worth your most earnest seeking and pursuit after him.
