The
Spirit of a Christian
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Mrs. E. G. White
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is
truth." Every moment of our
probationary time is precious; for it is our time for character building. We should give most
diligent heed to the culture of our spiritual nature. We should watch our hearts, guarding our thoughts
lest impurity tarnish the soul. We should
seek to keep every faculty of the mind in the very best condition,
that we may serve God to the extent of our ability. Nothing should be
permitted to interrupt our communion with God.
If corrupt thoughts are entertained, they will lead to corrupt actions. O, may the angels of purity guard us,
that no stain of immorality may be found upon us! Every worker for God
should be pure in thought. The grandest themes, the noblest impulses, the
purest conceptions, should be his, for he is a son of God.
We have a work to do in this world, and we must not allow
ourselves to become self-absorbed, and so forget the claims of God and humanity
upon us. If we seek God with earnestness, he
will impress us by his Holy Spirit. He knows what we need, for he is acquainted
with our every weakness; and he would have us work away from self, that we may become
kind in thought and word and deed. We must
cease to think and talk of self, cease to make our needs and wants the sole
object of our thoughts. God would have us cultivate the attributes of heaven.
To be a Christian is to be Christlike. If we would be
successful in winning souls, we must be full of the tact that is born of
kindness and sympathy and love. There are
some who have a desire to benefit others, but they fail because of their
defective manners. They do not realize the fact that before seeking the
reformation of others, they themselves need to reform. Those who would work for
others, should remember that they are working for
Christ's little ones, the members of his body.
We should carefully consider what is
our relation to God and to one another. We
are continually sinning against
God, but his mercy still follows us; in love he bears with our perversities,
our neglect, our ingratitude, our disobedience. He never becomes
impatient with us. We insult his mercy, grieve his Holy Spirit, and do him
dishonor before men and angels, and yet his compassions fail not. The thought of God's
long-suffering to us should make us forbearing to one another. How patiently should
we bear with the faults and errors of our brethren, when we remember how great are our own failings in the sight of God. How can we pray to
our Heavenly Father, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors," if we are denunciatory, resentful, exacting in our treatment of
others? God
would have us more kind, more loving and lovable, less critical and suspicious.
O that we all might have the spirit of Christ, and know how to deal with our
brethren and neighbors!
We should manifest great tact in dealing with one who
errs. In the spirit of love and meekness, we should seek to restore him to the
fold of Christ; but instead of sympathy toward the wanderer, too frequently a
censorious spirit is manifested. Those who have not made the mistake which they
condemn in another, stand off in an unapproachable
attitude, as if they felt themselves secure from making such a blunder. But let
him who thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
If those who condemn another loved as Christ has loved
a lost race of rebels, they would by every means possible seek to recover the
erring one. They would not take delight in publishing his case, in making his
fault appear in the worst light possible, but they would heed the injunction of
the Scripture, "Ye which are spiritual, restore such an
one in the spirit of meekness." If you do this, you will probably succeed
in bringing our erring brother into fellowship with the church without
publishing his errors to the church, or making his fault known to another in
any way.
(To be concluded.)
November 7, 1912
Mrs. E. G. White
There are too many among those who profess to be
followers of Christ who seek to excuse their own defects by magnifying the
errors of others. The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is
self-control. We should copy the example of
Jesus; for when he was reviled, he reviled not again, but committed himself to
Him that judgeth righteously. Our Redeemer met insult
and mockery with uncomplaining silence. All the cruel taunts of the murderous throng who exulted in his humiliation and trial in the judgment-hall,
could not bring from him one look or word of resentment or impatience. He was
the majesty of heaven, and in his pure breast there dwelt no room for the
spirit of retaliation, but only for pity and love. There is a time when silence
is golden. We should always copy the life of Jesus; for we are to be like him. He loves us notwithstanding our defects and shortcomings.
Let us not think that one of the graces of Christ is portrayed with no lesson
to us in its portrayal. Pure love thinketh no evil. When we constantly imagine that we are not appreciated, and watch
for slights, we do ourselves and others great harm. We must forget self
in loving service for others.
If you think your brother has injured you, go to him in
kindness and love, and you may come to an understanding and to reconciliation.
When you deal with the erring, you should always keep in mind the fact that you
are dealing with Christ in the person of his saints. Go to your brother whom
you think in the wrong, and lovingly talk with him alone; if you succeed in
settling the trouble, you have gained your brother without exposing his
frailties, and the settlement between you has been the covering of a multitude
of sins from the observation of others. Others
will not need to know of your difficulty, and thus be put on the alert to watch
with suspicion everything the one you think at fault may do, and put a wrong
construction on his motives.
"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." If the sinner
repents because of your kind and loving admonition, work has been done for
eternity. There is great need of carrying out the instruction of Christ in a
definite manner, acting up to the word of our Master. This is living the law of
God. In thus dealing with our brethren, we may make an impression on others
that will never fade from their minds. We may not remember some act of kindness
which we do, it may fade from our memory; but eternity will bring out in all
its brightness, every act done for the salvation of souls, every word spoken
for the comfort of God's children; and these deeds done for Christ's sake will
be a part of our joy through all eternity. When we pursue toward our brethren any
course save that of kindness and courtesy, we pursue an unchristian course. We
should manifest courtesy at home, in the church, and in our intercourse with
all men. But especially we should manifest
compassion and respect for those who are giving their lives to the cause of
God. We
should exercise that precious love that suffereth
long and is kind; that envieth not, that vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil. God would have his
servants always appear at their best, both at home and in society; and where
Jesus reigns in the heart, there will be sweet love, and we shall be tender and
true to one another. It takes special watchfulness to keep the affections alive, and our hearts in a condition where we shall be
sensible of the good that exists in the hearts of others. If we do not watch on
this point, Satan will put his jealousy into our souls; he will put his glasses
before our eyes, that we may see the actions of our brethren in a distorted
light. Instead
of looking critically upon our brethren, we should turn our eyes within, and be
ready to discover the objectionable traits of our own character. As we have a
proper realization of our own mistakes and failures, the mistakes of others
will sink into insignificance.
Satan is an accuser of the brethren. He is on the
watch for every error, no matter how small, that he may have something on which
to found an accusation. Keep off of
Satan's side. It is true that you should give no occasion for faultfinding. A
moment's petulance, a single gruff answer, the want of Christian politeness and
courtesy in some small matter, may result in the loss of friends, in the loss
of influence. God would have you appear at
your best under all circumstances, in the presence of those who are inferior to
you as well as in the presence of equals and superiors. We are to be followers of Christ at all times, seeking
his honor, seeking to rightly represent him in every way, that we may be lights
in the world, showing forth the praises of him who has called us out of
darkness into his marvelous light. We are
not to exalt our own opinions above those of others. If our ideas are superior
to those of others, it will be made manifest without special effort on our
part. People
of discernment will not fail to realize and appreciate the fact, and we shall
receive the credit to which we are entitled. God
bids us come to him for wisdom, that we may shed the quickening influence of
the Holy Spirit upon others, not the
influence of our own high opinion of ourselves.
We are to come to God for his grace, that we may magnify and honor him, not
praise ourselves, but be able to impart new
and noble impulses to those around us. God
is taking account of all we do and say in seeking to educate men to lift their
hearts to him in gratitude and praise. Let self drop out of sight, and let
Jesus appear as the One altogether lovely. We should seek to live for his glory
alone, not that men may praise us. We should seek to do the work of God in all
humility, in meekness and lowliness of heart, working as Christ worked, and
angels will watch over us, and carry the tidings of our faithfulness to God and
man, even to the courts of light.