The Church’s Need
While the world needs sympathy, while it needs the prayers and
assistance of God’s people, while it needs to see Christ in the lives of
His followers, the people of God are equally in need of opportunities
that draw out their sympathies, give efficiency to their prayers, and
develop in them a character like that of the divine pattern.
It is to provide these opportunities that God has placed among us
the poor, the unfortunate, the sick, and the suffering. They are Christ’s
legacy to His church, and they are to be cared for as He would care
for them. In this way God takes away the dross and purifies the gold,
giving us that culture of heart and character which we need.
The Lord could carry forward His work without our co-operation.
He is not dependent on us for our money, our time, or our labor. But
the church is very precious in His sight. It is the case which contains
His jewels, the fold which encloses His flock, and He longs to see
it without spot or blemish or any such thing. He yearns after it with
unspeakable love. This is why He has given us opportunities to work
for Him, and He accepts our labors as tokens of our love and loyalty.
In placing among us the poor and the suffering, the Lord is testing
us to reveal to us what is in our hearts. We cannot with safety swerve
from principle, we cannot violate justice, we cannot neglect mercy.
When we see a brother falling into decay we are not to pass him by on
the other side, but are to make decided and immediate efforts to fulfill
the word of God by helping him. We cannot work contrary to God’s
special directions without having the result of our work reflect upon
us. It should be firmly settled, rooted, and grounded in the conscience,
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that whatever dishonors God in our course of action cannot benefit us.
It should be written upon the conscience as with a pen of iron upon
a rock, that he who disregards mercy, compassion, and righteousness,
he who neglects the poor, who ignores the needs of suffering humanity,
who is not kind and courteous, is so conducting himself that God
cannot co-operate with him in the development of character. The
culture of the mind and heart is more easily accomplished when we
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