Relation of Publishing Houses to One Another
Under the figure of the vine and its branches is illustrated the
relation of Christ to His followers and the relation of His followers
to one another. The branches are all related to one another, yet each
has an individuality which is not merged in that of another. All have
a common relation to the vine and depend upon it for their life, their
growth, and their fruitfulness. They cannot sustain one another. Each
for itself must be centered in the vine. And while the branches have a
common likeness, they also present diversity. Their oneness consists
in their common union with the vine, and through each, though not in
just the same way, is manifested the life of the vine.
This figure has a lesson, not only for individual Christians, but
for the institutions that are engaged in God’s service. In their relation
to one another each is to maintain its individuality. Union with one
another comes through union with Christ. In Him each institution is
united to every other, while at the same time its identity is not merged
in that of another.
At times it has been urged that the interests of the cause would be
furthered by a consolidation of our publishing houses, bringing them
virtually under one management. But this, the Lord has shown, should
not be. It is not His plan to centralize power in the hands of a few
persons or to bring one institution under the control of another.
Our work has been presented to me as, in its beginning, a small,
very small, rivulet. To the prophet Ezekiel was given the representation
of waters issuing “from under the threshold of the house eastward,”
“at the south side of the altar.” Read
Ezekiel 47
. Especially mark
verse
[172]
8
: “Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east
country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being
brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.” So our work was
presented to me as extending to the east and to the west, to the islands
of the sea, and to all parts of the world. As the work extends, there
will be great interests to be managed. The work is not to be centered
in any one place. Human wisdom argues that it is more convenient to
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