196
Testimonies for the Church Volume 7
realized that to them is given the work of carrying the light to this
sin-darkened field. There are those who have turned away from the
work of rescuing the downtrodden and degraded, refusing to help the
[223]
helpless. Let the servants of Christ begin at once to redeem their
neglect, that the dark stain on their record may be wiped out.
The present condition of the Southern field is dishonoring to the
Redeemer. But shall it lead us to believe that the commission which
Christ gave to His disciples when He told them to preach the gospel
to all nations, cannot be fulfilled? No, No! Christ has power for the
fulfillment of His commission. He is fully able to do the work laid
upon Him. In the wilderness, armed with the weapon, “It is written,”
He met and overcame the strongest temptations that the enemy could
bring against Him. He proved the power of the word. It is God’s
people who have failed. That His word has not the power on hearts
that it ought to have is shown by the present condition of the world.
But it is because men have chosen to disobey, not because the word
has less power.
A Call from the Colored Race
The Lord has looked with sadness upon that most pitiful of all
sights, the colored race in slavery. He desires us, in our work for them,
to remember their providential deliverance from slavery, their common
relationship to us by creation and by redemption, and their right to the
blessings of freedom.
Some time ago I seemed to be, during the night season, in a meeting
in which the work in the Southern field was being discussed. The
questions were asked by a company of intelligent colored people:
“Has God no message for the colored people of the South? Have they
no souls to save? Does not the new covenant include them? If the
Lord is soon to come, is it not time that something was done for the
Southern field?
[224]
“We do not,” it was said, “question the need of missions in foreign
lands. But we do question the right of those who claim to have present
truth to pass by millions of human beings in their own country, many
of whom are as ignorant as the heathen. Why is it that so little is
done for the colored people of the South, many of whom are ignorant
and destitute, and need to be taught that Christ is their Creator and