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Testimonies for the Church Volume 7
Christ came to this earth with a message of mercy and forgiveness.
He laid the foundation for a religion by which Jew and Gentile, black
and white, free and bond, are linked together in one common broth-
erhood, recognized as equal in the sight of God. The Saviour has a
boundless love for every human being. In each one He sees capacity
for improvement. With divine energy and hope He greets those for
whom He has given His life. In His strength they can live a life rich in
good works, filled with the power of the Spirit.
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A Gospel for the Poor
The poverty of the people to whom we are sent is not to prevent
us from working for them. Christ came to this earth to walk and work
among the poor and suffering. They received the greatest share of His
attention. And today, in the person of His children, He visits the poor
and needy, relieving woe and alleviating suffering.
Take away suffering and need, and we should have no way of
understanding the mercy and love of God, no way of knowing the
compassionate, sympathetic heavenly Father. Never does the gospel
put on an aspect of greater loveliness than when it is brought to the
most needy and destitute regions. Then it is that its light shines forth
with the clearest radiance and the greatest power. Truth from the
word of God enters the hovel of the peasant; rays from the Sun of
Righteousness light up the rude cottage of the poor, bringing gladness
to the sick and suffering. Angels of God are there, and the simple
faith shown makes the crust of bread and the cup of water a banquet.
The sin-pardoning Saviour welcomes the poor and ignorant, and gives
them to eat of the bread that comes down from heaven. They drink
of the water of life. Those who have been loathed and abandoned are
through faith and pardon raised to the dignity of sons and daughters
of God. Lifted above the world, they sit in heavenly places in Christ.
They may have no earthly treasure, but they have found the pearl of
great price.
What can be Done
How best to accomplish the work in this difficult field is the prob-
lem before us. Long years of neglect have made it far more difficult
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