Chapter. 219—That the World May Know
Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.
Isaiah 43:12
.
A living Christian will have a living testimony to bear. If you have
been following Jesus step by step, you will have something right to the
point to relate of the way He has led you. You can tell how you tested His
promise, and found the promise true. You can point to the living spots in your
experience, without going back for years into the past. Would that we could
oftener hear the simple, earnest testimony of heart conflicts and victories....
Every true Christian will have a battle to fight to practice the principles
of truth as well as to assent to them.... The Captain of our salvation calls
for witnesses fresh from the field of action. Those who have been fiercely
assaulted by the enemies of truth and the adversary of souls, and who have
conducted themselves as did Jesus in His hour of trial, will have a testimony
to bear which will thrill the hearts of the hearers. They will indeed be
witnesses for Jesus.
We do not always realize the power of example. We are brought in
contact with others. We meet persons who are erring, who do wrong in
various ways; they may be disagreeable, quick, passionate, dictatorial. While
dealing with these we must be patient, forbearing, kind, and gentle.... There
are trials and perplexities for us all to encounter; for we are in a world of
cares, anxieties, and disappointments. But these continual annoyances must
be met in the spirit of Christ. Through grace we may rise superior to our
surroundings, and keep our spirits calm and unruffled amid the frets and
worries of everyday life. We shall thus represent Christ to the World.
Christ sought to save the world, not by conformity to it, but by revealing
to the world the transforming power of the grace of God to mold and fashion
the human character after the likeness of the character of Christ.
The grace of Christ is to work a wonderful transformation in the life and
character of its receiver; and if we are truly the disciples of Christ, the world
will see that divine power has done something for us; for while we are in the
world, we shall not be of it.
[228]
317