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Counsels on Stewardship
these may show whether we can be entrusted with eternal riches.—
The
Review and Herald, May 16, 1893
.
Our Possessions Ony in Trust
However large, however small the possessions of any individual,
let him remember that it is his only in trust. For his strength, skill,
time, talents, opportunities, and means, he must render an account to
God. This is an individual work; God gives to us, that we may become
like Him, generous, noble, beneficent, by giving to others. Those
who, forgetful of their divine mission, seek only to save or to spend
in the indulgence of pride or selfishness, may secure the gains and
pleasures of this world; but in God’s sight, estimated by their spiritual
attainments, they are poor, wretched, miserable, blind, naked.
When rightly employed, wealth becomes a golden bond of grat-
itude and affection between man and his fellow men, and a strong
tie to bind his affections to his Redeemer. The infinite gift of God’s
dear Son calls for tangible expressions of gratitude from the recipients
[23]
of His grace. He who receives the light of Christ’s love, is thereby
placed under the strongest obligation to shed the blessed light upon
other souls in darkness.—
The Review and Herald, May 16, 1882
.
To Awaken Attributes of Christ’s Character
The Lord permits suffering and calamity to come upon men and
women to call us out of our selfishness, to awaken in us the attributes
of His character,—compassion, tenderness, and love.
Divine love makes its most touching appeals when it calls upon us
to manifest the same tender compassion that Christ manifested. He
was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. In all our afflictions
He is afflicted. He loves men and women as the purchase of His own
blood, and He says to us, “A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one
another.”—
The Review and Herald, September 13, 1906
.
The Highest Honor, the Greatest Joy
God is the source of life and light and joy to the universe. Like rays
of light from the sun, blessings flow out from Him to all the creatures