Page 87 - Maranatha (1976)

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The Character Heaven Approves, March 16
Approves Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of
the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in
purity.
1 Timothy 4:12
.
Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, has left an example for the youth. He
toiled in the workshop at Nazareth for His daily bread. He was subject to
His parents, and sought not to control His own time or to follow His own
will. By a life of easy indulgence a youth can never attain to real excellence
as a man or as a Christian. God does not promise us ease, honor, or wealth
in His service; but He assures us that all needed blessings will be ours,
“with persecutions,” and in the world to come “life everlasting.” Nothing
less than entire consecration to His service will Christ accept. This is the
lesson which every one of us must learn....
We have marked illustrations of the sustaining power of firm, religious
principle.... The gaping lions’ den could not keep Daniel from his daily
prayers, nor could the fiery furnace induce Shadrach and his companions to
fall down before the idol which Nebuchadnezzar set up. Young men who
have firm principles will eschew pleasure, defy pain, and brave even the
lions’ den and the heated fiery furnace rather than be found untrue to God.
Mark the character of Joseph. Virtue was severely tested, but its triumph
was complete. At every point the noble youth endured the test. The same
lofty, unbending principle appeared at every trial. The Lord was with him,
and His word was law.
Those who study the Bible, counsel with God, and rely upon Christ will
be enabled to act wisely at all times and under all circumstances. Good
principles will be illustrated in actual life. Only let the truth for this time be
cordially received and become the basis of character, and it will produce
steadfastness of purpose, which the allurements of pleasure, the fickleness
of custom, the contempt of the world-loving, and the heart’s own clamors
for self-indulgence are powerless to influence. Conscience must be first
enlightened, the will must be brought into subjection. The love of truth
and righteousness must reign in the soul, and a character will appear which
heaven can approve.
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