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Destiny for Eternity, April 21
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words
that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. ... From that
time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words
of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God.
John 6:63-69
.
To those who obey, the Word of God is the tree of life. It is the word of
salvation, received unto eternal life. Those who follow its teachings eat the
flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. On the effect which this word
produces on us, depends our destiny for eternity. It possesses the elements
necessary for the formation of a perfect character. The Christian is appointed
to connect with God in such close relationship that his life is bound up with
the life of Christ in the eternal life of God.
In His wonderful prayer, Christ said, “Neither pray I for these alone, but
for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (
John 17:20
).
This takes in all who believe the gospel. “That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me” (
Verse 21
). Our unity and love for one
another are the credentials by which we testify to the world that God has sent
His Son to save sinners.
“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be
one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast
loved them, as thou hast loved me” (
Verses 22, 23
). Every time I read this
statement, it seems almost too good to be true. But I receive it and believe it,
and I thank God for His full and abundant promises, given on condition that
we meet the standard of the righteousness of Christ....
The word of life is that by which the Christian is to live. From this word
we are to receive a continually increasing knowledge of truth. From it we are
to gain light, purity, goodness, and a faith which works by love and purifies
the soul. It is given us that we may be redeemed and presented faultless
before the throne of divine glory. Wondrous victory, gained by Christ in
man’s behalf!—
Letter 60, April 21, 1900
, to a young man seeking Ellen
White’s counsel.
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