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Let Your Light Shine, July 21
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
.
My heart was rejoiced to see among the converts [at Willis, Michigan] so
many young men and women, with hearts softened and subdued by the love
of Jesus, acknowledging the good work wrought by God for their souls. It was
indeed a precious season. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (
Romans 10:10
)....
It is essential that these who have newly come to the faith should have
a sense of their obligation to God, who has called them to a knowledge
of the truth, and filled their hearts with His sacred peace, that they may
exert a sanctifying influence over all with whom they associate. “Ye are my
witnesses, saith the Lord” (
Isaiah 43:10
). To every one God has committed a
work, to make known His salvation to the world.
In true religion there is nothing selfish or exclusive. The gospel of Christ
is diffusive and aggressive. It is described as the salt of the earth, the trans-
forming leaven, the light which shineth in darkness. It is impossible for one
to retain the favor and love of God, and enjoy communion with Him, and still
feel no responsibility for the souls for whom Christ died, who are in error
and darkness, perishing in their sins. If those who profess to be followers of
Christ neglect to shine as lights in the world, the vital power will leave them,
and they will become cold and Christless. The spell of indifference will be
upon them, a deathlike sluggishness of soul, which will make them bodies of
death instead of living representatives of Jesus.
Every one must lift the cross, and in modesty, meekness, and lowliness
of mind, take up his God-given duties, engaging in personal effort for those
around him who need help and light. All who accept these duties will have
a rich and varied experience, their own hearts will glow with fervor, and
they will be strengthened and stimulated to renewed, persevering efforts to
work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, because it is God that
worketh in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure.—
The Review
and Herald, July 21, 1891
.
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