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Eternal Loss, December 7
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1
Corinthians 2:9
.
Every sin, every unrighteous action, every transgression of the law of
God, tells with a thousandfold more force upon the actor than the sufferer.
Every time one of the glorious faculties with which God has enriched man is
abused or misused, that faculty loses forever a portion of its vigor and will
never be as it was before the abuse it suffered. Every abuse inflicted upon
our moral nature in this life is felt not only for time but for eternity. Though
God may forgive the sinner, yet eternity will not make up that voluntary loss
sustained in this life.
To go forth into the next, the future life, deprived of half the power which
might be carried there is a terrible thought. The days of probation lost here in
acquiring a fitness for heaven, is a loss which will never be recovered. The
capacities of enjoyment will be less in the future life for the misdemeanors
and abuse of moral powers in this life. However high we might attain in the
future life, we might soar higher and still higher, if we had made the most of
our God-given privileges and golden opportunities to improve our faculties
here in this probationary existence....
We are all under one or the other of two great captains. One, the Creator
of man and of the world, is the greatest of all. All owe Him the allegiance of
their whole being, the devotion of their entire affection. If the mind is given to
His control, and if God has the molding and developing of the powers of the
mind, new moral power will be received daily from the Source of all wisdom
and all strength. Moral blessings and divine beauties will reward the efforts of
everyone whose mind is heaven bent. We may grasp revelations—heavenly
beauties—that lie beyond the short vision of the worldling, that outshine the
imagination of the greatest mind and the most learned philosopher who has
not connected himself with infinite power....
Justice, honor, love, and truth are the attributes of God’s throne. They
are the principles of His government which is to be established on the earth,
made pure by the fire of His retributive justice. These are the jewels to be
sought after and cherished for time and for eternity. In view of these things,
...build your character not after the worldly standard, but for eternity.—
Letter
41, December 7, 1877
, to F. E. Belden, a 19-year-old nephew.
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