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Children, Not Slaves, April 22
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us
have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence
and godly fear.
Hebrews 12:28
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There are many who profess to be Christ’s followers and yet are not
doers of His Word. They do not relish this Word because it presents service
which is not agreeable to them. They do not relish the wholesome reproofs
and close, earnest appeals. They do not love righteousness, but are mastered
and tyrannized over by their own erratic, human impulses.
It makes every difference how we do service for God. The boy who
drudges through his lessons because he must learn will never become a real
student. The man who claims to keep the commandments of God because
he thinks he must do it will never enter into the enjoyment of obedience.
The essence and flavor of all obedience is the outworking of a principle
within—the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God. The essence
of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer, doing right because it is
right. When the Word of God is a burden because it cuts directly across
human inclinations, then the religious life is not a Christian life, but a tug
and a strain, an enforced obedience. All the purity and godliness of religion
are set aside.
But adoption into the family of God makes us children, not slaves.
When the love of Christ enters the heart we strive to imitate the character
of Christ.... The more we study the life of Christ with a heart to learn,
the more Christlike we become. Into the heart of every true doer of the
Word the Holy Spirit infuses clear understanding. The more we crucify
selfish practices by imparting our blessings to others and by exercising
our God-given ability, the more the heavenly graces will be strengthened
and increased in us. We will grow in spirituality, in patience, in fortitude,
in meekness, in gentleness.... A train of cars is not merely attached to
the engine; they follow on the same track as the engine. Whom are we
following
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Letter 135, 1897
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