Page 160 - That I May Know Him (1964)

The Proof of Our Discipleship, May 27
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love
one to another. John 13:35.
There is nothing that can so weaken the influence of the church as the
lack of love....The people of the world are looking to us to see what our
faith is doing for our characters and lives. They are watching to see if it
is having a sanctifying effect on our hearts, if we are becoming changed
into the likeness of Christ. They are ready to discover every defect in our
lives, every inconsistency in our actions. Let us give them no occasion to
reproach our faith.
It is not the opposition of the world that will most endanger us; it is the
evil cherished right in our midst that works our most grievous disaster. It is
the unconsecrated lives of halfhearted professors that retard the work of
the truth and bring darkness upon the church of God.
There is no surer way of weakening ourselves in spiritual things than
to be envious, suspicious of one another, full of faultfinding and evil
surmising....
When you are associated together, be guarded in your words.... If the
love of the truth is in your heart you will talk of the truth. You will talk of
the blessed hope that you have in Jesus. If you have love in your heart you
will seek to establish and build up your brother in the most holy faith. If a
word is dropped that is detrimental to the character of your friend or brother,
do not encourage this evil speaking. It is the work of the enemy. Kindly
remind the speaker that the Word of God forbids that kind of conversation.
We are to empty the heart of everything that defiles the soul temple, that
Christ may dwell within. Our Redeemer has told us how we may reveal
Him to the world. If we cherish His spirit, if we manifest His love to others,
if we guard one another’s interests, if we are kind, patient, forbearing, the
world will have an evidence by the fruits we bear that we are the children
of God. It is the unity in the church that enables it to exert a conscious
influence upon unbelievers and worldlings.34 [154]
34The Review and Herald, June 5, 1888.
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