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Christ’s Representatives in the World, October 27
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:16, 17
.
Jesus ... says, “I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified
through the truth” (
John 17:19
). “Thy word is truth.” We need, then, to
become familiar with the Word of God, to study and to practice it in life....
We deny Jesus Christ as the One who taketh away the sins of the world
if we do not, after accepting the truth, reveal to the world the sanctifying
effects of the truth on our own characters. If we are not better men and
women, if we are not more kindhearted, more pitiful, more courteous, more
full of tenderness and love, if we do not manifest to others the love that led
Jesus to the world on His mission of mercy, we are not witnesses to the
world of the power of Jesus Christ.
Jesus lived not to please Himself. He gave Himself as a living, con-
suming sacrifice for the good of others. He came to elevate, to ennoble, to
make happy all with whom He came in contact. Those who receive Christ
will drop out all that is uncourteous, harsh, and rough, and will reveal the
pleasantness, the kindness, that dwelt in Jesus, because Christ abides in
the heart by faith. Christ was the light that shineth in darkness, and His
followers are also to be the light of the world. They are to kindle their taper
from the divine altar. The character that is sanctified through the truth adds
the perfect polish.
Christ is our model, but unless we behold Him, unless we contemplate
His character, we shall not reflect His character in our practical life. He
was meek and lowly in heart. He never did a rude action, never spoke a
discourteous word. The Lord is not pleased with our blunt, hard, unsympa-
thetic ways toward others. All this selfishness must be purged away from
our characters, and we must wear the yoke of Christ. Then we ... shall be
fitting up for the society of heavenly angels. We are to be in the world but
not of the world. We are to be a representation of Jesus Christ. As the Lord
of life and glory came to our world to represent the Father, so we are to go
to the world to represent Jesus
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36
Letter 60, 1894
.
316