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Show Yourself a Man, February 10
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
1
Corinthians 16:13
.
You can do a much greater and more efficient work, if you will cultivate a calm
trust in God, and do not become anxious, and worried, and troubled, as though
Jesus were buried in the sepulcher, and you had no Saviour. He has risen,... He
has ascended to the heavens, and is your Advocate before the throne of God....
The followers of Jesus need not be amazed if they are made partakers with
Christ of His sufferings. How can Christ look upon those for whom He has
done so much, for whom He has paid so infinite a price, and yet they have never
appreciated His great gift for them. The work of Christ’s representatives will be
similar to that of their Redeemer. They are not to look to self or trust in self. They
are not to place too high an estimate upon their own efforts. And when they see
that others do not regard their efforts as highly as they themselves estimate them,
they come to feel that their labors might as well cease. But this is the work of the
enemy. We live not to men but to God. God estimates our work at their fullest
value. God estimates nobility of character, and whether men appreciate it or not, it
lives after the man is gone. After man has nothing more to do with anything under
the sun, the example he has set, the golden words he has spoken, live through all
time and through all eternity. This influence which was after the divine pattern
never dies. His life has been connected with God.
We all have a personal influence, and our words and actions leave an indelible
impress. It is our duty not to live for self, but for the good of others—not to be
controlled by feelings, but to consider that our influence is a power for good or
evil. God would have His workmen be that which David charged Solomon to be,
“Show yourself a man.” ...
God is not pleased that any one of His representatives worries, wearies, and
wears himself out, so that he does not diffuse the sweet fragrance of heaven in
his life. We have but one life to live. Jesus has come to our world to teach us
how to live that life, that we may represent the character of heaven. We must
never grow fainthearted, for it will be far worse for ourselves and for others within
the reach of our influence. God requires us to behave with dignity under trials
and temptations. The Man of Sorrows, who was acquainted with grief, is before
us as our example. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne”
(
Revelation 3:21
).—
Letter 7, February 10, 1885
, to Daniel T. Bourdeau, early
worker in Europe.
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