234
Testimonies for the Church Volume 1
His temples, and the blood to flow from that holy brow. Hear that
murderous throng eagerly crying for the blood of the Son of God. He
is delivered into their hands, and they lead the noble sufferer away,
pale, weak, and fainting, to His crucifixion. He is stretched upon the
wooden cross, and the nails are driven through His tender hands and
feet. Behold Him hanging upon the cross those dreadful hours of
agony until the angels veil their faces from the horrid scene, and the
sun hides its light, refusing to behold. Think of these things, and then
ask, Is the way too strait? No, no.
In a divided, halfhearted life, you will find doubt and darkness.
You cannot enjoy the consolations of religion, neither the peace which
the world gives. Do not sit down in Satan’s easy chair of do-little, but
arise, and aim at the elevated standard which it is your privilege to
attain. It is a blessed privilege to give up all for Christ. Look not at the
lives of others and imitate them and rise no higher. You have only one
true, unerring Pattern. It is safe to follow Jesus only. Determine that
if others act on the principle of the spiritual sluggard you will leave
them and march forward toward the elevation of Christian character.
Form a character for heaven. Sleep not at your post. Deal faithfully
and truly with your own soul.
You are indulging an evil which threatens to destroy your spiritu-
ality. It will eclipse all the beauty and interest of the sacred pages. It
is love for storybooks, tales, and other reading which does not have an
influence for good upon the mind that is in any way dedicated to the
service of God. It produces a false, unhealthy excitement, fevers the
imagination, unfits the mind for usefulness, and disqualifies it for any
[242]
spiritual exercise. It weans the soul from prayer and love of spiritual
things. Reading that will throw light upon the sacred volume, and
quicken your desire and diligence to study it, is not dangerous, but
beneficial. You were represented to me with your eyes turned from
the Sacred Book and intently fixed upon exciting books, which are
death to religion. The oftener and more diligently you peruse the
Scriptures, the more beautiful will they appear, and the less relish will
you have for light reading. The daily study of the Scriptures will have
a sanctifying influence upon the mind. You will breathe a heavenly
atmosphere. Bind this precious volume to your hearts. It will prove to
you a friend and guide in perplexity.