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Testimonies for the Church Volume 2
bring their offerings in accordance with the blessings which He
has bestowed upon them. But many whom God prospers manifest
base ingratitude to Him. If His blessings rest upon them, and He
increases their substance, they make these bounties as cords to bind
them to the love of their possessions; they allow worldly business to
take possession of their affections and their entire being, and neglect
devotion and religious privileges. They cannot afford to leave their
business cares and come before God even once a year. They turn
the blessings of God into a curse. They serve their own temporal
interests to the neglect of God’s requirements.
Men who possess thousands remain at home year after year,
engrossed in their worldly cares and interests, and feeling that they
cannot afford to make the small sacrifice of attending the yearly
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gatherings to worship God. He has blessed them in basket and in
store, and surrounded them with His benefits on the right hand and
on the left, yet they withhold from Him the small offerings He has
required of them. They love to serve themselves. Their souls will be
like the unrefreshed desert without the dew or rain of heaven. The
Lord has brought to them the precious blessing of His grace. He has
delivered them from the slavery of sin and the bondage of error, and
has opened to their darkened understandings the glorious light of
present truth. And shall these evidences of God’s love and mercy
call forth no gratitude in return? Will those who profess to believe
that the end of all things is at hand be blind to their own spiritual
interest and live for this world and this life alone? Do they expect
that their eternal interest will take care of itself? Spiritual strength
will not come without an effort on their part.
Many who profess to be looking for the appearing of our Lord
are anxious, burdened seekers for worldly gain. They are blind to
their eternal interest. They labor for that which satisfieth not. They
spend their money for that which is not bread. They strive to content
themselves with the treasures they have laid up on the earth, which
must perish. And they neglect the preparation for eternity, which
should be the first and only real work of life.
Let all who possibly can, attend these yearly gatherings. All
should feel that God requires this of them. If they do not avail
themselves of the privileges which He has provided that they may
become strong in Him and in the power of His grace, they will grow