Man’s Duty to His Fellow Men
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word of God is to us a daguerreotype of the mind of God and of Christ,
also of man fallen, and of man renewed after the image of Christ,
possessing the divine mind. We may compare our thoughts, feelings,
and intentions with the picture of Christ. We have no relationship with
Him unless we are willing to work the works of Christ.
Christ came to do His Father’s will. Are we following in His steps?
All who have named the name of Christ should be constantly seeking
for a more intimate acquaintance with Him, that they may walk even
as He walked, and do the works of Christ. We should appropriate the
lessons of His life to our lives. Christ “gave Himself for us, that He
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works.” “Hereby perceive we the love of God,
because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren.” Here is the work of self-denial upon which
we must enter with cheerfulness, in imitation of the example of our
Redeemer. The Christian’s life must be one of conflict and of sacrifice.
The path of duty should be followed, not the path of inclination and
choice.
When the family of Brother I see the work before them, and do
the work God has left them to do, they will not be so widely separated
from Brother and Sister O and Sister N, and those who are working in
union with the Master. It may take time to attain perfect submission to
God’s will, but we can never stop short of it and be fitted for heaven.
True religion will lead its possessor on to perfection. Your thoughts,
your words, and your actions, as well as your appetites and passions,
must be brought into subjection to the will of God. You must bear fruit
unto holiness. Then you will be led to defend the poor, the fatherless,
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the motherless, and the afflicted. You will do justice to the widow
and will relieve the needy. You will deal justly, love mercy, and walk
humbly before God.
We must let Christ into our hearts and homes if we would walk in
the light. Home should be made all that the word implies. It should be
a little heaven upon earth, a place where the affections are cultivated
instead of being studiously repressed. Our happiness depends upon this
cultivation of love, sympathy, and true courtesy to one another. The
reason there are so many hardhearted men and women in our world
is that true affection has been regarded as weakness and has been
discouraged and repressed. The better part of the nature of persons of