Appeal to Ministers
241
their labors will be unsuccessful. They should be patient and wise in
dealing with minds, remembering how manifold are the circumstances
that have developed such different traits in individuals. They should
strictly guard themselves also lest self should get the supremacy and
Jesus should be left out of the question.
Some ministers fail of success because they do not give their undi-
vided interest to the work when very much depends upon persistent
and well-directed labor. Many are not laborers; they do not pursue
their business outside of the pulpit. They shirk the duty of going from
house to house and laboring wisely in the home circle. They need to
cultivate that rare Christian courtesy which would render them kind
and considerate toward the souls under their care, working for them
with true earnestness and faith, teaching them the way of life.
Ministers can do much toward molding the characters of those with
whom they are associated. If they are sharp, critical, and exacting,
they will be sure to meet these unhappy elements in the people upon
whom their influence is strongest; though the result is not, perhaps, of
the nature which they desire, yet it is nonetheless the effect of their
own example.
It cannot be expected that the people will enjoy peace and harmony
[263]
unless their religious teachers, whose footsteps they follow, have these
principles largely developed and manifest them in their lives. The
minister of Christ has great responsibilities to bear if he would become
an example for his people and a correct exponent of his Master’s doc-
trine. Men were awed by the purity and moral dignity of our Saviour,
while His unselfish love and gentle benignity won their hearts. He was
the embodiment of perfection. If His representatives would see fruits
attending their labors similar to those that crowned the ministry of
Christ, they should earnestly strive to imitate His virtues and cultivate
those traits of character which would make them like Him.
It requires much forethought and wisdom from God to labor suc-
cessfully for the salvation of sinners. If the soul of the laborer is filled
with the grace of God, his teaching will not irritate his hearers, but
melt its way to their hearts and open them for the reception of the
truth.
The workers in the field should not allow themselves to be discour-
aged; but whatever their surroundings, they should exercise hope and
faith. The minister’s work is but just begun when he has presented