Our College
385
cutting in reproof, even taunting the one whom he considers at fault.
This same injustice afterward prevents him from admitting that he has
not taken the proper course. To maintain the dignity of his position, he
has lost a precious, golden opportunity to manifest the spirit of Christ,
perhaps to gain a soul for heaven.
Men and women of experience should understand that this is a time
of especial danger for the young. Temptations surround them on every
hand; and while it is easy work to float with the current, the strongest
effort is required to press against the tide of evil. It is Satan’s studied
effort to secure the youth in sin, for then he is more sure of the man.
The enemy of souls is filled with intense hatred against every endeavor
to influence the youth in the right direction. He hates everything which
will give correct views of God and our Saviour, and his efforts are
especially directed against all who are placed in a favorable position
to receive light from heaven. He knows that any movement on their
part to come in connection with God will give them power to resist
his devices. Those who are at ease in their sins are safe under his
[422]
banner. But as soon as efforts are made to break his power, his wrath is
aroused, and he commences in earnest his work to thwart the purpose
of God if possible.
If the influence in our college is what it should be, the youth who
are educated there will be enabled to discern God and glorify Him in
all His work; and while engaged in cultivating the faculties which God
has given them, they will be preparing to render Him more efficient
service. The intellect, sanctified, will unlock the treasures of God’s
word and gather its precious gems to present to other minds and lead
them also to search for the deep things of God. A knowledge of the
riches of His grace will ennoble and elevate the human soul, and
through connection with Christ it will become a partaker of the divine
nature and obtain power to resist the advances of Satan.
Students must be impressed with the fact that knowledge alone may
be, in the hands of the enemy of all good, a power to destroy them. It
was a very intellectual being, one who occupied a high position among
the angelic throng, that finally became a rebel; and many a mind of
superior intellectual attainments is now being led captive by his power.
The sanctified knowledge which God imparts is of the right quality
and will tell to His glory.