Appeal
201
The Father is the vinedresser. He skillfully and mercifully prunes
every fruit-bearing branch. Those who share Christ’s suffering and
reproach now will share His glory hereafter. He “is not ashamed to call
them brethren.” His angels minister to them. His second appearing will
be as the Son of man, thus even in His glory identifying Himself with
humanity. To those who have united themselves to Him, He declares:
“Though a mother may forget her child, ‘yet will not I forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.’ Thou art
continually before Me.”
[231]
Oh, what amazing privileges are proffered us!
Will we put forth most earnest efforts to form this alliance with
Christ, through which alone these blessings are attained? Will we
break off our sins by righteousness and our iniquities by turning unto
the Lord? Skepticism and infidelity are widespread. Christ asked the
question: “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the
earth?” We must cherish a living, active faith. The permanence of our
faith is the condition of our union.
A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union
must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our
redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last and
best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a union
of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being. All who
form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ.
They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will
to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal
obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment as well as a
work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness—sin in
all its forms—must be overcome if we would enter into a union with
Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard,
why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves
to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols.
After the union with Christ has been formed, it can be preserved
only by earnest prayer and untiring effort. We must resist, we must
deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage,
by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory.
Believers become one in Christ, but one branch cannot be sus-
tained by another. The nourishment must be obtained through the vital
connection with the vine. We must feel our utter dependence on Christ.