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ing idols instead of the Lord of heaven and earth. Anything that men
love and trust in instead of loving the Lord and trusting wholly in Him
becomes an idol and is thus registered in the books of heaven. Even
blessings are often turned into a curse. The sympathies of the human
heart, strengthened by exercise, are sometimes perverted until they
become a snare. If one is reproved, there are always some who will
sympathize with him. They entirely overlook the harm that has been
done to God’s cause by the wrong influence of one whose life and
character do not in any way resemble those of the Pattern. God sends
His servants with a message to the people professing to be followers
of Christ; but some are children of God only in name, and they reject
the warning.
God has in a wonderful manner endowed man with reasoning
powers. He who fitted the tree to bear its burden of goodly fruit has
made man capable of bearing the precious fruits of righteousness. He
has planted man in His garden and tenderly cared for him, and He
expects him to bear fruit. In the parable of the fig tree Christ says:
“Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit.” For more than two
years has the Owner looked for the fruit that He has a right to expect
from these conferences, but how has His search been rewarded? How
anxiously we watch a favorite tree or plant, expecting it to reward our
care by producing buds, blossoms, and fruit; and how disappointed we
are to find upon it nothing but leaves. With how much more anxiety
and tender interest does the heavenly Father watch the spiritual growth
of those whom He has made in His own image and for whom He
condescended to give His Son that they may be elevated, ennobled,
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and glorified.
The Lord has His appointed agencies to meet men in their errors
and backslidings. His messengers are sent to bear a plain testimony
to arouse them from their sleepy condition and to open the precious
words of life, the Holy Scriptures, to their understanding. These men
are not to be preachers merely, but ministers, light bearers, faithful
watchmen, who will see the threatened danger and warn the people.
They must resemble Christ in their earnest zeal, in their thoughtful
tact, in their personal efforts—in short, in all their ministry. They are
to have a vital connection with God, and are to become so familiar
with the prophecies and the practical lessons of the Old and the New