Love for the Erring
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and the Saviour has plainly said: “With what judgment ye judge, ye
shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to
you again.” Who can stand before God and plead a faultless character,
a blameless life? And how, then, dare any criticize and condemn
their brethren? Those who themselves can hope for salvation only
through the merits of Christ, who must seek forgiveness by virtue of
His blood, are under the strongest obligation to exercise love, pity, and
forgiveness toward their fellow sinners.
Brethren, unless you educate yourselves to respect the place of
devotion, you will receive no blessing from God. You may worship
Him in form, but there will be no spiritual service. “Where two or
three are gathered together in My name,” says Jesus, “there am I in the
midst of them.” All should feel that they are in the divine presence, and
instead of dwelling upon the faults and errors of others they should be
diligently searching their own hearts. If you have confessions to make
of your own sins, do your duty and leave others to do theirs.
When you indulge your own harshness of character by manifesting
a hard, unfeeling spirit you are repulsing the very ones whom you
should win. Your harshness destroys their love of assembling together
and too often results in driving them from the truth. You should realize
that you yourselves are under the rebuke of God. While you condemn
others, the Lord condemns you. You have a duty to do to confess your
own unchristian conduct. May the Lord move upon the hearts of the
individual members of the church until His transforming grace shall
be revealed in the life and the character. Then when you assemble
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together, it will not be to criticize one another, but to talk of Jesus and
His love.
Our meetings should be made intensely interesting. They should
be pervaded with the very atmosphere of heaven. Let there be no long,
dry speeches and formal prayers merely for the sake of occupying the
time. All should be ready to act their part with promptness, and when
their duty is done, the meeting should be closed. Thus the interest will
be kept up to the last. This is offering to God acceptable worship. His
service should be made interesting and attractive and not be allowed to
degenerate into a dry form. We must live for Christ minute by minute,
hour by hour, and day by day; then Christ will dwell in us, and when
we meet together, His love will be in our hearts, welling up like a