God’s Purpose in Our Publishing Houses
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inward working of His Spirit, the fellowship of the soul with Him who
is its life. The greatest manifestation of its power is seen in human
nature brought to the perfection of the character of Christ.
An appearance of wealth or position, expensive architecture or
furnishings, are not essential to the advancement of the work of God;
neither are achievements that win applause from men and administer
to vanity. Worldly display, however imposing, is of no value with God.
While it is our duty to seek for perfection in outward things, it
should ever be kept in mind that this aim is not to be made supreme.
It must be held subordinate to higher interests. Above the seen and
transitory, God values the unseen and eternal. The former is of worth
only as it expresses the latter. The choicest productions of art possess
no beauty that can compare with the beauty of character which is the
fruit of the Holy Spirit’s working in the soul.
When God gave His Son to the world, He endowed human beings
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with imperishable riches, riches compared with which the treasured
wealth of men since the world began is nothingness. Christ came to
the earth and stood before the children of men with the hoarded love
of eternity, and this is the treasure that, through our connection with
Him, we are to receive, to reveal, and to impart.
Our institutions will give character to the work of God just accord-
ing to the consecrated devotion of the workers—by revealing the power
of the grace of Christ to transform the life. We are to be distinguished
from the world because God has placed His seal upon us, because He
manifests in us His own character of love. Our Redeemer covers us
with His righteousness.
In choosing men and women for His service, God does not ask
whether they possess learning or eloquence or worldly wealth. He
asks: “Do they walk in such humility that I can teach them My way?
Can I put My words into their lips? Will they represent Me?”
God can use every person just in proportion as He can put His
Spirit into the soul-temple. The work that He will accept is the work
that reflects His image. His followers are to bear, as their credentials to
the world, the ineffaceable characteristics of His immortal principles.