Our Responsibility
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starving people to whom they were sent. The stores entrusted to them
are used for their own benefit. The means of beneficence is diverted
into channels of selfishness. They barter the means of life for selfish
gain, and leave their fellow beings to die. The cries of the perishing
ascend to heaven, and the Lord writes in His record the tale of robbery.
Think of the horror of human beings dying because those placed
in charge of the means of relief proved unfaithful to their trust. It is
difficult for us to realize that man could be guilty of so terrible a sin.
Yet I am instructed to say to you, my brother, my sister, that Christians
are daily repeating this sin.
In Eden, man fell from his high estate and through transgression
became subject to death. It was seen in heaven that human beings
were perishing, and the compassion of God was stirred. At infinite
cost He devised a means of relief. He “so loved the world, that He
gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
. There was no hope
for the transgressor except through Christ. God saw that “there was no
man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm
brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him.”
Isaiah 59:16
.
The Lord chose a people and made them the depositories of His
truth. It was His purpose that by the revelation of His character through
Israel, men should be drawn to Him. To all the world the gospel
invitation was to be given. Through the teaching of the sacrificial
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service, Christ was to be uplifted before the nations, and all who
would look unto Him should live.
But Israel did not fulfill God’s purpose. They forgot God and
lost sight of their high privilege as His representatives. The blessings
that they had received brought no blessing to the world. All their
advantages were appropriated for their own glorification. They robbed
God of the service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow
men of religious guidance and a holy example.
God finally sent His Son to reveal to men the character of the
Unseen. Christ came and lived on this earth a life of obedience to
God’s law. He gave His precious life to save the world and made
His servants His stewards. With the gift of Christ all the treasures of
heaven were given to man. The church was freighted with the food
of heaven for starving souls. This was the treasure that the people of