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Testimonies for the Church Volume 9
“If these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye
shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:8
.
Shall we not strive to use to the very best of our ability the little
time that is left us in this life, adding grace to grace, power to power,
making it manifest that we have a source of power in the heavens
above? Christ says: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in
earth.”
Matthew 28:18
. What is this power given to Him for? For us.
He desires us to realize that He has returned to heaven as our Elder
Brother and that the measureless power given Him has been placed
at our disposal.
Those who will carry out in their lives the instruction given to
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the church through the apostle Peter will receive power from above.
We are to live upon the plan of addition, giving all diligence to make
our calling and election sure. We are to represent Christ in all that
we say and do. We are to live His life. The principles by which
He was guided are to shape our course of action toward those with
whom we are associated.
When we are securely anchored in Christ, we have a power that
no human being can take from us. Why is this? Because we are
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust, partakers of the nature of Him who came
to this earth clothed with the habiliments of humanity, that He might
stand at the head of the human race and develop a character that was
without spot or stain of sin.
Why are many of us so weak and inefficient? It is because
we look to self, studying our own temperaments and wondering
how we can make a place for ourselves, our individuality, and our
peculiarities, in the place of studying Christ and His character.
Brethren who could work together in harmony if they would
learn of Christ, forgetting that they are Americans or Europeans,
Germans or Frenchmen, Swedes, Danes, or Norwegians, seem to feel
that if they should blend with those of other nationalities, something
of that which is peculiar to their own country and nation would be
lost and something else would take its place.
My brethren, let us put all this aside. We have no right to keep
our minds stayed on ourselves, our preferences, and our fancies.
We are not to seek to maintain a peculiar identity of our own, a