Chapter 116—A Preserving Power
Ye are the salt of the earth.
Matthew 5:13
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By these words of Christ we gain some idea of what constitutes the value
of human influence. It is to work with the influence of Christ, to lift where
Christ lifts, to impart correct principles, and stay the progress of the world’s
corruption. It is to diffuse that grace which Christ alone can impart. It is to
uplift, to sweeten, the lives and characters of others by the power of a pure
example united with earnest faith and love. God’s people are to exercise
a reforming, preserving power in the world. They are to counterwork the
destroying, corrupting influence of evil....
The work of the people of God in the world is to restrain evil, to elevate,
to purify, and to ennoble mankind. The principles of kindness and love and
benevolence are to uproot every fiber of the selfishness that has permeated
all society and corrupted the church.... If men and women will open their
hearts to the heavenly influence of truth and love, these principles will flow
forth again, like streams in the desert, refreshing all, and causing freshness
to appear where now are barrenness and dearth. The influence of those
who keep the way of the Lord will be as far-reaching as eternity. They will
carry with them the cheerfulness of heavenly peace as an abiding, refreshing,
enlightening power.
Again, there is to be an open influence. Christ says, “Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven”....
The light that shines from those who receive Jesus Christ is not self-
originated. It is all from the Light and Life of the world.... Christ is the light,
the life, the holiness, the sanctification, of all who believe, and His light is
to be received and imparted in all good works. In many different ways His
grace is also acting as the salt of the earth; whithersoever this salt finds its
way, to homes or communities, it becomes a preserving power to save all
that is good, and to destroy all that is evil. True religion is the light of the
world, the salt of the earth....
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