Chapter 233—Ever Upward
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.
Colossians 2:6
.
This means that you are to study the life of Christ. You are to study it
with as much more earnestness than you study secular lines of knowledge,
as eternal interests are more important than temporal, earthly pursuits. If
you appreciate the value and sacredness of eternal things, you will bring
your sharpest thoughts, your best energies, to the solving of the problem
that involves your eternal well-being; for every other interest sinks into
nothingness in comparison with that.
You have the Pattern, Christ Jesus; walk in His footsteps.
“Add to your faith virtue” (
2 Peter 1:5
). There is no promise given to the
one who is retrograding. The apostle, in his testimony, is aiming to excite
the believers to advancement in grace and holiness. They already profess to
be living the truth, they have a knowledge of the precious faith, they have
been made partakers of the divine nature. But if they stop here they will lose
the grace they have received....
Truth is an active, working principle, molding heart and life so that there
is a constant upward movement.... In every step of climbing, the will is
obtaining a new spring of action. The moral tone is becoming more like
the mind and character of Christ. The progressive Christian has grace and
love which passes knowledge, for divine insight into the character of Christ
takes a deep hold upon his affections. The glory of the Lord revealed above
the ladder can only be appreciated by the progressive climber, who is ever
attracted higher, to nobler aims which Christ reveals.
The steps upward to heaven must be taken one at a time; every advance
step strengthens us for the next. The transforming power of the grace of God
upon the human heart is a work which but few comprehend because they are
too indolent to make the necessary effort....
It is beyond the power of man to conceive the high and noble attainments
that are within his reach if he will combine human effort with the grace of
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