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Character Tested by Presence of the Less Fortunate, June 6
When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you
shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the
widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deuteronomy 24:19
, NKJV.
I saw that it is in the providence of God that widows and orphans, the blind,
the deaf, the lame, and persons afflicted in a variety of ways, have been placed in
close Christian relationship to His church; it is to prove His people and develop
their true character. Angels of God are watching to see how we treat these persons
who need our sympathy, love, and disinterested benevolence. This is God’s test of
our character.
If we have the true religion of the Bible we shall feel that a debt of love, kindness,
and interest is due to Christ in behalf of His children; and we can do no less than to
show our gratitude for His immeasurable love to us while we were sinners unworthy
of His grace, by having a deep interest and unselfish love for fellow believers who
are less fortunate than ourselves.
The two great principles of the law of God are supreme love to God and unselfish
love to our neighbor. The first four commandments and the last six hang upon, or
grow out of, these two principles. Christ explained to the lawyer who his neighbor
was in the illustration of the man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and
who fell among thieves and was robbed and beaten and left half dead.
The priest and the Levite saw this man suffering, but their hearts did not respond
to his wants. They avoided him by passing by on the other side. The Samaritan
came that way, and when he saw the stranger’s need of help he did not question
whether he was a relative or was of his country or creed; but he went to work to
help the sufferer because there was work which needed to be done. He relieved him
as best he could, put him upon his own beast, and carried him to an inn and made
provision for his wants at his own expense.
This Samaritan, said Christ, was neighbor to him who fell among thieves. The
Levite and the priest represent a class in the church who manifest an indifference to
the very ones who need their sympathy and help. This class, notwithstanding their
position in the church, are commandment breakers. The Samaritan represents a
class who are true helpers with Christ and who are imitating His example in doing
good.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:511, 512
.
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