Christians to Represent God
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those duties in daily life which may now be irksome to you, but which
must be done by someone
Many fix their eyes upon the terrible wickedness existing around
them, the apostasy and weakness on every side, and they talk of these
things until their hearts are filled with sadness and doubt. They keep
uppermost before the mind the masterly working of the archdeceiver
and dwell upon the discouraging features of their experience, while
they seem to lose sight of the heavenly Father’s power and His match-
less love. All this is as Satan would have it. It is a mistake to think of
the enemy of righteousness as clothed with so great power, when we
dwell so little upon the love of God and His might. We must talk of
the mightiness of Christ. We are utterly powerless to rescue ourselves
from the grasp of Satan; but God has appointed a way of escape. The
Son of the Highest has strength to fight the battle for us, and “through
Him that loved us” we may come off “more than conquerors.”
There is no spiritual strength for us in constantly brooding over
our weakness and backslidings, and bemoaning the power of Satan.
This great truth must be established as a living principle in our minds
and hearts—the efficacy of the offering made for us; that God can and
does save to the uttermost all who come unto Him complying with
the conditions specified in His word. Our work is to place our will on
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the side of God’s will. Then, through the blood of the atonement, we
become partakers of the divine nature; through Christ we are children
of God, and we have the assurance that God loves us even as He loved
His Son. We are one with Jesus. We walk where Christ leads the way;
He has power to dispel the dark shadows which Satan casts across our
path; and, in place of darkness and discouragement, the sunlight of
His glory shines into our hearts.
Brethren and sisters, it is by beholding that we become changed.
By dwelling upon the love of God and our Saviour, by contemplating
the perfection of the divine character and claiming the righteousness
of Christ as ours by faith, we are to be transformed into the same
image. Then let us not gather together all the unpleasant pictures—
the iniquities and corruptions and disappointments, the evidences
of Satan’s power—to hang in the halls of our memory, to talk over
and mourn over until our souls are filled with discouragement. A
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Testimonies for the Church 3:333