A Work of Reformation Needed
We are living in the midst of an “epidemic of crime,” at which
thoughtful, God-fearing men everywhere stand aghast. The corruption
that prevails, it is beyond the power of the human pen to describe.
Every day brings fresh revelations of political strife, bribery, and
fraud. Every day brings its heart-sickening record of violence and
lawlessness, of indifference to human suffering, of brutal, fiendish
destruction of human life. Every day testifies to the increase of insanity,
murder, and suicide. Who can doubt that satanic agencies are at work
among men with increasing activity to distract and corrupt the mind,
and defile and destroy the body?
And while the world is filled with these evils, the gospel is too often
presented in so indifferent a manner as to make but little impression
upon the consciences or the lives of men. Everywhere there are hearts
crying out for something which they have not. They long for a power
that will give them mastery over sin, a power that will deliver them
from the bondage of evil, a power that will give health and life and
peace. Many who once knew the power of God’s word have dwelt
where there is no recognition of God, and they long for the divine
presence.
The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years
ago—a revelation of Christ. A great work of reform is demanded,
and it is only through the grace of Christ that the work of restoration,
physical, mental, and spiritual, can be accomplished.—
The Ministry
of Healing, 142, 143
(1905).
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