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Christ’s Object Lessons
The talents, however few, are to be put to use. The question that
most concerns us is not, How much have I received? but, What am I
doing with that which I have? The development of all our powers is
the first duty we owe to God and to our fellow men. No one who is not
growing daily in capability and usefulness is fulfilling the purpose of
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life. In making a profession of faith in Christ we pledge ourselves to
become all that it is possible for us to be as workers for the Master, and
we should cultivate every faculty to the highest degree of perfection,
that we may do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable.
The Lord has a great work to be done, and He will bequeath the
most in the future life to those who do the most faithful, willing service
in the present life. The Lord chooses His own agents, and each day
under different circumstances He gives them a trial in His plan of
operation. In each true-hearted endeavor to work out His plan, He
chooses His agents not because they are perfect but because, through
a connection with Him, they may gain perfection.
God will accept only those who are determined to aim high. He
places every human agent under obligation to do his best. Moral
perfection is required of all. Never should we lower the standard of
righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated ten-
dencies to wrong-doing. We need to understand that imperfection of
character is sin. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as
a perfect, harmonious whole, and every one who receives Christ as a
personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes.
And those who would be workers together with God must strive
for perfection of every organ of the body and quality of the mind. True
education is the preparation of the physical, mental, and moral powers
for the performance of every duty; it is the training of body, mind, and
soul for divine service. This is the education that will endure unto
eternal life.
Of every Christian the Lord requires growth in efficiency and
capability in every line. Christ has paid us our wages, even His own
blood and suffering, to secure our willing service. He came to our
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world to give us an example of how we should work, and what spirit
we should bring into our labor. He desires us to study how we can
best advance His work and glorify His name in the world, crowning
with honor, with the greatest love and devotion, the Father who “so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever