Sympathy for the Poor
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the poor and the orphan. These are in a special sense the little ones
whom Christ looks upon, whom it is an offense to Him to neglect.
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Those who do neglect them are neglecting Christ in the person of His
afflicted ones.
Every kind act done to them in the name of Jesus, is accepted
by Him as if done to Himself, for He identifies His interest with that
of suffering humanity, and He has entrusted to His church the grand
work of ministering to Jesus by helping and blessing the needy and
suffering. On all who shall minister to them with willing hearts, the
blessing of the Lord will rest.
Until death shall be swallowed up in victory, there will be orphans
to be cared for, who will suffer in more ways than one if the tender
compassion and loving-kindness of our church members are not exer-
cised in their behalf. The Lord bids us, “Bring the poor that are cast
out to thy house.” Christianity must supply fathers and mothers for
these homeless ones. The compassion for the widow and the orphan
manifested in prayers and deeds, will come up in remembrance before
God, to be rewarded by and by....
Mercy the Evidence of Our Union With God
God imparts His blessing to us, that we may give to others. And
as long as we yield ourselves as the channels through which His love
can flow, He will keep the channels supplied. When you ask God
for your daily bread, He looks right into your heart to see if you will
impart the same to others, more needy than yourself. When you
pray, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” He watches to see if you will
manifest compassion to those with whom you associate. This is the
evidence of our connection with God,—that we are merciful even as
our Father who is in heaven is merciful. If we are His, we shall do
with a cheerful heart just what He tells us to do, however inconvenient,
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however contrary it may be to our own feelings....
It is in doing the works of Christ, ministering as He did to the
suffering and afflicted, that we are to develop Christian character. It is
for our good that God has called us to practice self-denial for Christ’s
sake, to bear the cross, to labor and sacrifice in seeking to save that
which is lost. This is the Lord’s process of refining, purging away
the baser material, that the precious traits of character which were in