260
The Desire of Ages
its influence is to be supreme, pervading and controlling every other. It
is not to be like a dash of color brushed here and there upon the canvas,
but it is to pervade the whole life, as if the canvas were dipped into the
color, until every thread of the fabric were dyed a deep, unfading hue.
“If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of
light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.”
Purity and steadfastness of purpose are the conditions of receiving
light from God. He who desires to know the truth must be willing
to accept all that it reveals. He can make no compromise with error.
To be wavering and halfhearted in allegiance to truth is to choose the
[313]
darkness of error and satanic delusion.
Worldly policy and the undeviating principles of righteousness do
not blend into each other imperceptibly, like the colors of the rainbow.
Between the two a broad, clear line is drawn by the eternal God. The
likeness of Christ stands out as distinct from that of Satan as midday
in contrast with midnight. And only those who live the life of Christ
are His co-workers. If one sin is cherished in the soul, or one wrong
practice retained in the life, the whole being is contaminated. The man
becomes an instrument of unrighteousness.
All who have chosen God’s service are to rest in His care. Christ
pointed to the birds flying in the heavens, to the flowers of the field,
and bade His hearers consider these objects of God’s creation. “Are not
ye of much more value than they?” He said.
Matthew 6:26
, R. V. The
measure of divine attention bestowed on any object is proportionate to
its rank in the scale of being. The little brown sparrow is watched over
by Providence. The flowers of the field, the grass that carpets the earth,
share the notice and care of our heavenly Father. The great Master
Artist has taken thought for the lilies, making them so beautiful that
they outshine the glory of Solomon. How much more does He care for
man, who is the image and glory of God. He longs to see His children
reveal a character after His similitude. As the sunbeam imparts to the
flowers their varied and delicate tints, so does God impart to the soul
the beauty of His own character.
All who choose Christ’s kingdom of love and righteousness and
peace, making its interest paramount to all other, are linked to the
world above, and every blessing needed for this life is theirs. In the
book of God’s providence, the volume of life, we are each given a
page. That page contains every particular of our history; even the hairs