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The Desire of Ages
its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs. Thus their
character is marred, and their life made a weariness. In order to gratify
ambition and worldly desires, they wound the conscience, and bring
upon themselves an additional burden of remorse. The continual worry
is wearing out the life forces. Our Lord desires them to lay aside this
yoke of bondage. He invites them to accept His yoke; He says, “My
yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” He bids them seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and His promise is that all
things needful to them for this life shall be added. Worry is blind, and
cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In
every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly
Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know
nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service
and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain
path before their feet.
“Learn of Me,” says Jesus; “for I am meek and lowly in heart: and
ye shall find rest.” We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from
Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which
the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of
Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that
have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul
must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.
In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God,
there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, nor dejected
by censure or disappointment. Amid the greatest opposition and the
most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. But many who
profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because
they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a
complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences
that such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender,
they cannot find peace.
It is the love of self that brings unrest. When we are born from
above, the same mind will be in us that was in Jesus, the mind that
led Him to humble Himself that we might be saved. Then we shall
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not be seeking the highest place. We shall desire to sit at the feet of
Jesus, and learn of Him. We shall understand that the value of our
work does not consist in making a show and noise in the world, and in
being active and zealous in our own strength. The value of our work is