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Humble Hero
His brethren. He became flesh, the same as we are. He shared the
condition of mankind, yet He was the blameless Son of God. He
was God in the flesh. His character is to be ours.
Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, with its base resting on the
earth and the topmost rung reaching heaven. If that ladder had failed
to reach the earth by even a single step, we would have been lost. But
Christ reaches us where we are. He took our nature and overcame,
so that we, through taking His nature, may overcome. Made “in
the likeness of sinful flesh” (
Romans 8:3
), He lived a sinless life.
Now He asks us by faith in Him to come up to the glory of God’s
character.
We are to be perfect, even as our “Father in heaven is perfect.”
Jesus had shown what righteousness consists of and had pointed
to God as its source. Now He turned to practical duties. “Do nothing
to attract attention or win praise to self. Give in sincerity, to benefit
the suffering poor. In prayer, talk with God. In fasting, do not let
the heart be filled with thoughts of self.”
Service given with a sincere heart has great rewards. “Your
Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” By the
life we live through the grace of Christ, we form our character.
Christ gives us the attributes of His character, and the divine image
begins to shine out. Men and women who walk and work with God
are surrounded with the atmosphere of heaven. For these souls the
kingdom of God has begun.
“No one can serve two masters.” Bible religion is not one influ-
ence among many others. It is to saturate the whole life.
“If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full
of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of
darkness.” Whoever wants to know the truth must be willing to
accept all that it reveals. If we waver and are halfhearted in allegiance
to truth, we are choosing error and Satan’s delusions.
Worldly schemes and the principles of righteousness do not blend
into each other, like the colors of the rainbow. God draws a clear
line between the two. The likeness of Christ stands out distinctly
from that of Satan, like noontime contrasts with midnight. And only
those who live the life of Christ are His coworkers.
All who have chosen God’s service are to rest in His care. Christ
pointed to the birds flying in the heavens and to the flowers of the