152 Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists
guard over his own heart, not permitting himself to think evil of his
brethren, but giving them credit for all the good qualities they possess.
We should store the mind with the precious promises and instructions
of God’s word. When Satan seeks to divert the attention to things of
no profit, then we should think and talk of these heavenly promises,
and the tempter will be vanquished. By thus battling day by day, with
earnest prayer and determined faith, all may gain the victory. Those
who have most to overcome will be like the sinner to whom Christ
forgave much, and who loved much; and they will at last stand nearest
to the throne.
Christ is willing to help all who feel their need of help; but if any
are satisfied with themselves, the Saviour will pass them by. Flavel
has said: “When the Lord intends to fill a soul, he first makes it empty;
when he intends to enrich a soul, he first makes it poor; when he
intends to exalt a soul, he first makes it sensible of its own miseries,
want, and nothingness.” I desired our brethren to have a sense of their
wasted or unimproved opportunities, to realize that they were dwarfs
in the religious life, when they might be giants.
The statement which is sometimes made, that we must all come
down upon a level, is not Bible teaching. While the Christian should
cherish humility and meekness, he is, in learning these lessons, coming
in connection with Christ, coming up to a higher plane of action. The
Lord would have the subjects of his kingdom represent the character
of their sovereign. The religion of Christ never degrades the receiver;
never makes him careless in his dress, neglectful of his manners and
habits, or rough and uncourteous in speech. It elevates the receiver,
refines his taste, sanctifies his judgment, purifies the thoughts, and
makes the actions holy; it prepares him to become a member of the
great family above.
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The church at Christiania have not a twentieth part of the influ-
ence they might have possessed, if they had rightly improved their
opportunities and privileges. Their ideas are altogether too narrow.
Each should turn his attention to himself, to make the most of every
advantage, that he may become a help and strength to the church. God
has committed to them sacred truths, through which they are to be
sanctified and to reflect light to the world. They are to show what
the truth can do for even coarse, rough stones out of the quarry of the
world. What these brethren need is elevation of thought, and refine-