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Power to Think and to Do, May 21
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come
unto thee.
Job 22:21
.
The law of love calls for the devotion of body, mind, and soul to the service
of God and our fellow men. And this service, while making us a blessing to
others, brings the greatest blessing to ourselves. Unselfishness underlies all true
development. Through unselfish service we receive the highest culture of every
faculty. More and more fully do we become partakers of the divine nature. We are
fitted for heaven; for we receive heaven into our hearts.
Since God is the source of all true knowledge, it is ... the first object of
education to direct our minds to His own revelation of Himself. Adam and Eve
received knowledge through direct communion with God; and they learned of
Him through His works. All created things, in their original perfection, were
an expression of the thought of God. To Adam and Eve nature was teeming
with divine wisdom. But by transgression man was cut off from learning of God
through direct communion and, to a great degree, through His works.
The earth, marred and defiled by sin, reflects but dimly the Creator’s glory. It
is true that His object lessons are not obliterated. Upon every page of the great
volume of His created works may still be traced His handwriting. Nature still
speaks of her Creator. Yet these revelations are partial and imperfect. And in
our fallen state, with weakened powers and restricted vision, we are incapable of
interpreting aright. We need the fuller revelation of Himself that God has given in
His Written Word.
The Holy Scriptures are the perfect standard of truth.... Every human being,
created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator—
individuality, power to think and to do. The men in whom this power is developed
are the men who bear responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who
influence character....
Let students be directed to the sources of truth, to the vast fields opened for
research in nature and revelation. Let them contemplate the great facts of duty
and destiny, and the mind will expand and strengthen.... Instead of some master
passion becoming a power to destroy, every motive and desire are brought into
conformity to the great principles of right. As the perfection of His character is
dwelt upon, the mind is renewed, and the soul is re-created in the image of God....
Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His chil-
dren. Godliness—godlikeness—is the goal to be reached.—
Education, 16-18
.
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