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Christ An Example In Social Power, January 17
And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans
and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were
many, and they followed him.
Mark 2:15
.
All who profess to be children of God should bear in mind that as missionaries
they will be brought into contact with all classes of minds. There are the refined
and the coarse, the humble and the proud, the religious and the skeptical, the
educated and the ignorant, the rich and the poor. These varied minds cannot be
treated alike; yet all need kindness and sympathy. By mutual contact our minds
should receive polish and refinement. We are dependent upon one another, closely
bound together by the ties of human brotherhood....
It is through the social relations that Christianity comes in contact with the
world. Every man or woman who has received the divine illumination is to shed
light on the dark pathway of those who are unacquainted with the better way.
Social power, sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, must be improved in bringing
souls to the Saviour. Christ is not to be hid away in the heart as a coveted treasure,
sacred and sweet, to be enjoyed solely by the possessor. We are to have Christ in
us as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life, refreshing all who come in
contact with us.—
The Ministry of Healing, 495, 496
.
Christ did not refuse to mingle with others in friendly intercourse. When
invited to a feast by Pharisee or publican, He accepted the invitation. On such
occasions every word that He uttered was a savor of life unto life to His hearers;
for He made the dinner hour an occasion of imparting many precious lessons
adapted to their needs. Christ thus taught His disciples how to conduct themselves
when in the company of those who were not religious as well as of those who
were. By His own example He taught them that, [in] any public gathering, their
conversation need not be of the same character as that usually indulged in on such
occasions....
If Christ is abiding in the soul there will come forth from the treasure house
of the heart words which are pure and uplifting; if Christ is not abiding there, a
satisfaction will be found in frivolity, in jesting and joking, which is a hindrance to
spiritual growth and a cause of grief to the angels of God. The tongue is an unruly
member, but it should not be so. It should be converted; for the talent of speech is
a very precious talent. Christ is ever ready to impart of His riches, and we should
gather the jewels that come from Him, that, when we speak, these jewels may
drop from our lips.—
Testimonies for the Church 6:173, 174
.
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