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Welfare Ministry
their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process; it is hard to be
pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth
prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless
material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only
His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace.
The Lord will work for all who put their trust in Him. Precious
victories will be gained by the faithful. Precious lessons will be learned.
Precious experiences will be realized.—
Thoughts from the Mount of
Blessing, 23, 24
.
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Affliction and Calamity No Indication of God’s Disfavor—“As
Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. And
His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or
his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this
man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made
manifest in him.”âC¦
It was generally believed by the Jews that sin is punished in this
life. Every affliction was regarded as the penalty of some wrongdoing,
either of the sufferer himself or of his parents. It is true that all suffering
results from the transgression of God’s law, but this truth had become
perverted. Satan, the author of sin and all its results, had led men to
look upon disease and death as proceeding from God—as punishment
arbitrarily inflicted on account of sin. Hence one upon whom some
great affliction or calamity had fallen, had the additional burden of
being regarded as a great sinner....
God had given a lesson designed to prevent this. The history of
Job had shown that suffering is inflicted by Satan, and is overruled by
God for purposes of mercy. But Israel did not understand the lesson.
The same error for which God had reproved the friends of Job was
repeated by the Jews in their rejection of Christ.
The belief of the Jews in regard to the relation of sin and suffering
was held by Christ’s disciples. While Jesus corrected their error. He
did not explain the cause of the man’s affliction, but told them what
would be the result. Because of it the works of God would be made
manifest. “As long as I am in the world,” He said, “I am the light of the
world.” Then having anointed the eyes of the blind man, He sent him
to wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man’s sight was restored. Thus
[22]
Jesus answered the question of the disciples in a practical way, as He
usually answered questions put to Him from curiosity. The disciples