56
Welfare Ministry
It is not possible for the heart in which Christ abides to be destitute
of love. If we love God because He first loved us, we shall love all
for whom Christ died. We cannot come in touch with divinity without
coming in touch with humanity; for in Him who sits upon the throne
of the universe, divinity and humanity are combined. Connected with
Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the
chain of love. Then the pity and compassion of Christ will be manifest
in our life. We shall not wait to have the needy and unfortunate brought
to us. We shall not need to be entreated to feel for the woes of others.
It will be as natural for us to minister to the needy and suffering as it
was for Christ to go about doing good.
Wherever there is an impulse of love and sympathy, wherever
the heart reaches out to bless and uplift others, there is revealed the
working of God’s Holy Spirit.—
Christ’s Object Lessons, 384, 385
.
Christ’s Love and Sympathy Drew the People—It was the out-
cast, the publican and sinner, the despised of the nations, that Christ
called, and by His loving-kindness compelled to come unto Him. The
one class that He would never countenance was those who stood apart
in their self-esteem, and looked down upon others.—
The Ministry of
Healing, 164
.
[83]
To Love as Christ Loved—The love that is inspired by the love we
have for Jesus will see in every soul, rich and poor, a value that cannot
be measured by human estimate. The world sinks into insignificance
in comparison with the value of one soul. The love of God revealed
for man is beyond any human computation. It is infinite. And the
human agent who is a partaker of the divine nature will love as Christ
loves, will work as Christ worked. There will be an inborn compassion
and sympathy which will not fail or be discouraged. This is the spirit
that should be encouraged to live in every heart and be revealed in
every life. This love can only exist and be kept refined, holy, pure, and
elevated through the love in the soul for Jesus Christ, nourished by
daily communion with God. All this coldness on the part of Christians
is a denial of the faith. But this spirit will melt away before the bright
beams of Christ’s love in the follower of Christ. Willingly, naturally,
he will obey the injunction, “Love one another as I have loved you.”—
Manuscript 60, 1897
.
Pray for Sympathetic Hearts—As surely as we believe in Christ
and do His will, not exalting self, but walking in all humility of mind,