Basic HTML Version
Following the Captain’s Orders, June 25
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No
man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he
may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2 Timothy 2:3, 4
.
We have only a little while to urge the warfare; then Christ will come, and
this scene of rebellion will close. Then our last efforts will have been made
to work with Christ and advance His kingdom. Some who have stood in the
forefront of the battle, zealously resisting incoming evil, fall at the post of
duty; others gaze sorrowfully at the fallen heroes, but have no time to cease
work. They must close up the ranks, seize the banner from the hand palsied
by death, and with renewed energy vindicate the truth and the honor of Christ.
As never before, resistance must be made against sin—against the powers of
darkness. The time demands energetic and determined activity on the part of
those who believe present truth. They should teach the truth by both precept
and example.
If the time seems long to wait for our Deliverer to come, if, bowed by
affliction and worn with toil, we feel impatient for our commission to close,
and to receive an honorable release from the warfare, let us remember—and
let the remembrance check every murmur—that God leaves us on earth to
encounter storms and conflicts, to perfect Christian character, to become
better acquainted with God our Father and Christ our Elder Brother, and to
do work for the Master in winning many souls to Christ, that with glad heart
we may hear the words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: ... enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord” (
Matthew 25:21
).
Be patient, Christian soldier. Yet a little while, and He that shall come
will come. The night of weary waiting, and watching, and mourning is nearly
over. The reward will soon be given; the eternal day will dawn. There is no
time to sleep now—no time to indulge in useless regrets. He who ventures to
slumber now will miss precious opportunities of doing good. We are granted
the blessed privilege of gathering sheaves in the great harvest; and every soul
saved will be an additional star in the crown of Jesus, our adorable Redeemer.
Who is eager to lay off the armor, when by pushing the battle a little longer he
will achieve new victories and gather new trophies for eternity?—
The Review
and Herald, October 25, 1881
.
[186]
190