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Trials and Opposition Bring Benefit, December 4
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try
you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice,
inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his
glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1
Peter 4:12, 13
.
The opposition we meet may prove a benefit to us in many ways. If it is
well borne, it will develop virtues which would never have appeared if the
Christian had nothing to endure. And faith, patience, forbearance, heavenly
mindedness, trust in Providence, and genuine sympathy with the erring, are
the results of trial well borne. These are the graces of the Spirit, which bud,
blossom, and bear fruit amid trials and adversity. Meekness, humility, and
love always grow on the Christian tree. If the word is received into good
and honest hearts, the obdurate soul will be subdued, and faith, grasping the
promises, and relying upon Jesus, will prove triumphant. “This is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith” (
1 John 5:4
).
He who opens the Scriptures, and feeds upon the heavenly manna, be-
comes a partaker of the divine nature. He has no life or experience apart from
Christ. He hears the voice of God speaking from heaven, “This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased” (
Matthew 3:17
). That voice is assurance
to him that he is accepted in the Beloved. And he knows that in character he
must be like Him with whom God is well pleased. God has fully accepted
Christ as our substitute, our surety; then let everyone who names the name of
Christ depart from all iniquity, and be one with Christ in character, that Jesus
may not be ashamed to call us brethren.
He in whom we trust has proved Himself a present help in every time of
need; and as we dwell with Him, we grow more and more into His image.
“We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory [which means from character
to character] even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (
2 Corinthians 3:18
). “For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ” (
2 Corinthians 4:6
).—
The Review and Herald, June 28, 1892
.
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