A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” So he divided to them his livelihood. Luke 15:11, 12. (Read Luke 15:11-32.)

It was to answer the accusation of the scribes and Pharisees to the effect that Jesus chose the companionship of sinners that He spake the parables concerning the lost sheep, the lost silver, and the prodigal son, and in these presentations showed that His mission to the world was not to make miserable, not to condemn and destroy, but to recover that which was lost…. These were the very ones that needed a Savior….

The prodigal son was not a dutiful son, not one who would please his father, but one who desired his own way…. The tender sympathy and love of his father were misinterpreted, and the more patient, kind, and benevolent the father acted, the more restless the son became. He thought his liberty was restricted, for his idea of liberty was wild license, and as he craved to be independent of all authority, he broke loose from all the restraint of his father’s house, and soon spent his fortune in riotous living. A great famine arose in the country in which he sojourned, and in his hunger he would fain have filled himself with the husks that the swine did eat….

He had no one now to say: “Do not do that, for you will do injury to yourself. Do this, because it is right.” … Starvation stared him in the face, and he joined himself to a citizen of the place. He was sent to do the most menial of work—to feed the swine. Although this to a Jew was the most disreputable of callings, yet he was willing to do anything, so great was his need….

He is suffering keen hunger, and cannot fill his want, and, under these circumstances he remembers that his father has bread enough and to spare, and resolves to go to his father…. Having made this decision, he does not wait to make himself more respectable…. “When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” …

The home looks just as it did when he left it; but what a difference there is in himself…. The father does not give him a chance to say, “Make me as one of thy hired servants.” The welcome he receives assures him that he is reinstated to the place of son.—Signs of the Times, January 29, 1894.

From From the Heart

If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? Matthew 18:12. (Read Matthew 18:11-14.)

In the parable of the shepherd seeking for the lost sheep is a representation of the tender patience, perseverance, and great love of God. As we contemplate the unselfish love of God, our hearts well up with gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving. We praise Him for the priceless gift of His only begotten Son. There is no animal so helpless and bewildered as is the sheep that has strayed away from the fold. If the wanderer is not sought for by the compassionate shepherd, it will never find its way back to the fold. The shepherd must take it in his arms himself, and bear it to the fold….

The Pharisees were ready to accuse and condemn Jesus because He did not, like themselves, repulse and condemn the publicans and sinners…. They thought that the law would justify them, and they would not consider the compassion and mercy that Jesus presented in His lessons as necessary to be brought into their practical life…. Christ never invited the wicked to come to Him to be saved in their sins, but to be saved from their sins….

Christ did not ordain the plan of salvation for any one people or nation. He said: “I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” …

Let every desponding, distrustful soul take courage, even though that individual may have done wickedly…. You are not to think that perhaps God will pardon your transgressions and permit you to approach into His presence, but you are to remember that it is God who has made the first advance, that He has come forth to seek you while you were still in rebellion against Him….

If the ardor and enthusiasm encouraged as necessary to the success of attaining worldly things is not commendable in seeking the salvation of the lost, which has a twofold object—to bless and to make us a blessing—what is? Through conversion we are personally placed in vital connection with Jesus Christ, who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.—Signs of the Times, January 22, 1894.

From From the Heart

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3.

If Christ had thought it necessary, He could have opened to His disciples mysteries which would have eclipsed and put far out of sight all the discoveries of the human mind. He could have presented facts concerning every subject that would have gone beyond human reasonings, and yet not misrepresented the truth in any particular. He could have revealed that which was unknown, that which would have put imagination to the stretch and attracted the thoughts of successive generations to the close of earth’s history. He could have opened doors into the mysteries that the human mind had sought in vain to open. He could have presented to men and women a tree of knowledge from which they might have plucked from age to age; but this work was not essential to their soul’s salvation, and the knowledge of the character of God was necessary to their eternal interests….

Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, came to plant the tree of life for the human family and to invite the members of a fallen race to eat and be satisfied. He came to reveal to them what was their only hope, their only happiness, both in this world and in that which is to come…. He would allow nothing to divert His attention from the work which He came to do….

Jesus saw that people needed to have their minds attracted to God, that they might become acquainted with His character and obtain the righteousness of Christ represented in His holy law. He knew that it was necessary that all should have a faithful representation of the divine character, that they might not be deceived by the misrepresentations of Satan, who had cast his hellish shadow athwart their pathway, and to their minds clothed God with his own satanic characteristics….

However great and wise the teachers of the world might have been regarded in His day or may be regarded in our day, yet in comparison to Him they are not to be admired; for all the truth they uttered was but that which He originated, and all that came from any other source was foolishness. Even the truth they uttered, in His mouth was beautified and made glorious; for He presented it in simplicity and dignity.—Signs of the Times, May 1, 1893.

From From the Heart

There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it. Matthew 21:33. (Read Matthew 21:33-41.)

A description of this vineyard is given in Isaiah: “Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein.”

This figure represents the advantages and opportunities given to Israel…. Through Moses they received divine precepts and commandments…. God gave them riches and prosperity. They had every temporal and every spiritual advantage. They were hedged about by the law of ten commandments. This was what distinguished Israel from every other nation on the face of the earth.

The church is God’s peculiar treasure, precious in His sight, and dear to His heart of infinite love…. The householder made every provision that the vineyard should receive the best of attention. Nothing was left undone that could be done to make the vineyard an honor to the one who owned it….

With fire and tempest and death the great I AM redeemed His people, to make them glorious as His special representatives. He took them out of the land of bondage. He bore them as upon eagles’ wings and brought them unto Himself, that they might dwell under the shadow of the Most High. Christ was the invisible leader of the children of Israel in their wilderness wanderings…. They witnessed a most wonderful manifestation of God’s power when they passed through the Red Sea. And day by day they journeyed under the pillar of cloud, the symbol of the divine presence….

With such a Leader, with such manifestations of His greatness and power, the children of Israel should have been inspired with faith and courage to go forward…. Only two of those who crossed the Red Sea lived to go over into the promised land….

We need to beware lest we suffer the same fate as did ancient Israel. The history of their disobedience and downfall has been recorded for our instruction, that we may avoid doing as they did.—The Review and Herald, July 10, 1900.

From From the Heart

When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. Matthew 22:11. (Read Matthew 22:1-14.)

By the help of the Holy Spirit, men and women can rise from commonness and live pure, holy lives. Those professed believers who do not do this lie against the truth…. They do not show forth in word and deportment the transforming power that attends the truth. How can the Lord be pleased with those who make no effort to rise to a high standard? Do they not claim to have received a high, noble truth? …

God does not ask men and women to surrender anything that is for the health of soul or body, but He does ask them to surrender debasing, enfeebling vices which, if cherished, will exclude them from heaven. He leaves them room for every pleasure that can be enjoyed without compunction of conscience, and remembered without remorse. He asks them, for their present and eternal good, to cultivate those virtues that bring health to the body and strength to the soul. Pure thoughts and correct habits are necessary to our happiness as human beings and as Christians. Everything of a debasing character must be overcome if we would see the King in His beauty….

The Lord can and will help everyone who seeks His help in the effort to become pure and holy…. Have earnest efforts been made to overcome natural inclinations to wrong, to conquer the habits and practices that were a part of the life before the acceptance of the truth? Are those who claim to believe the truth as untidy and disorderly in the home and as un-Christlike in the daily life as before they professed to accept Christ? If so, they are not showing forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness. They have not put on Christ’s righteousness.

Strive to make decided improvement. Cleanse yourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. Be neat and tidy in your dress, and kind and courteous in your manner. Be pure and refined, for heaven is the very essence of purity and refinement. As God is pure and holy in His sphere, so we are to be in our sphere.

Read carefully and critically the parable of the wedding garment, and make a personal application of the lessons it teaches…. Those who make a profession of faith, and yet remain unchanged in habit and practice, are represented … by the man who came to the feast without a wedding garment.—The Review and Herald, February 26, 1901.

From From the Heart