Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works. Revelation 2:1, 2.

These words fall from the lips of One who cannot lie. The picture reveals eternal vigilance. Christ is in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, walking from church to church, from congregation to congregation, from heart to heart. He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. If the candlesticks were left to the care of human agents, how often the light would flicker and go out. But God has not given His church into the hands of men. Christ, the One who gave His life for the world, that all who believe in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life, is the true Watchman of the house. He is the Warder, faithful and true, of the temple-courts of the Lord. We have reason to thank God that we are not dependent on the presence of earthly priest or minister. We are kept by the power of God. The presence and grace of Christ is the secret of all life and light….

A holy Watcher notes every work and action of our lives, and weighs every motive that prompts to action. The hand that traced the characters on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace is everywhere writing, “God is here.” God is in every place. All our words, all our plans, all our secret motives, are weighed in the balances of infinite justice and truth.

Shall the compassionate, self-sacrificing Saviour find us wanting in tenderness, love, sympathy for those for whom He gave His life? God has granted us gracious opportunities for service. He has provided us with precious talents, and we are answerable to Him for the use we make of them. If we use them wisely, God will call us laborers together with Him. If we cleanse ourselves from every impure, selfish principle, we shall one day hear the benediction, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, said, “The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3). David says, “Men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity” (Psalm 62:9). Isaiah declares, “Thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just” (Isaiah 26:7). And Solomon writes, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirit” (Proverbs 16:2).

There is not a motive in the heart that the Lord does not read. He reads every purpose, every thought.—Manuscript 99, July 12, 1902, “A Holy People.”

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And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Psalm 37:6.

Humility is greatly needed. If cherished, it would be an ornament of great value in the sight of God. It is essential in the work. But there is no virtue in thinking that humility consists in cheap inefficiency. While humility is always essential in the service of God, while it must always be cultivated, be careful that it does not degenerate into the timidity which leads men to waver when circumstances require them to stand stiffly for the truth. There must be no half-and-half service offered to God. To every man the Lord has given his work. Everyone is to be a channel through which the Lord can work to communicate the will of Heaven….

Arduous and unpleasant duties have to be performed. None are to place themselves where they will sanction wrong by silence. They aid and abet the schemes of the enemy by keeping their lips closed when they should speak decidedly, though not in a boasting, self-sufficient manner. They are to speak the truth in love….

God in His great mercy will give to all His believing people efficiency and power for His work and service, even as He gave power to Joseph, Samuel, Daniel, Timothy, and scores of others who availed themselves of His promises. They believed Him and relied upon Him, and this was their righteousness. Men and women have to move by faith. They have to press their way through the cloud of objections which Satan brings up to hinder their progress. When God sees that they will trust Him as their helper and their efficiency, they may pass safely through the great darkness of men’s unconsecration….

Without the constant help which comes only from God, even those who are looked upon as the most eminent believers are in danger of falling into the sins which Satan has prepared to dishonor God. Bear in mind, all who claim to be believers, that it is only when you have that faith which works by love and purifies the soul, only when you have the joy of Christ’s salvation in the heart, that you are qualified to guide sinners to repentance and reformation. It is the genuine believer, who not only assents to the truth, but believes and practices the truth, who is not satisfied unless he has with him the presence of God, that is a power for good in the world….

Christ, the One who gave His life for the life of the world, that all who believe in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life, is the true Watchman of the house…. We are kept by the power of God. The presence and grace of Christ is the secret of all life and light.—Letter 79, July 11, 1901, to A. G. Daniells.

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Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. Matthew 13:52.

Truth constantly enriches the receiver. The minds of those who receive the truth increase in activity. As they exercise their talents, seeking to improve every capability, their mental and spiritual powers strengthen, for where there is spiritual life, there is development and growth. There is no possibility of the treasures of the householder diminishing, if rightly used.

Mighty truths have been buried beneath the sophistry of error, but they will be found by the diligent searcher. As he finds and opens the treasure house of the precious jewels of truth, it is no robbery, for all who appreciate these jewels may possess them, and then they too have a treasure house to open to others. He who imparts does not deprive himself of the treasure, for as he examines it, that he may present it in such a way as to attract others, he finds new treasures.

The treasures of truth in our possession must be given to the world, that they may have opportunity to learn the value of truth. The necessities of those who are suffering from spiritual poverty must be relieved. And not only will the minds of those helped be impressed, but the mind of him who is doing the work will be quickened by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the cooperation of the power that comes from God alone, he will be enabled to make the truth so plain that it will vibrate in other minds….

Christ died for the whole world, yet how few fill the place God has assigned to them as householders. The talents lent us in trust are to be used to benefit and bless others. They are lent to be improved. Their value is in themselves. Whether or not the one to whom they are entrusted realizes their value, they remain the same. But, if he does not appreciate them, they are of no value to him.

Money may be locked up in various ways. It is still money, but it is of no special benefit to anyone. But money wisely invested brings money in return, which may be used to gain more money. Thus it is with the householder’s treasure—the Word of the living God. The use made of the gems of truth determines their value to the possessor. They are to be used to help and bless and save those for whom the Lord gave His only begotten Son. Then they are of the highest value to us, and in this way our talents increase constantly. We add jewel to jewel.—Manuscript 88, July 10, 1898, “The Parable of the Householder.”

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Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. 2 Peter 1:10.

He who beholds Jesus, realizing what He is to us and what we are to Him, will be diligent. He will live on the plan of addition, adding to his faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. This is a process of growth. He who cooperates with Christ will not be found tomorrow where he is today. Every day he will follow on to know the Lord, that he may know that His going forth is prepared as the morning. Of those who live in this way it will be written at last, “Ye are complete in him.”

We are to work not merely for our own souls, but for the souls of all with whom we are connected. Parents are to keep before them the point to which they should work—the perfection of the characters of their children. They are to strive earnestly to perfect the characters of their children, because the future immortal life will show the result of the work they have done.

Those parents who educate their children aright, weeding out every unruly trait, are fitting them to become missionaries for Christ in truth, in righteousness, in holiness. He who in his childhood does service for God, adding to his faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity, is fitting himself to hear the words, “Child, come up higher. Enter the higher school.”

Do you think we shall not learn anything there? We have not the slightest idea of what will then be opened before us. With Christ we shall walk before the living waters. He will open before us the beauty and glory of nature. He will show us what He is to us and what we are to Him. There are lessons we do not know now that we shall know hereafter….

It means everything to us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. God works in us, to will and to do of His good pleasure. If we let Him work, He will work. Our reward in heaven above depends on our daily walk and conversation here below. We can be Christians here. And to be a Christian, it is not necessary that we live in depression, mourning because we cannot have our own way. If we are Christians indeed, Christ is formed within, the hope of glory.—Manuscript 102, July 9, 1899, “Remarks Made by Mrs. E. G. White in the School Chapel.”

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Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13.

In the day when everyone shall be rewarded according as his work has been, how will transgressors appear in their own sight as for a few moments they are permitted to see the record of their life as they have chosen to make it, regardless of the law which through the eternal ages will govern the universe? They will then see what God desired them to do. They will realize that they should have used their blood-bought privileges in behalf of truth and righteousness. They will see that instead of placing their talents and influence on the side of rebellion, thus strengthening the forces of the enemy, they should have devoted their powers to being and doing good….

In the day of judgment men will see what they might have become through the power of Christ. They will see the robbery that they have practiced toward God. They will realize that they have apostatized from their Creator. They will see the good they might have done but did not do. They utterly refused to be made better. The efforts put forth in their behalf were in vain. They knew the claims of God, but they refused to comply with the conditions laid down in His Word. By their own choice they were united with demons. The power given them to use in God’s service they used in the service of self. They made self their god, refusing to submit to any other control. They deceived themselves, and made themselves contemptible in the sight of God….

In the day of judgment all this opens up before the impenitent. Scene after scene passes before them. As plainly as in the light of the noonday sun, they all see what they might have been had they cooperated with God instead of opposing Him. The picture cannot be changed. Their cases are forever decided. They must perish with the one whose ways and works they followed.

A flash of light will come to all lost souls. They will see clearly the mystery of godliness, which during their lifetime they despised and hated. And the fallen angels, endowed with higher intelligence than man, will realize what they have done in using their powers to lead human beings to choose deception and falsehood. All who have united with the deceiver, all who have learned his ways and practiced his deceptions, must perish with him…. The Lord Jesus looks pityingly upon them and says, “Depart.” At that time Zechariah, chapters 3 and 4, will be understood.—Manuscript 37, July 8, 1900, “The Revelations of the Judgment.”

From The Upward Look – Page 203