In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people. Isaiah 28:5.

Many seem to think only of the outward adorning, and they make it evident that they are not in Christ by the apparel in which they deck themselves.^{33The Review and Herald, May 5, 1891.}

We are to cultivate the loveliness of Christian character, and to seek the inward adorning…. The religion of Christ never degrades the receiver; it ennobles and elevates. Upon certain conditions we are assured that we may become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Is not this exaltation something worth seeking for? Through faith in Christ and obedience to the requirements of His law we are offered a life that shall run parallel with the life of God. And in that immortal life there shall be no sorrow, no sighing, no pain, no sin, no death. O that we might be more heavenly-minded and bring more of heaven into our life and conversation!

But with all the rich promises of God, how many seem wholly absorbed in the things of earth. They are all taken up with the thought of what shall we eat, what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed? God would not have us center our minds upon the things of this world. We are not to seek for our selfish gratification, but to center the mind upon Christ. Are you separating yourself from everything that will separate you from God? If you are in close connection with God you will talk of Him, you will have an abundance in your heart of the things of heaven….

The Lord is waiting to do great things for His children who trust in Him. Do we expect to dwell with Christ in the eternal world? Then we must dwell with Him here, that He may help us in every time of trial and temptation and make us ready for His coming in the clouds of heaven…. The beauty and grace of Christ must be woven into our characters. We cannot keep Christ so apart from our lives as we do, and yet be fitted for His companionship in heaven. He is to be the all in all of heaven, and must be our all in all upon earth.^34Ibid.

From That I May Know Him

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Hebrews 12:28.

There are many who profess to be Christ’s followers and yet are not doers of His Word. They do not relish this Word because it presents service which is not agreeable to them. They do not relish the wholesome reproofs and close, earnest appeals. They do not love righteousness, but are mastered and tyrannized over by their own erratic, human impulses.

It makes every difference how we do service for God. The boy who drudges through his lessons because he must learn will never become a real student. The man who claims to keep the commandments of God because he thinks he must do it will never enter into the enjoyment of obedience.

The essence and flavor of all obedience is the outworking of a principle within—the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God. The essence of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer, doing right because it is right. When the Word of God is a burden because it cuts directly across human inclinations, then the religious life is not a Christian life, but a tug and a strain, an enforced obedience. All the purity and godliness of religion are set aside.

But adoption into the family of God makes us children, not slaves. When the love of Christ enters the heart we strive to imitate the character of Christ…. The more we study the life of Christ with a heart to learn, the more Christlike we become. Into the heart of every true doer of the Word the Holy Spirit infuses clear understanding. The more we crucify selfish practices by imparting our blessings to others and by exercising our God-given ability, the more the heavenly graces will be strengthened and increased in us. We will grow in spirituality, in patience, in fortitude, in meekness, in gentleness…. A train of cars is not merely attached to the engine; they follow on the same track as the engine. Whom are we following? ^{32Letter 135, 1897.}

From That I May Know Him

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Through His inspired apostle Christ has presented to us the measure of the character that is imbued with the love of Christ. We are to bear the marks of Christ, we are to have His likeness. This example is given us that we may know the possibilities, the heights we may reach in and through Christ. The standard He presents is perfection in Him, and through His merits we may attain to it. We come short because we are content to look at earthly things rather than at heavenly. It is by beholding Christ that we are changed from glory to glory. The eye that views common things needs to be elevated….

No man has yet measured the nature of God or the character of His Son. We must have a knowledge of God by living experience.^{30Letter 102, 1899.}

This life is our time of probation. We are placed under the discipline and government of God to form characters and acquire habits for the higher life…. We shall be subject to heavy trials, opposition, bereavement, affliction, but we know that Jesus passed through all these. These experiences are valuable to us; the advantages are not by any means confined to this short life; they reach into eternal ages…. All the scenes of this life in which we must act a part are to be carefully studied, for they are a part of our education. We should bring solid timbers into our character building, for we are working both for this life and eternal life. And as we near the close of this earth’s history we advance more and more rapidly in Christian growth, or we retrograde just as decidedly….

Mercy and truth have met together in Christ, and righteousness and peace have embraced each other. It is when you are looking to His throne, offering up your penitence and praise and thanksgiving to God, that you perfect Christian character, and represent Christ to the world. You abide in Christ and Christ abides in you.^{31Letter 1f, 1890.}

From That I May Know Him

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Matthew 19:29.

Many are strongly convinced of the truth, but either husband or wife prevents their stepping out. How can one who is in fellowship with Christ’s sufferings refuse to obey His will and do His work? … It is by following in the path of obedience in simple faith that the character attains perfection….

Christ has promised us sufficient power to reach this high standard. He says, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive” (John 14:13-17).

Consider this statement a moment. Why “cannot” the world receive the truth? “Because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him” (verse 17). The world is leagued against the truth, because it does not desire to obey the truth. Shall I, who perceive the truth, close my eyes and heart to its saving power because the world chooses darkness rather than light? Shall I bind myself up with the bundles of tares because my neighbors refuse to be bound up with the wheat? Shall I refuse light, the evidence of truth which leads to obedience, because my relatives and friends choose to follow in the paths of disobedience which lead away from God? Shall I close my mind against the knowledge of truth because my neighbors and friends will not open their understanding to discern the truth as it is in Jesus? Shall I refuse to grow in the grace and knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ because my neighbors consent to remain dwarfs? …

We cannot overestimate the value of simple faith and unquestioning obedience.^{29Letter 119, 1895.}

From That I May Know Him

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11, 12.

Many teach that all that is necessary to salvation is to believe in Jesus, but what saith the word of truth?—“Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). We are to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,” take up the cross, deny self, war against the flesh, and follow daily in the footsteps of the Redeemer….

It is a fatal mistake to think that there is nothing for you to do in obtaining salvation. You are to cooperate with the agencies of heaven…. There is a cross to be lifted in the pathway, a wall to be scaled before you enter the eternal city, a ladder to be climbed before the gate of pearl is reached, and as you realize your inability and weakness and cry for help, a divine voice will come to you from the battlements of heaven saying, “Take hold of my strength” (Isaiah 27:5)….

The controversy that was waged between Christ and Satan is renewed over every soul that leaves the black banner of the prince of darkness to march under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel. The evil one will present the most subtle allurements to draw those away from their allegiance who would be true to Heaven, but we must yield all the powers of our being into the service of God, and then we shall be kept from falling into the snares of the enemy….

Any course of action that weakens your physical or mental power unfits you for the service of your Creator. We are to love God with all our hearts, and if we have an eye single to His glory we shall eat, drink, and clothe ourselves with reference to His divine will. Every one who has a realizing sense of what it means to be a Christian will purify himself from everything that weakens and defiles. All the habits of his life will be brought into harmony with the requirements of the Word of truth, and he will not only believe, but will work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, while submitting to the molding of the Holy Spirit.^{28The Review and Herald, March 6, 1888.}

From That I May Know Him