Each of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:12.

God has given to “every man his work.” He has not left the spiritual interests of the church wholly in the hands of the minister. It is not for the good of the minister, nor for the good of the individual members of the church, that the minister should undertake exclusive charge of the Lord’s heritage. Each member of the church has a part to act in order that the body may be preserved in a healthful condition. We are all members of the same body, and each member must act a part for the benefit of all the others. All members have not the same office. As the members of our natural body are directed by the head, so as members of the spiritual body we should submit ourselves to the direction of Christ, the living head of the church….

The minister and the church members are to unite as one person in laboring for the upbuilding and prosperity of the church. Every one who is a true soldier in the army of the Lord will be an earnest, sincere, efficient worker, laboring to advance the interests of Christ’s kingdom….

Many members of the church have been deprived of the experience which they should have had, because the sentiment has prevailed that the minister should do all the work and bear all the burdens. Either the burdens have been crowded upon the minister, or he has assumed those duties that should have been performed by the members of the church. Ministers should take the officers and members of the church into their confidence, and teach them how to labor for the Master. Thus the minister will not have to perform all the labor himself, and at the same time the church will receive greater benefit than if he endeavored to do all the work and release the members of the church from acting the part which the Lord designed that they should….

The burden of church work should be distributed among its individual members, so that each one may become an intelligent laborer for God. There is altogether too much unused force in our churches…. Many have willing hands and hearts, but they are discouraged from putting their energies into the work…. The wisdom to adapt ourselves to peculiar situations, the strength to act in time of emergency, are acquired by putting to use the talents the Lord has given us and by gaining an experience through personal work.—The Review and Herald, July 9, 1895.

From From the Heart

And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood. Exodus 12:22.

The directions that Moses gave concerning the Passover feast are full of significance, and have an application to parents and children in this age of the world….

The father is to dedicate every inmate of his home to God and to do a work that is represented by the feast of the Passover. It is perilous to leave this solemn duty in the hands of others. This peril is well illustrated by an incident that is related concerning a Hebrew family on the night of the Passover.

The legend goes that the eldest daughter was sick, but that she was acquainted with the fact that a lamb was to be chosen for every family, and that its blood was to be sprinkled upon the lintel and side posts of the door so that the Lord might behold the mark of the blood and not suffer the destroyer to enter in to smite the firstborn. With what anxiety she saw the evening approach when the destroying angel was to pass by. She became very restless. She called her father to her side, and asked, “Have you marked the doorpost with blood?” He answered, “Yes, I have given directions in regard to the matter. Do not be troubled, for the destroying angel will not enter here.”

The night came on, and again and again the child called her father, still asking, “Are you sure that the doorpost is marked with blood?” Again and again the father assured her that she need have no fear, that a command which involved such consequences would not be neglected by his trustworthy servants. As midnight approached, her pleading voice was heard saying, “Father, I am not sure. Take me in your arms, and let me see the mark for myself, so that I can rest.”

The father conceded to the wishes of his child; he took her in his arms and carried her to the door; but there was no blood mark upon the lintel or the posts. He trembled with horror as he realized that his home might have become a house of mourning. With his own hands he seized the hyssop bough and sprinkled the doorpost with blood. He then showed the sick child that the mark was there.—The Review and Herald, May 21, 1895.

From From the Heart

I die daily. 1 Corinthians 15:31.

Those who profess the name of Christ are to represent Christ as their pattern and example. They are to unfold to others the truth in its purity and make known to them what are the privileges and responsibilities of the Christian life; and this can be done by the professed followers of Christ only as they conform their characters to the sacred principles of truth. There must be no betrayal of sacred trusts on the part of anyone who professes to be a child of God. There must be no obliterating of the line of demarkation between Christians and the world. There must be no bringing down of the truth to a low, common level, for this will dishonor God, who has given an infinite sacrifice in the gift of His Son for the sins of the world….

Many who claim to be the children of God do not seem to understand that the heart must be regenerated, for their practices ignore the words and works of Christ. By their actions they plainly say, “It is my privilege to act out myself. I should be perfectly miserable if I did not act out myself.” This is the kind of religion that is current in the world, but it bears not the heavenly endorsement….

Science so-called, human reasoning, and poetry cannot be passed on as of equal authority with revelation; but it is Satan’s studied purpose to exalt human maxims, traditions, and inventions to an equal authority with the Word of God; and, having accomplished this, to exalt human words to the place of supremacy….

There is no safety for any of us except as we daily receive a new experience in looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Day by day we are to behold Him and to become changed into His image. We are to represent the divine attributes and follow the footsteps of Jesus at whatever cost to ourselves. We are to place ourselves under divine guidance, consulting the Word of God, and daily inquiring, Is this the way of the Lord? … No deficiency of character will be immortalized and mar heaven with its imperfection….

A profession of truth is of no value unless the soul grasps fast the principles, and appropriates and absorbs the rich nourishment of the truth, and thus becomes a partaker of the divine nature.—The Review and Herald, November 20, 1894.

From From the Heart

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

In the plan of restoring in men and women the divine image, it was provided that the Holy Spirit should move upon human minds and be as the presence of Christ, a molding agency upon human character. Those who receive the truth become also recipients of the grace of Christ and devote their sanctified human ability to the work in which Christ was engaged—men and women become laborers together with God. It is to make them agents for God that divine truth is brought home to their understanding….

Through the mediumship of truth the character is transformed and fashioned after the divine similitude. Peter represents Christians as those who have purified their souls through obedience to the truth through the operation of the Holy Spirit….

It is the Christian’s business to shine. The professed followers of Christ are not fulfilling the requirements of the gospel unless they are ministering to others. They are never to forget that they are to let their light so shine before others that they, seeing their good works, may glorify their Father which is in heaven. Their speech is to be always with grace and in harmony with their profession of faith. Their work is to reveal Christ to the world. Jesus Christ and Him crucified is their inexhaustible theme, of which they are freely to speak, bringing out of the good treasure of their hearts the precious things of the gospel. The heart that is filled with the blessed hope, that is big with immortality and full of glory, cannot be dumb. Those who have a realization of the sacred presence of Christ cannot speak light and trifling words, for their words are to be sober, a savor of life unto life. We are not to be children tossed to and fro, but we are to be anchored in Jesus Christ and to have something of solid worth of which to speak…. Christians are to publish the good news of salvation, and they are never to weary of the recital of God’s goodness….

You are to speak to sinners, for you know not but God is moving upon their hearts. Never forget that great responsibility attaches to every word you utter in their presence. Ask yourself the question, How many have I spoken to with my heart filled with the love of Christ concerning the unspeakable gift of God’s mercy and Christ’s righteousness?—The Review and Herald, February 12, 1895.

From From the Heart

You who are troubled rest with us. 2 Thessalonians 1:7.

Let us not forget that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. The compassionate Savior invites all to come to Him. Let us believe the words of our Lord and not make the way to Him so hard. Let us not travel the precious road, cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, with murmuring, with doubts, with cloudy forebodings, groaning, as if forced to an unpleasant, exacting task. The ways of Christ are ways of pleasantness, and all His paths are peace. If we have made rough paths for our feet and taken upon us heavy burdens of care in laying up for ourselves treasures upon the earth, let us now change and follow the path Jesus has prepared for us.

We are not always willing to give our burdens to Jesus. We sometimes pour our troubles into human ears and tell our afflictions to those who cannot help us, and neglect to confide all to Jesus, that He may change the sorrowful ways to paths of joy and peace….

The shortness of time is urged as an incentive for us to seek righteousness and to make Christ our friend. This is not the great motive. It savors of selfishness. Is it necessary that the terrors of the day of God be held before us to compel us through fear to right action? This ought not to be. Jesus is attractive. He is full of love, mercy, compassion. He proposes to be our friend, to walk with us through all the rough pathways of life….

Christ’s invitation to us all is a call to a life of peace and rest, a life of liberty and love, and to a rich inheritance in the future immortal life…. We need not be alarmed if this path of liberty is laid through conflicts and sufferings. The liberty we shall enjoy will be the more valuable because we made sacrifices to obtain it. The peace which passeth knowledge will cost us battles with the powers of darkness, struggles severe against selfishness and inward sins…. In the face of temptation we should school ourselves to firm endurance, which will not provoke one murmuring thought, although we may be weary in toiling and in fighting the good fight of faith….

We cannot appreciate our Redeemer in the highest sense until we can see Him by the eye of faith reaching to the very depths of human wretchedness, taking upon Himself the nature of humanity, the capacity to suffer, and by suffering putting forth His divine power to save and lift sinners up to companionship with Himself.—The Review and Herald, August 2, 1881.

From From the Heart