Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Revelation 3:20.
The time in which we live is full of the most solemn importance. There is nothing that can be more acceptable to God than to have the youth dedicate their lives to His service in the bloom and freshness of their years. Their talents may become a power for God when they are properly cultivated. Their characters may be characters that will be acceptable to Heaven, but they must be shaped by line upon line and precept upon precept. They must be modeled after the divine pattern….
In the work of saving souls, we are to know whereof we speak. The words of John are full of significance when he says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.” …
When your soul is the temple for the indwelling Spirit of the Savior, the gross elements of your nature will be consumed, and the whole being will become a living purpose. Whoever is truly Christ’s will have an experience like that of Daniel, and the fruits of the Spirit will appear in the life. There are powers within us that are paralyzed through sin, that need the vivifying influence of the grace of Christ, that they may be restored. A mighty power from the Life Giver must quicken them to life and rouse them to action. When this is your experience, you can work as Jesus has given you an example. Divine light and love will be reflected upon those who feel that they are sick in both soul and body. Jesus invites His own presence to your soul. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.” Shall we not open the door of our hearts to the divine Guest?
Those who engage in the work of God must be pure in heart and circumspect in deportment. The souls of God’s people should not be like a barren waste, as are so many souls at this time. God has given to everyone some ability to use in His service, and it is God’s design that it should be employed to His glory and the good of others. Many are losing much, simply because they will not learn in the school of Christ. They might gain eternal treasure, but, in turning away from the divine Teacher, their consciences are violated and seared, and the admonitions of God’s Word lose all power to stir their hearts. But there is no need of making such a failure. Christ will come into the heart and abide there if you will but cleanse the soul temple of every defilement.—Signs of the Times, November 30, 1888.
