And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23.
Christ declares that as He lived so we are to live.... His footsteps lead along the pathway of sacrifice. As we pass through life there come to us many opportunities for service. All around us there are open doors for ministry. By the right use of the talent of speech we may do much for the Master. Words are a power for good when they are weighted with the tenderness and sympathy of Christ. Money, influence, tact, time, and strength—all these are gifts entrusted to us to make us more helpful to those around us and more of an honor to our Creator.
Many feel that it would be a privilege to visit the scenes of Christ's life on earth, to walk where He trod, to look upon the lake where He loved to teach, and the valleys and hills where His eyes so often rested; but we need not go to Palestine in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints beside the sickbed, in the hovels of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great city, and in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation.6The Review and Herald, February 29, 1912.
Just as we trace the pathway of a stream of water by the line of living green it produces, so Christ could be seen in the deeds of mercy that marked His path at every step. Wherever He went, health sprang up, and happiness followed wherever He passed. The blind and deaf rejoiced in His presence. The face of Christ was the first that many eyes had ever looked upon; His words the first that had ever fallen upon their ears.... His words to the ignorant opened to them a fountain of life. He dispensed His blessings abundantly and continuously. They were the garnered treasures of eternity, the Lord's rich gift to man.7The Review and Herald, April 25, 1912.
Millions upon millions of souls ready to perish, bound in chains of ignorance and sin, have never so much as heard of Christ's love for them. Were our conditions and theirs reversed, what would we desire them to do for us? All this, as far as lies in our power, we are under the most solemn obligation to do for them. Christ's rule of life, by which every one must stand or fall in the judgment, is, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” 8The Review and Herald, February 29, 1912.
From In Heavenly Places - Page 225
In Heavenly Places