The Signs of the Times
May 20, 1889
It Is Best to Be Christians
[Sermon at Washington, D. C., January, 1889.]
A solemn responsibility rests upon every one to engage in the work of saving souls. We cannot afford to fold our hands, and engage in interesting nothings, gratifying our tastes and inclinations. We are to win souls for the Master. We should be constantly growing in the knowledge of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. If men loved God supremely, they would dedicate themselves unreservedly to his service; they would devote their means and their talents to the upbuilding of his cause; they would train up their children for Heaven. ST May 20, 1889, par. 1
It brings agony to my heart to see how few know how to deal with their children. Mothers need a great amount of patience and love. The mother who looks with compassion upon her own children, who conscientiously seeks to educate them for God and Heaven, will look with compassion upon the children of others. She will love others because she loves her own. She will be a blessing to her family and to the neighborhood. The same ability that fits her to be a wise mother will fit her to be a wise missionary for God. The greatest missionary work that is done is in the home circle. To educate and develop the best and highest faculties of your children's minds is to do a work that will have a moulding influence upon society. If you have educated one in the fear of the Lord, you may say you have educated one hundred. There is an atmosphere that surrounds every soul, an influence, either conscious or unconscious, that emanates from every person for good or evil; and to discipline a family so that the members shall meet the high claims of Heaven is a work that is counted of highest value in the sight of God. ST May 20, 1889, par. 2
It is of great importance to know how to keep the affairs of home in running order without friction. The oil of patience must be poured in when things go hard, and our children must be bound to our hearts by the silken cords of love. Parents should know how to sympathize with their children in their little troubles, that look as large to them as older people's trials look to them. We should not neglect our children. It is in the early years that we have the best opportunity for sowing good seed in their hearts. If we neglect to do this work in their childhood, we shall find that Satan will preoccupy the field. Why not preoccupy the field yourself, and before the Evil one has a chance to plant his seeds of evil, fill the mind with that which is good and pure? The angels of God will help you in the work of forming your child's character, if you will work in harmony with the plan of God. Do not let impatience control you. Be patient, be forbearing, and may God help you to realize your accountability to him. ST May 20, 1889, par. 3
When you become weary, go to Jesus with all your care. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” If you are bearing a yoke of your own manufacture, just lay it aside, and take the yoke of Christ, and nothing will disturb your peace, for you will have the peace of Christ that passeth all understanding. ST May 20, 1889, par. 4
Your children should not be driven off, and shut away from your sympathies. They should be encouraged to make confidants of father and mother. I have known children who had been so trained that even when they were grown men and women they counted it a privilege to counsel with their parents, though they were old and feeble. Is it not best, brethren, to be Christians? Is it not best to bring all the happiness possible into your life here, and prepare yourselves for the eternal world? ST May 20, 1889, par. 5
Each one of us will have to engage in the battle for good or evil, and we desire that you should battle on the Lord's side, and know how to come off victorious in your own behalf through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. Divine power will unite with human effort. God will co-operate with you in your struggle against evil, and when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. We must look to the source of our strength. We cannot afford to lose eternal life. We want to be missionaries for God. We want to know how to minister to the necessities of others. Christ is our example. Let us follow in his steps. ST May 20, 1889, par. 6
We should know how to direct the mind of friends and neighbors to Christ when they are in trouble. We should know how to lead repentant souls to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” How many go to human friends to pour out their griefs and sorrows, instead of seeking Christ, who alone can heal the broken in heart. There are many who do not know how to come to Jesus with their burden, and, feeling their need of support, they turn to human hearts for comfort. But they are only leaning on broken props. God is the one to whom the troubled soul should go. Why put man in his place? We should seek to direct souls to the open door of Heaven, where we can see within the vail our Substitute and Surety. In every trial and perplexity, we should look to him; for in him is help for the fallen sons of men. Christ is the star of hope that illumines our darkness. The serpent may bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but Christ will bruise the serpent's head and take away his power at last. ST May 20, 1889, par. 7
The plan of salvation was revealed to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. They were made to understand how the Son of God would come and bear their sin, and redeem them from the curse of the law. But when Christ came into the world how few recognized his divinity or comprehended the nature of his work! He was not acknowledged as the Prince of life. The earth was the battle-field where the Prince of light and the prince of darkness met to contend for the fallen race. Christ had laid aside his crown and his royal robe, he had stepped down from his throne, and had clothed his divinity with humanity. For our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He came into a world all marred and scarred by the curse. He took upon him humanity that he might know the infirmities and temptations of humanity, that he might know how to help and save men. The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. Was he not perfect before?—Yes. But he was made a perfect Saviour, learning obedience by the things which he suffered, that humanity might have a perfect character and be fitted for the society of the angels of Heaven. Man was not able, in his own behalf, to meet and overcome the prince of darkness; but Christ overcame him in man's behalf and broke his power over the human race, so that through his merits they might be overcomers in their own behalf. ST May 20, 1889, par. 8