Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 101, 1901

McElhaney, S.

St. Helena, California

July 27, 1901

Previously unpublished.

Dear Brother M.,—

I received your letter and will write a few words. I may be at Healdsburg next Sabbath, and I may not. I wish to tell you now, The position you occupy is one of great peril. For a very long time you have not made straight paths for your feet. I have nothing to say with regard to the restitution you should make. 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 1

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. ... I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” [Revelation 1:7, 8.] 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 2

Now is your time, your opportunity, to make thorough work for eternity. Consider how you would stand before the throne of God if your life should close now. Your position is not clear. You have not yet reached the depth of Christian experience that God wishes you to reach. Your example in your family has resulted in destroying the faith of your children. As a husband and a father, you have not been kind and tender. You have not brought heaven into your home. You have not had a heart of tender compassion and love, and therefore you have ruled as with a rod of iron. The influence you exert has largely weaned your children from you. 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 3

O what a work you might have done, but did not do! And yet you and others have acted as though God neither saw nor noticed. You have a work to do in the home. You have confessions to make to your children and to your wife. You have quenched the Holy Spirit of God. In your home you have shown little forbearance, little patience. In your mistakes and errors, would you wish to be treated as you have treated the members of your family? I hope that the education you have given your children and your wife will not prove their eternal ruin. The sin of their present impenitence largely lies at your door. 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 4

“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” [Colossians 3:21.] Upon all fathers and mothers rests the sacred charge of bringing up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Your work is now being tested and tried. You have not yet made thorough work. May God draw nigh unto you and lead you to see the depths of the sinfulness of your own heart. This is your time of grace, your opportunity to cleanse the soul-temple. I beg of you to make thorough work. Do not harden your heart in sin. If this opportunity should pass, and you only make half work to clear your soul from guilt, it may be that you will never have another opportunity. Will you now make thorough work in the salvation of your soul? It is precious in the sight of the Lord. 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 5

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” [Revelation 20:11-13, 15.] 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 6

We are approaching the end of this earth’s history. It is for our present and eternal good to make thorough work for eternity. Read the twenty-first chapter of Revelation, and take a solemn, retrospective view of your life. Should death have come to you ere this, on which side would you have been in that great day—with the righteous, or with the wicked? on the right hand, or on the left? Do not deceive yourself. Only the pure in heart shall see God. Should those who in their selfishness have paid no heed to the messages of warning God has sent, and who have refused to follow the Lord Jesus in the path of self-denial and self-sacrifice, be cut down under the hand of God while following their own ways and dishonoring their God, would they enter the courts of bliss? Would they enjoy heaven?—No, no. They could not endure the purity and glory of God. 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 7

The Lord calls upon all to seek Him now, while He may be found; to call upon Him while He is nigh. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” [Isaiah 55:6, 7.] 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 8

Take these words, and come to the Lord with confession and with genuine repentance. Cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit. Humble your soul under the mighty hand of God, and He will abundantly pardon. Do not stop short of doing this work. 16LtMs, Lt 101, 1901, par. 9