20, 1886.
Revive the Spirit of the Good Samaritan.—The spirit of the good Samaritan has not been largely
represented in our churches. Many in need of help have been passed by, as the priest and Levite passed
by the wounded and bruised stranger who had been left to die by the wayside. The very ones who
needed the power of the divine Healer to cure their wounds have been left uncared for and unnoticed.
Many have acted as if it were enough to know that Satan had his trap all set for a soul, and they could
go home and care not for the lost sheep. It is evident that those who manifest such a spirit have not been
partakers of the divine nature, but of the attributes of the enemy of God.—Testimonies for the Church
6:294, 295.
Sympathy as Well as Charity.—I have been shown that among those who accept present truth there
are many whose dispositions and characters need converting. Everyone who claims to be a Christian
should examine himself, and see if he is as kind and considerate of his fellow beings as he desires his
fellow beings to be of him. When this is done there will be a showing that is after the divine similitude.
The Lord is honored by our acts of mercy, by the exercise of thoughtful consideration for the
unfortunate and distressed. The widow and the fatherless need more than our charity. They need
sympathy and watchcare and compassionate words and a helping hand to place them where they can
learn to help themselves. All deeds done for those who need help are as if done to Christ. In our study
to know how to help the unfortunate we should study the way in which
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Christ worked. He did not refuse to work for those who made mistakes; His works of mercy were done
for every class, the righteous and the unrighteous. For all alike He healed disease and gave lessons of
instruction if they humbly asked Him.
Those who claim to believe in Christ are to represent Christ in deeds of kindness and mercy. Such
will never know until the day of judgment what good they have done in seeking to follow the example
of the Saviour.—Letter 140, 1908.
Kindness the Key to Greater Evangelism.—If we would humble ourselves before God, and be
kind and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions to the truth
where now there is only one.—Testimonies for the Church 9:189.
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Chapter Eleven—How to Visit and What to Do
Come Close to Your Neighbors.—Go to your neighbors one by one, and come close to them till
their hearts are warmed by your unselfish interest and love. Sympathize with them, pray for them,
watch for opportunities to do them good, and as you can, gather a few together and open the Word of
God to their darkened minds.—The Review and Herald, March 13, 1888.
Help Where Help is Needed Most.—There are those all around you who have woes, who need
words of sympathy, love, and tenderness, and our humble, pitying prayers. Some are suffering under
the iron hand of poverty, some with disease, and others with heartaches, despondency, and gloom. Like
Job, you should be eyes to the blind and feet to the lame, and you should inquire into the cause which
you know not and search it out with the object in view to relieve their necessities and help just where
they most need help.—Testimonies for the Church 3:530.
First meet the temporal necessities of the needy and relieve their physical wants and sufferings,
and you will then find an open avenue to the heart, where you may plant the good seeds of virtue and
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religion.—Testimonies for the Church 4:227.
A Persuasive Approach.—Approach the people in a persuasive, kindly manner, full of
cheerfulness and love for Christ.... No human tongue can express the preciousness of the ministration
of the Word and the Holy Spirit. No human expression can portray to the
