When the request was made for the two sons of Zebedee to sit the
one on His right hand and the other on His left in His kingdom, Jesus
answered: “Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that
I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
with? They say unto Him, We are able. And He saith unto them, Ye
shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am
baptized with: but to sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to
give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.”
How many can answer: We can drink of the cup; we can be baptized with
the baptism; and make the answer understandingly? How many imitate
the great Exemplar? All who have professed to be followers of Christ
have, in taking this step, pledged themselves to walk even as He walked.
Yet the course of many who make high professions of the truth shows
that they make but little reference to the Pattern in conforming their lives
thereto. They shape their course to meet their own imperfect standard.
They do not imitate the self-denial of Christ or His life of sacrifice for
others’ good.
The poor, the homeless, and the widows are among us. I heard a
wealthy farmer describe the situation of a poor widow among them. He
lamented her straitened circumstances, and then said: “I don’t know how
she is going to get along this cold winter. She has close times now.” Such
have forgotten the pattern, and by their acts say: “Nay, Lord, we cannot
drink of the cup of self-denial, humiliation, and sacrifice which You
drank of, nor be baptized with the suffering which You were baptized
with. We cannot live to do others good. It is our business to take care of
ourselves.” Who should know how the widow should get along unless it
be those who have well-filled granaries? The means for her to get along
are at hand. And dare those whom God has made His stewards,
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to whom He has entrusted means, withhold from the needy disciples of
Christ? If so, they withhold from Jesus. Do you expect the Lord to rain
down grain from heaven to supply the needy? Has He not rather placed
it in your hands, to help and bless them through you? Has He not made
you His instrument in this good work to prove you, and to give you the
privilege of laying up a treasure in heaven?
Fatherless and motherless children are thrown into the arms of the
church, and Christ says to His followers: Take these destitute children,
bring them up for Me, and ye shall receive your wages. I have seen
much selfishness exhibited in these things. Unless there is some special
evidence that they themselves are to be benefited by adopting into their
family those who need homes, some turn away and answer: No. They
do not seem to know or care whether such are saved or lost. That, they
think, is not their business. With Cain they say: “Am I my brother’s
keeper?” They are not willing to be put to inconvenience or to make
any sacrifice for the orphans, and they indifferently thrust such ones
into the arms of the world, who are sometimes more willing to receive
them than are these professed Christians. In the day of God, inquiry will
be made for those whom Heaven gave them the opportunity of saving.
But they wished to be excused, and would not engage in the good work
unless they could make it a matter of profit to them. I have been shown
that those who refuse these opportunities for doing good will hear from
Jesus: “As ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.”
Please read Isaiah 58:
“Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his
soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth
and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to
the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of
wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye
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break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou
bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked,
that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall
spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the
glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and the
Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou
take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger,
and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and
satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy
darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt
be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail
not.”
This is the special work now before us. All our praying and
abstinence from food will avail nothing unless we resolutely lay hold
of this work. Sacred obligations are resting upon us. Our duty is plainly
stated. The Lord has spoken to us by His prophet. The thoughts of the
Lord and His ways are not what blind, selfish mortals believe they are
or wish them to be. The Lord looks on the heart. If selfishness dwells
there, He knows it. We may seek to conceal our true character from our
brethren and sisters, but God knows. Nothing can be hid from Him.
The fast which God can accept is described. It is to deal thy bread to
the hungry and to bring the poor which are cast out to thy house. Wait
not for them to come to you. The labor rests not on them to hunt you up
and entreat of you a home for themselves. You are to search for them
and bring them to your house. You are to draw out your soul after them.
You are with one hand to reach up and by faith take hold of the mighty
arm which brings salvation, while with the other
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hand of love you reach the oppressed and relieve them. It is impossible
for you to fasten upon the arm of God with one hand while the other is
employed in ministering to your own pleasure.
If you engage in this work of mercy and love, will the work prove
too hard for you? Will you fail and be crushed under the burden, and
your family be deprived of your assistance and influence? Oh, no; God
has carefully removed all doubts upon this question, by a pledge to
you on condition of your obedience. This promise covers all that the
most exacting, the most hesitating, could crave. “Then shall thy light
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break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.”
Only believe that He is faithful that hath promised. God can renew the
physical strength. And more, He says He will do it. And the promise
does not end here. “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory