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In Which Class?

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 22, 1913

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 90, No. 21.

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In Which Class?

By H. G. THURSTON

H. G. THURSTON
EVERY believer, minister and layman, is called to “an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” I Peter 2: 5. We are sometimes led to wonder how many who profess to be looking for the return of their Lord actually know the real meaning of the above scripture. These “spiritual sacrifices” must include acts of mercy, compassion, and tenderness similar to those which invariably crowned the daily life of our Lord Jesus, and we are sadly forced to the unavoidable conclusion that only such as in truth reveal those sublime attributes which made our Saviour’s life so fragrant and made him the “stronghold of the daughter of Zion,” are in fact a part of the “holy priesthood,” no matter what their profession or position may be.
Jesus is a “merciful and faithful high priest” and his kindness is no more apparent now than when he trod the hills of Judea as a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;” and no one who bears his name has any work or responsibility greater than, or so great as, that of showing to all mankind the same tender, thoughtful, and brotherly kindness which made our Lord so infinitely great while he was yet with us as a man.
It requires no great sacrifice for the natural man to recognize and keep company with men whom he regards as his equals or superiors in rank; but what a heavenly spectacle, though so seldom seen, that a man will risk his own reputation and standing by spending his time and influence to assist the man in need! The worldling will render support and attention to the strong and to those on the crest of the wave of prosperity and position; but it is Godlike “to support the weak,” and thus to show we “remember the words of the Lord Jesus.”
In that most impressive parable, found in Luke 10: 30-37, we see a priest and a Levite, who were supposed to be exemplary in sympathy and kindness, but who utterly failed to confirm their call to their important positions by a simple work of mercy toward an unfortunate and defeated brother. They were so destitute of compassion, so filled with contrary elements, that although knowing his sad condition, they passed by the man who was in the greatest need and selfishly neglected him. They had no excuse for their course, for as priest and Levite, they had no right to allow other and minor affairs to deter them from rendering the true expressions of sympathy shown by the Samaritan.
Brother, to which class do you belong? Are you so busy doing big things for God, and carrying responsibilities, that you fail to do the greatest work of showing sympathy, mercy, and compassion to him who is weary and in need? If this be your condition, are you not as unfit for the “holy priesthood” to which God has called you and which you profess as were the priest and the Levite of the parable?
In the days of Abraham, when he and his faithful men had been on a long and dangerous journey and were returning home, they were met by a priest who was king of Salem. That priest of God brought forth bread and wine to refresh and strengthen the weary travelers, and encouraged them with words of blessing. Gen. 14: 18, 19. The name of that priest was Melchizedek, but no record has been kept of his genealogy. Heb. 7: 3. We do not have much concern as to who Melchizedek was, but we do feel an intense interest in what he did. Being a priest and king, and rendering help to the weary, he thus became a fitting type of our great High Priest who is passed into the heavens, who ever liveth to show compassion and thoughtfulness to those who are in need, weary, and perhaps weakened by some fierce attack of the enemy.
Reader, does your life always reveal the tenderness of a true shepherd and nurse, or do you find it easier and more natural to use the whip or the surgeon’s knife, or to pass by on the other side when you find some poor soul whose need and voice appeals to you for help? Remember that in the day of final reckonings many will knock, but find no welcome response from the great King because they neglected the kind, tender acts during this life. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Brother, to which class do you belong?
Santa Ana, Cal.