p. 4 | The Christian’s Opportunity by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 15, 1906

The Christian’s Opportunity

By C. M. S.

Every follower of Christ who gives heed to the gospel commission verifies the fulfilment of that wonderful prophecy found in Isa. 32:21: “A man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” “Go ye into all the world,” said Jesus, “and preach the gospel to every creature.” That brings to the soul, parched and thirsty and ready to perish, the water of life from the springs of life. His desert then becomes a fruitful field; and that water of life becomes in him, in turn, “a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.”

Souls are perishing to-day for the want of that water. In every avenue of life are men and women before whom the future is dark and cheerless, to whom that future seems to hold out no gladdening promise. Heart strings are snapping continually under the tense strain of the heavy weights of trouble and disappointment. There is no help for them save in the gospel of Jesus Christ; and this gospel must be made known to them by men and women who have themselves experienced what that gospel is, and what it can do.

If you have become a follower of Christ in very deed, and have heeded his last command to those who are his, then such soul-thirsty and sin-plagued ones are looking to you, and have a right to look to you, to become to them the blessed instrument of the healing, soul-satisfying Christ. If through you there is brought to them that which satisfies the soul, that which binds up the wounds and bruises of sin, then you become to them as a river of water in a dry place. Your obedience to the cause of Christ, and your fulfilment of his will through that obedience, make you a blessing and your work a blessing-laden work. As you bring to them the knowledge of that safe, and only safe, hiding-place from the winds of doubt that parch and wither and blight, you become to them the minister of that blessing, the instrument through which that shelter is secured to them.

The tempest of persecution or bitter trial is pelting its pitiless hail upon the heads of many even to-day. Our God is a covert even from that tempest. He deadens the sting of that trial, and mollifies the wounds it makes, with the oil of his grace. You are not to be that covert; but the blessing of its reception may come through you—will come through you if you have heeded the command given by our Saviour to those who would be his. It is a blessed privilege that is thus brought to every child of God, to bring thirsty and dying souls to the water of life, and to point those bruised and bleeding from the lash of sin, or torn and trampled by the persecutions of the world—to point such ones to him who can heal and comfort and restore.

This land is a weary land; the world is overrun with sin. While wealth revels in its luxury, thousands of weary toilers are wearing out and burning out their lives in the steaming treadmills of our great cities, or eking out a scanty livelihood on depleted or barren land. The terrifying dread of seeing their families unfed and scantily clothed dogs their footsteps at every turn. Truly the people of this world are living in a weary land. They can draw no help from the burdens they bear, nor from those who pile the burdens upon them. They can find no rest in any human scheme or device—no shelter from the merciless rays of adversity that wither and sere and scorch. But you, as Christ’s representative, may bring to them the blessed gospel of the sheltering “shadow of a great rock” in this their “weary land.” There is rest, there is shade, there is comfort and peace. It is your mission to bring to them the blessed realization of that shelter and rest and comfort. There is sweeter rest in the lowly mushik’s home, with Christ, than in the czar’s palace, written around with the red appeal of his people’s blood; more peace of soul in the house of penury, with Christ, than in the palace of luxury builded in the sweat and heartache of unjust recompense for toil. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” makes you a bearer of all manner of blessings, a steward dispensing all manner of good. Your storehouse is unlimited

and your beneficiaries are about you on every hand.

But you are not limited to the poor and oppressed. In the homes of the wealthy there is many a hungry soul, yea, even in the palaces of princes Christ’s workers have found them. They know not where to turn for relief or rest; they are craving something which neither wealth nor position can give. It is your privilege to bring that to them, and to receive from them the thanks of gladdened hearts. While they praise God for the gift, they will thank you for bringing it to them. What a glorious work it is! How it lines, with the enthralling bright rays of hope and peace and joy, the dark clouds of this world’s misery! You are not that hiding-place; you are not that covert; you are not that river of water; you are not the cooling shadow; but loving obedience to the command of Christ will enable you to bring all these blessings with you to the souls in need. And in all the history of this world this is its most needy hour.

C. M. S.