Where Are You? by A. J. Osborne

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Oct 29, 1903

Where Are You?

By A. J. Osborne

A. J. OSBORNE

Christ said, “Ye are the light of the world.” “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” “Ye are my witnesses.” “And I saw another angel fly in midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the fountains of waters.” “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

With these scriptures before us, indicating the work to be done in this generation, does not the question, Where am I? come to us each with force? Am I still loitering about Jerusalem, without emitting light, or witnessing for the Master? Is there not a place somewhere in “Judea” or in “Samaria” or farther away from my present place of inactivity, where the Lord has appointed me to witness for him?

The writer is laboring in a field where the cause of present truth is weak, and in need of some good strong witnesses, as are many other places. We know also that there are many believers gathered in various places, of but little service where they are. But if scattered according to Acts 1:8, and filled with the Holy Spirit, they would be of immense value to the cause of present truth, and would hasten to its close that glorious message of the coming kingdom of our Lord.

Should not the following words from “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. II, page 631, be carefully considered by every believer? “I have been shown that the disciples of Christ are his representatives upon the earth; and God designs that they shall be lights in the moral darkness of this world, dotted all over the country, in the towns, villages, and cities, ‘a spectacle unto the world, to angels, and to men.’ If they obey the teachings of Christ in his sermon on the mount, they will be seeking continually for perfection of Christian character, and will be truly the light of the world. . . . God can not display the knowledge of his will and the wonders of his grace among the unbelieving world, unless he has witnesses scattered all over the earth. It is his plan that those who are partakers of this great salvation, through Jesus Christ, should be his missionaries, bodies of light throughout the world, to be as signs to the people, living epistles, known and read of all men, their faith and works testifying to the near approach of the coming Saviour. . . . The people must be warned to prepare for the coming judgment.”

And then it is stated that to increase the members at a certain place, “brethren have moved there, leaving the places from which they came destitute of strength and influence to sustain meetings. This has pleased the enemies of God and the truth. Those brethren should have remained as faithful witnesses, their good works testifying to the genuineness of their faith, by exemplifying in their lives the purity and power of the truth. . . . Satan triumphs to see the vine of God’s planting either entirely uprooted or left to languish. It is not the purpose of God that his people should cluster together and concentrate their influence in a special locality. . . . God designs that his people shall be the light of the world, the salt of the earth. The plan of gathering together in large numbers, to compose a large church, has contracted their influence, and narrowed down their sphere of usefulness, and is literally putting their light under a bushel. It is God’s design that the knowledge of the truth shall come to all.” Are you where God would have you?