WHAT SHALL WE RECEIVE?
By J. N. Ayers
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22: 12, also Rom. 2: 6. Yes; we shall receive just what is right, according to what we have done, as all our work is faithfully recorded. “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Rev. 20: 12. Oh, what a solemn thought! that we must soon render up our account, and that we shall be recompensed for only what we have done. All our good intentions, all our resolutions, all our faith, all our anxiety for others, will do us no good unless they have led to zealous work. We shall not be rewarded according to what we feel, or what we intend to do, or what others do in spite of us; but according to our works. Suppose a farmer should employ a man during harvest, promising to give him whatever was right for his labor, and that man should make loud pretensions of what he wanted to do, and lament that so much grain would be lost because of idlers, complaining because the faithful laborers did not follow his ideas in everything, and suppose he should pursue this course from day to day throughout the harvest, neither working himself nor allowing others to work, so that by his idleness much of the grain should be lost, what wages ought he to receive at the settlement? Would not the employer be justified in charging him for damage, and not allowing him anything for the time he spent? Certainly he would. Now if the laborer would be held responsible in that case, how should we expect the Lord to deal with us who have entered his vineyard to labor, if we allow the fruit (souls) to perish all around us, and do not put forth earnest efforts to save it? Not only ministers, but every member of the tract society has entered the great vineyard, and all will soon be rewarded according to the work done. Hear Christ talk to the idlers. Matt. 20: 6-7: “Why stand ye here all the day idle? Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.” So all are expected to engage in the labor of saving souls. If you are not a minister, it is your duty to become a working member of the tract society. You can use your means in the cause of God, or you can devote your time to its advancement; but the Lord wants you to work, if you would receive a reward when he returns to settle with his laborers. Now one word to those who belong to the T. and M. army of Kansas. Have we rightly used the means God has placed in our hands to save souls? What have we59been doing with the strength God has given us? Has it been used in the Lord’s cause? or have we employed it selfishly in trying to gain more of this world’s goods? What do we intend to do the present quarter? In view of all the blessings God has given us this season, can we feel clear while our neighbors are unsaved? The harvest is almost past, are we ready to render our account, and receive wages according to what we have done? “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Rom. 14: 12. If we should be called upon to render our account before the close of the present quarter, what would be our wages? Should we hear the welcome: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”? or should we hear instead: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”? Matt. 25: 21, 41. Fellow-soldiers marching to the Judgment, we shall soon be there. Soon we shall hear the voice of the great Commander, dividing the army into just two divisions. One division will be the blessed; the other, those who are accursed. One division will be led by King Jesus, and will inherit the kingdom prepared for those who love him; the other will be driven away into outer darkness. The one will receive life eternal; the other will go into the lake of fire, which is the second death. Oh, how can we do without the reward of the faithful? and how can we endure the punishment that will be inflicted on the wicked? Let us strive to be found in the former class; and let us labor that others, through our instrumentality, may be numbered among the redeemed. Let each one settle in his own mind what he will receive. Garnett, Kansas, July 25.