p. 7 | The Practical Life by G. W. White

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Mar 5, 1912

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 10.

The Practical Life

By G. W. White

Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee. Mark 5:19.

HESE are simple words, but they become very remarkable when we consider the circumstances under which they were spoken.

The one to whom they were spoken was a man who had been "exceeding fierce," "had devils," "had his dwelling among the tombs," "neither could any man tame him." His cure was as remarkable as his malady. Jesus passed by, and with one irresistible word the devils were cast out and the man healed. Surely,

The Lord Will Make Much of This Case

Surely He will label him as proof of His mighty power — convert him into a living advertisement, and take him with Him whithersoever He goes. The man himself seems to think so, for he prays the Lord that he may be permitted to remain with Him. He seems to think that his experience has lifted him out of the plane of the common life. But instead, the Lord meets him with the unlooked for words,

"Go Home to Thy Friends"

and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."

Underlying this simple and direct command is a divine philosophy. There, at the point of your daily life, you are joined, vitally, to your fellow men; and if you are to do them any good by this new experience into which you have come, it must be at that point where you touch them in actual, practical life. That is your place to make your life tell upon the great round world.

By Reading a Little Between the Lines

we can easily see that some of the early Christians probably thought that in their conversion they were to have a complete translation from their practical life. They expected to be given up wholly to marvelous experiences such as speaking with tongues, falling into trances, working miracles, etc. But the great apostle meets them with these forceful words: "Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God." Your place of contact with your fellow beings, whether in the shop, in the market, in the home, or in the State, is the very point at which your new life is to gain access to the gross life of this great world. Therefore, "go home to thy friends;" "let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God."

Multitudes To-Day Are Puzzled

concerning the boundaries of the religious and secular life. They are asking: "What is the due proportion of time and thought and affection to give to each? How shall the duties of these separate lives be regulated? If I give myself to the secular life, how will it affect the spiritual, and vice versa? Have I time for both, or must one be given up in proportion as I devote myself to the other? If I am to exert spiritual power upon my fellow men, can I do so and remain in the midst of the activities and interests of the secular life?" Now, the fountain from which spring all such questions is a total misunderstanding of our life.

We Have Not Two Lives, but Life

Neither have we two sides to our life, any more than a ray of light or a current of electricity has two sides. We live, that is all. But multitudes are saying, in act if not in word: "My secular life lies yonder in the world. I go down there among earthly things and worldly men, and do about as everybody else does. I adopt the same principles and conduct — the same methods of work and business — and expect the same results. But when I want to be spiritual — when I want to make my spiritual life tell — I withdraw from the world, read my Bible, go to church, and pray and sing hymns." They expect no spiritual results from their secular life in the practical world, but look for large spiritual results from the retired reading, praying, singing, and churchgoing. One might as well say, "I do not expect to accomplish much upon my fellow men by my waking, active life, but I do expect to make a tremendous stir by my dreams."

What Is the World to You and Me?

Is the world some great, vague realm of sin outside our own life and experience, where we may go and be worldly, and then come back to our religious life? No, indeed. The world to you and me, so far as our actual life is concerned, is just our own small circle of daily life. Now, that small circle is our point of contact with the great, busy, bustling world, and so far as you and I are concerned, we must operate upon the world at that point. If we succeed here, we succeed altogether; if we fail here, we fail altogether.

To illustrate: here is a humble, honorable carpenter. The average Christian carpenter says to himself: "My secular life is yonder in my shop. There I work about as others, and follow the same principles and practises as the world. But my spiritual life lies in another place. I must go apart there to do my praying and receive or impart spiritual nourishment." So we find Mr. Carpenter in church, Sabbath-school, and prayer-meeting, looking after his spiritual interests. Then he goes to his so-called other world, and there works as other men do — no better and no worse. The Lord Jesus Christ meets this man in his so-called spiritual realm, and bids him, "Go home to thy friends;" and Paul follows with the injunction, "Let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God."

You Are Joined to the Great World

by your actual daily life. The principal part of your thought, time, and labor is expended there. If you are not spiritual there, if you fail to tell for God and righteousness there, you are a failure. In your daily occupation, you meet your fellow men, you have opportunity to speak the kind, helpful word, to give the warm, sincere hand-clasp, to extend brotherly sympathy and encouragement, or to lend whatever aid is needed; and if you fail in these things, you fail altogether, and any fine talk you may bring to your fellow men about praying and reading and churchgoing will be to them as chaff and dust. They will say:

'Away with Your Religion!

I needed you. I needed a kind word, and you had none to give. I needed sympathy and encouragement, and you locked it in your stony heart. I needed a strong arm to lean upon for a little time, but yours was so full of selfishness as to have no place for me. I needed a friend, but with your cloak of self-righteousness drawn closely about you, you shunned me. I needed a dollar with which to buy bread for my little ones, but you had none for me. I needed you. I had a right to expect, to demand something of you —

At That One Point Where Your Life Touched Mine and at that point you proved false, and you have lost your chance for me. And in losing such opportunities, the man has lost his chance of making a spiritual impression upon and of wielding a godly influence over the world.

O, be careful when your life touches another. Be kind, be true-hearted, be Christ-like.

It was in the practical life that the power of Christ was felt. He never touched a man except to do him good. No one ever appealed to Him in vain. No one ever felt His arm fail him. Not even a longing look has gone unrewarded.

O, let us faithfully represent Him to the world. "Wherever we may be, Christ bids us take up the duty that presents itself. If this is in the home, take hold willingly and earnestly to make home a pleasant place. If you are a mother, train your children for Christ. This is as verily a work for God as is that of the minister in the pulpit. If your duty is in the kitchen, seek to be a perfect cook. If it is your work to till the soil, or to engage in any other trade or occupation, make a success of the present duty." Let God's people "put on Christ," and "let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God."