His Masterly Tenderness Displayed
By Mrs. E. G. White
Unselfish Love and Sympathy Manifested — Divine Estimate of the Value of a Soul — The Most Sinful May Hope
The Sympathy We Should Have for Others
By MRS. E. G. WHITE NOT because we first loved Him did Christ love us; but "while we were yet sinners," He died for us. He does not treat us according to our desert. Although our sins have merited condemnation, He does not condemn us. Year after year He has borne with our weakness and ignorance, with our ingratitude and waywardness. Notwithstanding our wanderings, our hardness of heart, our neglect of His holy word, His hand is stretched out still. The Saviour's example is to be the standard of our service for the tempted and the erring. The same interest and tenderness and long-suffering that He has manifested toward us, we are to manifest toward others. "As I have loved you," He says, "that ye also love one another." John 13:34. REVEAL HIS UNSELFISH LOVE
If Christ dwells in us, we shall reveal His unselfish love toward all with whom we have to do. As we see men and women in need of sympathy and help, we shall not ask, "Are they worthy?" but, "How can I benefit them?" Rich and poor, high and low, free and bond, are God's heritage. He who gave His life to redeem man, sees in every human being a value that exceeds finite computation. By the mystery and glory of the cross, we are to discern His estimate of the value of the soul. When we do this, we shall feel that human beings, however degraded, have cost too much to be treated with coldness or contempt. We shall realize the importance of working for our fellow men, that they may be exalted to the throne of God. The lost coin, in the Saviour's parable, though lying in the dirt and rubbish, was a piece of silver still. Its owner sought it because it was of value. So every soul, however degraded by sin, is in God's sight accounted precious. As the coin bore the image and superscription of the reigning power, so man at his creation bore the image and superscription of God. Though now marred and dim through the influence of sin, the traces of this inscription remain upon every soul. God desires to recover that soul, and to retrace upon it His own image in righteousness and holiness. We need more of Christlike sympathy; not merely sympathy for those who appear to us to be faultless, but sympathy for poor, suffering, struggling souls, who are often overtaken in fault, sinning and repenting, tempted and discouraged. We are to go to our fellow men, touched, like our merciful High Priest, with the feeling of their infirmities. It was the outcast, the publican and sinner, the despised of the nations, that Christ called, and by His loving-kindness compelled to come unto Him. The one class that He would never countenance was those who stood apart in their self-esteem, and looked down upon others. THE INVITATION A COMPELLING POWER
"Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in," Christ bids us, "that My house may be filled." In obedience to this word, we must go to the heathen who are near us, and to those who are afar off. The "publicans and harlots" must hear the Saviour's invitation. Through the kindness and long-suffering of His messengers, the invitation becomes a compelling power to uplift those who are sunken in the lowest depths of sin. Christian motives demand that we work with a steady purpose, an undying interest, an ever increasing importunity, for the souls whom Satan is seeking to destroy. Nothing is to chill the earnest, yearning energy for the salvation of the lost. THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN THE LOWEST
"We are saved by hope." Rom. 8:24. The fallen must be led to feel that it is not too late for them to be men. Christ honored man with His confidence, and thus placed him on his honor. Even those who had fallen the lowest He treated with respect. It was a continual pain to Christ to be brought into contact with enmity, depravity, and impurity; but never did He utter one expression to show that His sensibilities were shocked or His refined tastes offended. Whatever the evil habits, the strong prejudices, or the overbearing passions of human beings, He met them all with pitying tenderness. As we partake of His Spirit, we shall regard all men as brethren, with similar temptations and trials, often falling, and struggling to rise again, battling with discouragements and difficulties, craving sympathy and help. Then we shall meet them in such a way as not to discourage or repel them, but to awaken hope in their hearts. God bids us, in dealing with the tempted and the erring, consider "thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Gal. 6:1. With a sense of our own infirmities, we shall have compassion for the infirmities of others. A TENDER SPIRIT, A WINNING DEPORTMENT It is always humiliating to have one's errors pointed out. None should make the experience more bitter by needless censure. No one was ever reclaimed by reproach; but many have thus been repelled, and have been led to steel their hearts against conviction. A tender spirit, a gentle, winning deportment, may save the erring, and hide a multitude of sins. When one at fault becomes conscious of his error, be careful not to destroy his self-respect. Do not discourage him by indifference or distrust. Do not say, "Before giving him my confidence, I will wait to see whether he will hold out." Often this very distrust causes the tempted one to stumble. MISUNDERSTOOD AND FULL OF DISTRESS
We should strive to understand the weakness of others. We know little of the heart trials of those who have been bound in chains of darkness, and who lack resolution and moral power. Most pitiable is the condition of him who is suffering under remorse. He is as one stunned, staggering, sinking into the dust. He can see nothing clearly. The mind is beclouded. He knows not what steps to take. Many a poor soul is misunderstood, unappreciated, full of distress and agony,—a lost, straying sheep.7He can not find God, yet he has an intense longing for pardon and peace. O, let no word be spoken to cause deeper pain! To the soul weary of a life of sin, but knowing not where to find relief, present the compassionate Saviour. Take him by the hand, lift him up, speak to him words of courage and hope. Help him to grasp the hand of the Saviour. COMPASSIONATE CONSIDERATION
We need to put ourselves in the place of the tempted ones. Consider the power of heredity, the influence of evil associations and surroundings, the power of wrong habits. Can we wonder that under such influences many become degraded? Can we wonder that they should be slow to respond to efforts for their uplifting? Often, when won to the gospel, those who appeared coarse and unpromising will be among its most loyal adherents and advocates. They are not altogether corrupt. Beneath the forbidding exterior, there are good impulses that might be reached. Without a helping hand, many would never recover themselves; but by patient, persistent effort, they may be uplifted. Such need tender words, kind consideration, tangible help. They need that kind of counsel that will not extinguish the faint gleam of courage in the soul. Let the workers who come in contact with them consider this. THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS MAY SHINE THERE Some will be found whose minds have been so long debased that they will never in this life become what under more favorable circumstances they might have been. But the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness may shine into the soul. It is their privilege to have the life that measures with the life of God. Plant in their minds uplifting, ennobling thoughts. Let your life make plain to them the difference between vice and purity, darkness and light. In your example, let them read what it means to be a Christian. Christ is able to uplift the most sinful, and place them where they will be acknowledged as children of God, joint heirs with Christ to the immortal inheritance. By the miracle of divine grace, many may be fitted for lives of usefulness. Despised and forsaken, they have become utterly discouraged. They may appear stoical and stolid. But under the ministration of the Holy Spirit, the stupidity that makes their uplifting appear so hopeless will pass away. The dull, clouded mind will awake. The slave of sin will be set free. Vice will disappear, and ignorance will be overcome. Through the faith that works by love, the heart will be purified and the mind enlightened.