WILL HE BE A WELCOME VISITOR?
By John Harvey Kellogg
"And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin, unto salvation." Heb. ix, 28. Here we see a promise that the Saviour is to make a visit to this earth for the salvation of those that look for him. Will he be a welcome visitor to you? How will you receive him? Will it be with joy or with grief? Look at the Jews: they expected the Messiah, and yet when he came they rejected him. This was because his works were good, and theirs were evil. They were deceived: they looked for a Saviour, but not for Jesus: they looked for a personage that would manifest a character like themselves: they were wicked; and because Jesus did not justify them in their wickedness, they rejected him. How is it with you? Perhaps you think that the coming of the Saviour is near, but do you feel in your souls that you are ready to leave the things that you enjoy here, and receive him with joy? or is there a desire to enjoy the good things of this life awhile longer? a putting far away the coming of the Lord? My brethren and sisters, beware, O beware; for these things will drown men in perdition. Is there a desire to appear better before the world than what you really are? O be not deceived, but know that the humble follower of Christ always manifests his true character. There is no hypocrisy with him; he walks under no false garb. Perhaps your heart is filled with pride of appearance, pride of dress; if so, you are not looking for the coming of Jesus, but you are looking at yourself; all swallowed up in self instead of the truth of God; building up yourself instead of advancing the cause of truth; and instead of leading your brethren and sisters to Christ by a holy life and godly conversation, you by your example deny the truth, make a lie of your profession, and those that you might help you lead away from the Lord. With such a character as this, how will you receive the Saviour? Will he be a welcome visitor to you? Can you say, "Lo this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us?" My brethren and sisters, it is close work. Let us look well at the steps we take, and be not deceived. If we are looking for any one, our life will tell who it is; our character will show our idea of the character of him for whom we are looking. Who is it that we are looking for? Is it for the babe of Bethlehem? him who was cradled in a manger? If so, look at his humility. Is it for the man of sorrows? the man acquainted with grief? If so, think what he suffered for us. Is it for the man that wore a plain, seamless coat? Then remember that there was no pride there. If this is the person that we are looking for, we shall imitate his example. His character will be seen in our life all the way through. We read in 1 John iii, 2, 3, "But we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure." Are we purifying ourselves? Are we daily getting the victory over sin, self, and temptation? Are we getting meek and humble? Are our actions an imitation of the lovely Jesus? Are we holy in all manner of conversation? Is our mind drawn out after the truth of God, and is our heart filled with his love? Are we doing all we can to have the truth we profess, understood and practiced by those around us? Finally, is our example one that in every respect is worthy of imitation? If so, then we can truly welcome the Saviour at his coming. Then we can say with joy, Lo this is our God, we have waited for him and he will save us. Battle Creek, July 6th, 1856.