Untitled article by M. E. S.

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 4, 1859

CONSECRATION. No. 1.—TIME.

By M. E. S.

I HAVE been gratified to see the brethren and sisters waking up to this subject. I do deem it of vital importance that our all be laid upon the altar. If we ever are prepared to stand approved of God in the judgment, we must give up all to him, that he may cleanse us altogether. If there is any portion of us that we desire to remain polluted with sin, that portion we may reserve for ourselves; but remember that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Heb. xii, 14. Bless God that when his people all get home they "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." There is not a spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing in all that blood-washed company. Our whole being must be cleansed, "spirit and soul and body." 1 Thess. v, 23. Now God never forced salvation upon any one. He will never take us farther than we are willing to go, and if we are satisfied with a partial consecration to the Lord just that portion of our being which remains unconsecrated must be sinful, and hence a blot on the purity of the kingdom, could we be permitted to enter it in such a state. How necessary, then, if we would become pure in heart, that we make no reserve in the great work of consecration. How necessary that God should have all in his own hands, that he may make our preparation for the kingdom perfect, entire, wanting nothing. Let us search ourselves, and see whether we be in the faith.

Perhaps some one may read these lines who has never understood the subject of which we speak. It is the will of our heavenly Father that his requirements be made so plain that every accountable creature may fully understand them, and thus our own free will may decide our destiny. Will such a one go with me into the work of examination and consecration, and may God help us abundantly in the undertaking.

Let us consider what we have to give to God.

1st. Time. Have we spent it in labor to no profit? Has a sister given hours to embroidery, or light reading; and will she now devote those precious moments to God, in labor that is of real use to herself or others, or in studying that volume that is able to make her "perfect," (through obedience,) and hence prepared to stand when the flames are consuming "gold and pearls and costly array," and with them her bewitching novels, and their popular authors? Some seem to be conscientious about reading a fictitious volume, while they indulge themselves in the perusal of newspaper stories. I can but think their nature and tendency precisely the same, and equally displeasing to God. Far better spend the hours of probation in prayer and meditation and the perusal of books that will benefit our souls, and in conversing with others about salvation. Perhaps some brother has placed himself in such circumstances that instead of obeying the injunction, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," his large farm, or extensive mechanical business calls for nearly all his time and thoughts, and he becomes so wearied with his labors, that his energies of body and mind, (the body acting upon the mind,) are crippled; and consequently he comes far short of serving God with the full purpose of a strong heart. It may be he works so hard through the week (I do not refer to those who could not do differently without bringing upon their families actual want. I think there are but few of this class,) that when God’s day comes, he is obliged to remain away from the congregation of the saints, and is really unprepared to keep the day acceptably to God. Can the Lord be pleased with us when we pursue our worldly business so earnestly six days as to unfit us for observing his day, and worship with equal earnestness? Certainly we wrong our own souls when we render them incapable of growing in grace by over exertion in temporal affairs? How much better it would be to sacrifice our worldly advantages, and get into a position where we could spend at least a part of our time in spiritual duties. "For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Matt.

Dear brother or sister, have you been in the habit of letting trifling excuses keep you from your closet duties or the social meetings which occur on a week day? O see if you have been making a greater effort to lay up a perishing treasure in a fading world, than an eternal treasure in heaven. You certainly have if you have been neglecting these essential means of growth in grace for temporal profit in any form. Are you now ready to give your time to God? He does not require that you spend it all in thinking of himself, or divine things. We have other duties to ourselves, our families, and to society; and when duty calls our attention to worldly things, our Father is just as well pleased with us as when directly worshiping him; only be sure and pursue them no further than duty requires, then let our thoughts return to God. Search your own hearts. Are you ready to resign your time to God’s disposal?