As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
As a face is answered back in water or in a mirror, so one person's heart is answered back in how it responds to another's heart. The response given to another reveals the responder, just as the reflection reveals the face bent over the water. People form close ties and take on one another's ideas, feelings, and spirit, so that close companionship tends to develop similar character in both.
Pure and holy fellowship helps build character, and the influence of associates can strengthen and improve character, conduct, and knowledge. Harmful association can encourage carelessness and unfaithfulness and become harmful. Fellowship marked by selfishness, bigotry, and self-righteousness tends to destroy character.
A heart close to Christ recognizes Christ's spirit in a humble, self-denying disciple and feels drawn to her. This was seen when Elder Loughborough and the church failed to recognize Hannah More and her worth, which revealed their own spiritual blindness and distance from Christ. Had they been close to Christ they would have recognized His spirit in her.
As a face is answered back in water or in a mirror, so one person's heart is answered back in how it responds to another's heart. The response given to another reveals the responder, just as the reflection reveals the face bent over the water. People form close ties and take on one another's ideas, feelings, and spirit, so that close companionship tends to develop similar character in both.
Pure and holy fellowship helps build character, and the influence of associates can strengthen and improve character, conduct, and knowledge. Harmful association can encourage carelessness and unfaithfulness and become harmful. Fellowship marked by selfishness, bigotry, and self-righteousness tends to destroy character.
A heart close to Christ recognizes Christ's spirit in a humble, self-denying disciple and feels drawn to her. This was seen when Elder Loughborough and the church failed to recognize Hannah More and her worth, which revealed their own spiritual blindness and distance from Christ. Had they been close to Christ they would have recognized His spirit in her.