“God that made the world and all things therein . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17:24, 26).

God has manifested to the human family a deep and infinite love, yet how little it is appreciated.Christ died on the cross of Calvary so that sinners be redeemed from the slavery of sin and be established on vantage ground before God. Let us consider the marvelous love that the Father has demonstrated by this great sacrifice.It is our duty to share this love with those outside the fold, to tell sinners what Christ has done for them, and what they can become as a result of this transforming grace. Because of all that the Lord has done for us, we want to see His name glorified and His cause going forward.

Now as never before, we need a wise strategy. Human prejudice does not come from God. Our tendency to allow ourselves to be guided by impulse is very dangerous. Human impulse is a very poor element that cannot replace sanctified reason.

The Lord Jesus considers each soul with deep interest. He has affirmed the spiritual characteristics that His church must carefully preserve. The church is in the world and must labor for the world, but must not open her doors to worldiness.

As human beings, we all are in the same condition before God: We are sinners. To offer us peace with Him and deliverance from eternal perdition, God stretched out His hand toward us, renouncing all the treasures of heaven for our benefit. He did not withhold anything to redeem our life - He even gave His most precious treasure, His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

During His earthly life, the Saviour, as part of the plan of redemption, developed lessons of service, that we might learn from Him by following His example. We find this concept summarized in the following words: “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

“God desires the willing service of our hearts. He has endowed us with reasoning faculties, with talents of ability, and with means and influence, to be exercised for the good of mankind, that we may manifest his Spirit before the world. Precious opportunities and privileges are placed within our reach, and if we neglect them, we rob others, we defraud our own souls, and dishonor our Maker. We shall not want to meet these slighted opportunities and neglected privileges in the day of judgment. Our eternal interests for the future depend on the present diligent performance of duty in improving the talents that God has given into our trust for the salvation of souls. . . .

“True religion works out the principles of God’s law - love to God and love to man. Those who will be accepted of Heaven will have put their talents out to the exchangers for the glory of God and the good of humanity. They will have become laborers together with God, and will receive the approval of the Master when He comes in the clouds of heaven. Religion is something more than a profession, something deeper than an impulsive feeling. It is doing the will of God through faith in Christ.”1

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

The Lord has reached us by using all available means, divine and human, and they are at our disposal.They are so numerous that our finite minds cannot fathom or even readily discern them often enough to notice all their positive effects.

With firm assurance we can thank our heavenly Father for all the divine agencies at work - for example, the person who came and brought us the message of salvation through His written word.This messenger came having the love generated by our Creator toward God and his or her neighbor, to share this love with us and to present Jesus Christ, the way to life, that through Him we can be restored and be called children of God.Is not this one of the most powerful reasons to inspire us as children of the Most High to work for our fellow men?To strive for the salvation of those in the region of the shadow of death,from whence we ourselves were taken, so they, too, will have the opportunity to be redeemed for eternal life, just as we were?

The Lord invites - and then sends - us to serve humanity. Let us take hold of the desire, together with our spiritual brethren and sisters, to allow the benevolent, just, and merciful character of Christ to be manifested by us toward our fellow beings. Thus they can share in the same blessings as we have. We can thank the Lord that He desires for us to be valiant instruments in the salvation of other souls.

Remember: “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

God has established a system to develop the plan of salvation and we are participants, voluntarily committing ourselves to Him, accepting all the requirements which He presents to us, both for the good of His cause and for our own benefit as well.

For all the members of His fold, He extends privileges to each according to his or her ability - some to preach the gospel personally, others to do medical missionary work, others to teach health reform for the benefit of souls, others to serve in the leadership of the church, and others to serve in the education of His people, ultimately in every aspect of life as touched by the gospel.

The Lord wants us to honor Him by making wise use of our privileges and responsibilities while it is still possible to do so. Those who are called to labor full-time in His vineyard must subsist on this support. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37). As members of the church, we should constantly keep in mind that these words of Christ are every bit as valid today as they were when He first uttered them. We each individually have both the privilege and the responsibility to support faithfully the gospel ministry that it may be amply sustained through our tithes and generous freewill offerings.

During the great reformation in Nehemiah’s day, it was expressed like this: “We should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage” (Nehemiah 10:37).

And from the time of Paul it is written: “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13, 14).

God’s warning given through the prophet Malachi also echoes down to our day: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8).

“The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself” (Proverbs 11:25).

“Liberality is one of the directions of the Holy Spirit, and when the professed people of God withhold from the Lord His own in tithes and offerings, they meet with spiritual loss. The Lord does not reward a stinted liberality. He calls upon the people to honor Him with their substance, and with the first-fruits of all their increase. . . .

“God has made us His almoners, copartners with Him in the great work of advancing His kingdom on the earth. We may pursue the course taken by the unfaithful steward, and by so doing lose the most precious privileges ever granted to men. For thousands of years God has worked through human agencies, but at His will He can drop out the selfish, the money lover, the covetous. He can carry on His work though we act no part in it. But who among us would be pleased to have the Lord do this?”2

“Money is a constant test of the affections. Whoever acquires more than sufficient for his real needs should seek wisdom and grace to know his own heart and to keep his heart diligently, lest he have imaginary wants and become an unfaithful steward, using with prodigality his Lord’s entrusted capital.”3

“Those who are faithful stewards of the Lord’s means will know just how their business stands, and, like wise men, they will be prepared for any emergency. Should their probation close suddenly, they would not leave such great perplexity upon those who are called to settle their estate.

“Many are not exercised upon the subject of making their wills while they are in apparent health. But this precaution should be taken by our brethren. They should know their financial standing, and should not allow their business to become entangled. They should arrange their property in such a manner that they may leave it at any time.”4

“If [parents] have children who are afflicted or are struggling in poverty, and who will make a judicious use of means, they should be considered. But if they have unbelieving children who have abundance of this world, and who are serving the world, they commit a sin against the Master who has made them His stewards, by placing means in their hands merely because they are their children. God’s claim are not to be lightly regarded.

“And it should be distinctly understood that because parents have made their will, this will not prevent them from giving means to the cause of God while they live. This they should do. They should have the satisfaction here, and the reward hereafter, of disposing of their surplus means while they live. They should do their part to advance the cause of God. They should use the means lent them by the Master to carry on the work which needs to be done in His vineyard.”5

Satan is not content to have such order in the homes of God’s children. Rather, “Satan delights to look upon disordered and ill-governed families, for his success depends largely upon the control he can have over the families of earth. . . . He is determined the standard of righteousness shall not be the rule for the formation of character.”6

He will work tirelessly to tempt the home firm to relax ever so slightly one of the laws of God’s government and bring many other evils in its train. As he said to Jesus in the desert, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9, last part).

There are specious temptations adapted to different minds. The love of gain may entrap both the rich and the poor. Men are overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life. Love of fashion and display is rife among all ages and genders.

“There are those who, as soon as they get money, spend it for dainties to eat, or for needless adornments of dress, and when the supply of money becomes reduced, they feel the need of that which they have wasted. If they have an abundant income, they use every dollar of it; if small, it is not sufficient for the habits of extravagance they have acquired, and they borrow to supply the demand. They gather from any source possible to meet their fancied necessities. They become dishonest and untruthful, and the record that stands against them in the books of heaven is such as they will not care to look upon in the day of judgment. The desire of the eye must be gratified, the craving of the appetite indulged, and they keep themselves poor by their improvident habits, when they might have learned to live within their means.”7

The state of affairs among families of believers is as Satan would have it; he needs not fear their influence.

He endeavors to keep the money in his ranks by encouraging debt. “When one voluntarily becomes involved in debt, he is entangling himself in one of Satan’s nets which he sets for souls.”8

Debt is an extremely heavy burden to carry. It keeps your mind preoccupied with the financial problems, weakens the faith, and leads to discouragement. Along with its pressures, it leads into other temptations. “The practice of borrowing money to relieve some pressing necessity, and making no calculation for canceling the indebtedness, however common, is demoralizing. The Lord would have all who believe the truth converted from these self-deceiving practices. They should choose rather to suffer want than to commit a dishonest act. No soul can resort to prevarication or dishonesty in handling the Lord’s goods, and stand guiltless before God.”9

“The man who has been unfortunate, and finds himself in debt, should not take the Lord’s portion to cancel his debts to his fellow men. He should consider that in these transactions he is being tested, and that in reserving the Lord’s portion for his own use he is robbing the Giver. He is debtor to God for all that he has, but he becomes a double debtor when he uses the Lord’s reserved fund in paying debts to human beings. ‘Unfaithfulness to God’ is written against his name in the books of heaven. He has an account to settle with God for appropriating the Lord’s means for his own convenience. And the want of principle shown in his misappropriation of God’s means will be revealed in his management of other matters.”10

The pressure of debt and distress over the financial condition of a home firm affects all within the family. The love, joy, and peace that should exist becomes overshadowed by worry, stress, and bitterness. The Spirit of Prophecy counsels, “Do not falter, be discouraged, or turn back. Deny your taste, deny the indulgence of appetite, save your pence and pay your debts. Work them off as fast as possible. When you can stand forth a free man again, owing no man anything, you will have achieved a great victory.”11

Dear brethren and sisters, today is the day to reconfirm our vows of obedience to God in every aspect of life. We all see and know that the harvest indeed is great and the laborers are few. And in reality, it is only through these hands of ours that God can pour out the resources necessary for the work to grow. But we must be unselfish - self-denying - that others like us may get a chance to learn the truths of salvation that have touched our life.

By being supportive of the ministry at all times, the lay missionary work, the local church and all its projects, we will not be idle but busy in the salvation of souls, and thus be preparing ourselves to obtain the character of our Teacher and glorify His name.There will be no reason to give place to lukewarmness or spiritual death.

“ ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ is the assurance of the Great Teacher. Catch the inspiration of the words, and never, never talk doubt and unbelief. Be energetic. There is no half-and-half service in pure and undefiled religion. ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength’ (Mark 12:30). The very highest sanctified ambition is demanded of those who believe the word of God.”12