Franke, Brother and Sister [E. E.]
“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California
August 7, 1902
Portions of this letter are published in UL 233; 6MR 377-378.
Dear brother and sister Franke,—
I was very much pleased to receive a letter from Brother Franke this morning. And I was greatly pleased with the contents of the letter. The words written were right words. We are to unify, and thus answer Christ’s petition: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [John 17:20-23.] 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 1
How it must grieve the dear Saviour when His children do not strive to answer this precious prayer, the last prayer that He offered with His disciples before His betrayal and crucifixion. Let us seek for the unity that Christ so earnestly desired should exist among His disciples. Thus we shall make the heart of infinite love satisfied, filling it with rejoicing. And as heart is bound to heart, what joy will be brought to our own souls and to the church. 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 2
“Ye have not chosen me,” the Saviour declared, “but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,” because you give evidence that you are trees of the Lord’s planting; “that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” [John 15:16.] 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 3
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” [John 13:34, 35.] 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 4
Why did Christ call this a new commandment? Because He was yet to give, in the sacrifice of His life, the crowning evidence of His love. When this offering would be made, the gift would be complete, and the disciples would understand more fully the meaning of the new commandment, “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” [Verse 34.] 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 5
Should not this love be appreciated? Shall we not strive to answer the Saviour’s prayer for unity—the prescription for the cure of all alienation and strife? Shall we not, without an hour’s delay, begin to fulfil His purpose for us, loving one another as He has loved us? Then will come the glorious result. Because we are bound together by the golden chain of love, men will know that we are Christ’s disciples. 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 6
We are sometimes asked, “Why does not God work miracles through the church today?” Because the church refuses to be guided and controlled by Him. Christ’s love in the heart, revealing through the life its wondrous power—this is the greatest miracle that can be performed before a fallen, quarrelling world. Let us try to work this miracle, not in our own power, but in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose we are and whom we serve. Let us put on Christ, and the miracle-working power of His grace will be so plainly revealed in the transformation of character, that the world will be convinced that God has sent His Son into the world to make men as angels in character and life. 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 7
Those who truly believe in Christ sit together with Him in heavenly places. Let us accept the badge of Christianity. This is not an outward sign, not the wearing of a cross or a crown. But it is something that reveals the union of man with God. Let us “put off the old man with his deeds,” and “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” [Colossians 3:9, 10.] The beauty of holiness is revealed as Christians draw near together, blending in Christlike love. 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 8
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” [Hebrews 10:19-25.] 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 9
There is only one true religion; only one way to heaven; only one light to illuminate the way as the pilgrims press on. As we follow on to know the Lord, we shall acknowledge at every step that Christ is the Light of the world, that He is “the way, the truth, and the life;” and we shall find that the path which He bids us follow “is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” [John 14:6; Proverbs 4:18.] 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 10
I have the fullest confidence, Brother Franke, that the Lord will use you in His own way, that He has a testimony for you to bear, to prepare the way of the Lord, and make His paths straight. We have a wonder-working God—a God who will cleanse His people from all defilement. 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 11
The Lord is good and greatly to be praised. He has bestowed on you the talent of communicating the truth to others. I have a longing desire that you and every member of your family shall receive the reward to be given to the tried and faithful; that you shall be saved with an everlasting salvation. I have a far greater desire that this shall be than you suppose. In our daily worship, your family is often mentioned by name. My earnest prayer to God is that you and your wife and children shall be kept by His power. I shall continue to pray for you, my brother and sister, and for your dear children, in whom I am deeply interested. I desire that every one of them shall have the precious experience that they may gain by co-operating with God. Let our prayers ascend to God, Brother and Sister Franke, for the salvation of your children. They are all dear to His heart. He is waiting to be gracious to them. He will receive them. If they will come to Him and learn of Him, He will use them in saving other youth. He will honor them with a sacred trust, making them laborers together with Him. How blest, how doubly blest, is the home in which father, mother, and children are consecrated to the service of Christ. 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 12
You cannot understand the intense longing which fills my soul that the enemy, who is seeking to destroy your boys, shall be completely defeated. Christ declares, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” [Revelation 3:21.] 17LtMs, Lt 126, 1902, par. 13