Christ bound them to His heart by ties of love and devotion, and by the same ties He bound them to one another. With Him love was life, and life was service. “Freely you have received,” He said, “freely give.” Matthew 10:8. TEd 49.6
It was not on the cross only that Christ sacrificed Himself for humanity. As He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), every day’s experience was an outpouring of His life. In one way only could such a life be sustained. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and communion with Him. His life was one of constant trust, sustained by continual communion, and His service for heaven and earth was without failure or faltering. TEd 50.1
As a man Jesus supplicated the throne of God till His humanity was charged with a heavenly current that connected humanity with divinity. Receiving life from God, He imparted life to others. TEd 50.2
Instead of directing the people to study human theories about God, His Word, or His works, He taught them to behold Him, as manifested in His works, in His Word, and by His providences. He brought their minds into contact with the mind of the Infinite. TEd 50.3
“No man ever spoke like this Man.” John 7:46. This would have been true of Christ if He had taught only in the area of the physical and intellectual, or only in matters of theory and speculation. He might have unlocked mysteries that have taken centuries of work and study to solve. He might have made suggestions in scientific matters that would have stimulated thought and invention till the close of time. But He did not do this. He did not deal in abstract theories, but in that which is essential to the development of character, that which will enlarge the capacity of human minds for knowing God and increasing their power to do good. He spoke of those truths that deal with the way people live, truths that will unite them with God. TEd 50.4
Christ’s teaching, like His sympathies, embraced the world. Never can there be a circumstance of life, a crisis in human experience, that has not been anticipated in His teaching, and for which its principles do not have a lesson. The Prince of teachers, His words will be found a guide to His co-workers till the end of time. TEd 50.5
To Him the present and the future, the near and the far, were one. He had in view the needs of the whole world. Before His mind’s eye was outspread every scene of human effort and achievement, of temptation and conflict, of perplexity and peril. TEd 50.6
He spoke not only for, but to, the entire human family—to the little child, in the gladness of life’s morning; to the eager, restless heart of youth; to men and women in the strength of their years, bearing the burden of responsibility and care; to the aged in their weakness and weariness. He spoke to every person in every land and in every age. TEd 50.7
The things of this life He placed as subordinate to those of eternal interest, but He did not ignore their importance. He taught that heaven and earth are linked together, and that a knowledge of divine truth prepares people better to perform the duties of daily life. To Him nothing was without purpose. The sports of the child, the work of men and women, life’s pleasures and cares and pains, all were means to one end—the revelation of God for the uplifting of humanity. TEd 51.1
From His lips the Word of God came home to human hearts with new power and new meaning. In all the facts and experiences of life were revealed a divine lesson and the possibility of divine companionship. Again God dwelt on earth; human hearts became conscious of His presence; the world was encompassed with His love. TEd 51.2
In the Teacher sent from God, all true educational work finds its center. Of this work today as verily as of the work He established during His earthly ministry the Savior speaks in the words: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 21:6. TEd 51.3
In the presence of such a Teacher, of such opportunity for divine education, it is worse than folly to seek an education apart from Him. Behold, He is still inviting: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me, and let the one who believes in Me drink.” John 7:37, 38, NRSV. TEd 51.4