Deposits in the Bank of Heaven, August 21

In Contact With Others

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27.FLB 239.1

The tender sympathies of our Saviour were aroused for fallen and suffering humanity. If you would be His followers, you must cultivate compassion and sympathy.... The widow, the orphan, the sick, and the dying will always need help. Here is an opportunity to proclaim the gospel—to hold up Jesus, the hope and consolation of all men. When the suffering body has been relieved, ... the heart is opened, and you can pour in the heavenly balm.^{101Welfare Ministry, 26.}FLB 239.2

A company of believers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown; yet in Christ they may do a work in the home, the neighborhood, the church, and even in “the regions beyond,” whose results will be as far-reaching as eternity. It is because this work is neglected that so many young disciples never advance beyond the mere alphabet of Christian experience. The light which was glowing in their own hearts when Jesus spoke to them, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” they might have kept alive by helping those in need. The restless energy that is so often a source of danger to the young might be directed into channels through which it would flow out in streams of blessing.^{102The Desire of Ages, 640, 641.}FLB 239.3

The hours so often spent in amusement that refreshes neither body nor soul should be spent in ... seeking to help someone who is in need.^{103Testimonies for the Church 6:276.}FLB 239.4

Every opportunity to help a brother in need, or to aid the cause of God in the spread of the truth, is a pearl that you can send beforehand, and deposit in the bank of heaven for safe-keeping.^{104Testimonies for the Church 3:249.}FLB 239.5

Love, courtesy, self-sacrifice—these are never lost. When God's chosen ones are changed from mortality to immortality, their words and deeds of goodness will be made manifest, and will be preserved through the eternal ages.... Through the merits of Christ's imputed righteousness, the fragrance of such words and deeds is forever preserved.^{105Sons and Daughters of God, 270.}FLB 239.6