Jesus says, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” If we are following Jesus, we shall not walk in darkness. If his light illuminates the mind and shines into the chambers of the heart, we shall be as Christ has said, “the light of the world.” We shall see light, and shall talk of the love of Christ, talk of his goodness and marvellous mercy, and we shall always find enough to talk about on these themes, even to all eternity, when we have that life which measures with the life of God.BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 1

The trouble with many of us is, we get our eye fixed upon the shadow that Satan casts between our souls and God, and fail to discover the light beyond the shadow. We talk in a kind of hopeless way, as if we were slaves serving a tyrant. We represent ourselves to the world as having a hard time serving the Lord. We pick up things to find fault about, to mourn over, and pity and sympathize with ourselves, and fail to make a favorable impression upon those who have not tasted of the gift of God.BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 2

Instead of talking darkness, instead of having thoughts of gloom, we should remember that we have everything to make us glad, and this gladness should shine in our very faces. Do not let frowns and gloom have place there. Take a look into the mirror of God's law, and see if you are cheerful in your service to him. Look upon Jesus, full of forgiveness and mercy and peace, instead of upon that which will bring condemnation and gloom. Look toward the light, and behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. When Satan tells you that you are a sinner, and points out this neglect and that wrong, tell him that you know you are a sinner, but that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Tell him, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Repeat the promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus stands between divinity and humanity, and he is fully able to save you. He was manifested to take away our sins, to relieve our hearts of their sorrows and burdens, to put a new song into our mouth, even praise unto our God. Present the promise to God in the name of Jesus, and you have his pledged word that he will let the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you.BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 3

Jesus is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Will you not repent of your sins, and let him take away your guilt? Will you not let him take your sins upon his divine soul, and impute to you his righteousness?BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 4

We are to respond to the invitations of the Spirit of God. Do we repent of our transgressions? This is an evidence that the Lord is drawing us to himself; it is Jesus that gives us repentance. “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” It is his Holy Spirit that impresses us with the necessity of emptying the soul of all selfishness; and when we give ourselves to God, he will fill the vacuum with his divine Spirit, and give us the precious graces of his own character.BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 5

The great lack among us is the want of love. But any soul that comes hungering and thirsting for the waters of life, will have his soul refreshed from the living fountain. When you thirst, you will hear the voice calling, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” And when we have tasted of the waters of life, we shall be constrained by the love of Christ to say to others, “Come, taste and see that the Lord is good.” When we drink from the waters ourselves, we shall echo the cry, “Come.” “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” “Whosoever will.” Tell me who is excluded from receiving the benefits of this divine invitation? “Whosoever will, let him come.” All we have to do is to submit the will to God, to place the will on the Lord's side. Come and take the Lord at his word, and drink of the water of life freely.BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 6

If we have Christ abiding with us, we shall be Christians at home as well as abroad. He that is a Christian will have kind words for his relatives and associates. He will be kind, courteous, loving, sympathetic, and will be educating himself for an abode with the family above. He will feel that he is a member of the royal household, and that he must represent the kingdom to which he is going. He will speak with gentleness to his children; for he will realize that they, too, are heirs of God, members of the heavenly family. Among the children of God no spirit of harshness dwells; “For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.”BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 7

The spirit that is cherished in the home, is the spirit that will be manifested in the church. O, we must educate the soul to be pitiful, gentle, tender, full of forgiveness and compassion. While we lay aside all vanity, all foolish talking, jesting, and joking, we are not to become cold, unsympathetic, and unsocial. Christians should never be hard-hearted and unapproachable. The Spirit of the Lord should rest upon them until their characters are beautiful with the graces of heaven, and they become like fragrant flowers from the garden of God. The light of Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, shining into the heart, will change them from glory to glory, from character to character, and they will go on from strength to strength, reflecting more and more the precious image of Jesus, until at last “Well done” will be written in the books in heaven, because Jesus is faithfully represented.BEcho July 1, 1892, par. 8

June 15, 1892

July 15, 1892