“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 17:23). Can we comprehend the meaning of these words? Can we take it in? Can we measure this love? The thought that God loves us as He loves His Son should bring us in gratitude and praise to Him. Provision has been made whereby God can love us as He loves His Son, and it is through our oneness with Christ and with each other. We must each come to the fountain and drink for ourselves. A thousand around us may take of the stream of salvation, but we shall not be refreshed unless we drink of the healing stream ourselves. We must see the beauty, the light of God’s Word for ourselves, and kindle our taper at the divine altar, that we may go to the world, holding forth the Word of life as a bright, shining lamp.... (TMK 172.3) MC VC

Christians are to stand out distinct from the world as God’s standard bearers, showing in their lives the influence of the transforming grace of Christ. They are raised up together to sit with Christ in heavenly places that they may reveal to the world, to angels, and to men an enduring representation of the eternal world. They are to hold forth the Word of life, warning men of the binding claims of God’s law. God wants His servants to be of a high order. He wants them to obey laws of a higher order than the laws of the world—laws which are the transcript of His character. (TMK 305.2) MC VC