The flowers of the field, in their endless variety, are always ministering to the delight of the children of men. God Himself nourishes every root, that He may express His love to all who will be softened and subdued by the works of His hands. We need no artificial display. God’s love is represented by the beautiful things of His creation. These things mean more than many suppose (Letter 84, 1900).
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28-30. A Lesson of Faith—Notwithstanding the curse was pronounced upon the earth that it should bring forth thorns and thistles, there is a flower upon the thistle. The world is not all sorrow and misery. God′s great book of nature is open for us to study, and from it we are to gain more exalted ideas of His greatness and unexcelled love and glory. He who laid the foundation of the earth, who garnished the heavens and marshaled the stars in their order, He who has clothed the earth with a living carpet, and beautified it with lovely flowers of every shade and variety, would have His children appreciate His works, and delight in the simple, quiet beauty with which He has adorned their earthly home.
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Christ sought to draw the attention of His disciples away from the artificial to the natural: “If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”Matthew 6:30. Why did not our heavenly Father carpet the earth with brown or gray? He chose the color that was most restful, the most acceptable to the senses. How it cheers the heart and refreshes the weary spirit to look upon the earth, clad in its garments of living green! Without this covering the air would be filled with dust, and the earth would appear like a desert. Every spire of grass, every opening bud and blooming flower is a token of God’s love, and should teach us a lesson of faith and trust in Him. Christ calls our attention to their natural loveliness, and assures us that the most gorgeous array of the greatest king that ever wielded an earthly scepter was not equal to that worn by the humblest flower. You who are sighing for the artificial splendor which wealth alone can purchase, for costly paintings, furniture, and dress, listen to the voice of the divine Teacher. He points you to the flower of the field, the simple design of which cannot be equaled by human skill (The Review and Herald, October 27, 1885).
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1, 2 (Luke 6:37; Romans 2:1; see EGW comment on 1 Samuel 14:44). Satan Judged by Own Idea of Justice—Satan will be judged by his own idea of justice. It was his plea that every sin should meet its punishment. “If God remitted the punishment, he said, He was not a God of truth or justice.” Satan will meet the judgment which he said God should exercise (Manuscript 111, 1897).
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21-23 (Matthew 24:24; 11:14, 15; 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10; Revelation 13:13, 14). A Profession Is Not Enough—Those who claim modern sanctification would have come boastingly forward, saying, “Lord, Lord, do you not know us? Have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?”Matthew 7:22. The people here described, who make these pretentious claims, apparently weaving Jesus into all their doings, fitly represent those who claim modern sanctification, but who are at war with the law of God. Christ calls them “workers of iniquity”(Matthew 7:23), because they are deceivers, having on the garments of righteousness to hide the deformity of their characters, the inward wickedness of their unholy hearts. Satan has come down in these last days, to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish. His satanic majesty works miracles in the sight of false prophets, in the sight of men, claiming that he is indeed Christ Himself. Satan gives his power to those who are aiding him in his deceptions; therefore those who claim to have the great power of God can only be discerned by the great detector, the law of Jehovah. The Lord tells us “if it were possible they would deceive the very elect”(Matthew 24:24). The sheep′s clothing seems so real, so genuine, that the wolf cannot be discerned only as we go to God′s great moral standard and there find that they are transgressors of the law of Jehovah (The Review and Herald, August 25, 1885).
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23, 24 (Matthew 7:20, 21; Isaiah 8:20; Mark 13:21, 22; Luke 21:8; 10:2-5; John 15:10; 1 John 2:4). How to Know a False Christ—We need to be anchored in Christ, rooted and grounded in the faith. Satan works through agents. He selects those who have not been drinking of the living waters, whose souls are athirst for something new and strange, and who are ever ready to drink at any fountain that may present itself. Voices will be heard, saying, “Lo, here is Christ,” or “Lo, there;” but we must believe them not. We have unmistakable evidence of the voice of the True Shepherd, and He is calling upon us to follow Him. He says, “I have kept my Father′s commandments.” He leads His sheep in the path of humble obedience to the law of God, but He never encourages them in the transgression of that law.
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“The voice of a stranger”(John 10:5) is the voice of one who neither respects nor obeys God′s holy, just, and good law. Many make great pretensions to holiness, and boast of the wonders they perform in healing the sick, when they do not regard this great standard of righteousness. But through whose power are these cures wrought? Are the eyes of either party opened to their transgressions of the law? and do they take their stand as humble, obedient children, ready to obey all of God′s requirements? John testifies of the professed children of God: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”1 John 2:4.
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None need be deceived. The law of God is as sacred as His throne, and by it every man who cometh into the world is to be judged. There is no other standard by which to test character. “If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”Isaiah 8:20. Now, shall the case be decided according to the Word of God, or shall man′s pretensions be credited? Says Christ, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”Matthew 7:20. If those through whom cures are performed, are disposed, on account of these manifestations, to excuse their neglect of the law of God, and continue in disobedience, though they have power to any and every extent, it does not follow that they have the great power of God. On the contrary, it is the miracle-working power of the great deceiver. He is a transgressor of the moral law, and employs every device that he can master to blind men to its true character. We are warned that in the last days he will work with signs and lying wonders. And he will continue these wonders until the close of probation that he may point to them as evidence that he is an angel of light and not of darkness.
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Brethren, we must beware of the pretended holiness that permits transgression of the law of God. Those cannot be sanctified who trample that law under their feet, and judge themselves by a standard of their own devising (The Review and Herald, November 17, 1885).
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1-10. The Wise Arouse From Sleep—All who wait for the heavenly Bridegroom are represented in the parable as slumbering because their Lord delayed His coming; but the wise roused themselves at the message of His approach, and responded to the message, and their spiritual discernment was not all gone, and they sprang into line. As they took hold of the grace of Christ, their religious experience became vigorous and abundant, and their affections were set upon things above. They discerned where was the source of their supply, and appreciated the love that God had for them. They opened their hearts to receive the Holy Spirit, by which the love of God was shed abroad in their hearts. Their lights were trimmed and burning, and sent forth steady rays into the moral darkness of the world. They glorified God, because they had the oil of grace in their hearts, and did the very work that their Master did before them—went forth to seek and to save those who were lost (The Signs of the Times, June 28, 1910).
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7 (Luke 12:35). A Trimmed and Burning Lamp—The very best credentials we can carry is love for one another. All strife, all dissension, is to cease. God will not accept the talents of the smartest, the most eloquent man if the inner lamp of the soul is not trimmed and burning. There must be a consecrated heart, and consecrated surrender of the soul (Letter 119, 1899).
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