But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10.
When the truth is received, it will work radical changes in life and character; for religion means the abiding of Christ in the heart, and where He is, the soul goes on in spiritual activity, ever growing in grace, ever going on to perfection....
It is no real evidence that you are a Christian because your emotion is stirred, your spirit stirred by truth; the question is, Are you growing up into Christ, your living head? Is the grace of Christ manifested in your life? God gives His grace to men, that they may desire more of His grace. God's grace is ever working upon the human heart, and when it is received, the evidence of its reception will appear in the life and character of its recipient.... The grace of Christ in the heart will always promote spiritual life, and spiritual advancement will be made.... We do not see the plants grow in the field, and yet we are assured that they do grow, and may we not know of our own spiritual strength and growth? ...
The sum and substance of the whole matter of Christian grace and experience is contained in believing on Christ, in knowing God and His Son whom He has sent. But here is where many fail, for they lack faith in God. Instead of desiring to be brought into fellowship with Christ in His self-denial and humiliation, they are ever seeking for the supremacy of self....
O, if you loved Him as He has loved you, you would not shun an experience in the dark chapters of the suffering of the Son of God! ... When we contemplate the humiliation of Christ, beholding His self-denial and self-sacrifice, we are filled with amazement at the manifestation of divine love for guilty man. When for Christ's sake we are called to pass through trials that are of a humiliating nature, if we have the mind of Christ, we shall suffer them with meekness, not resenting injury, or resisting evil. We shall manifest the spirit that dwelt in Christ....
We are to bear Christ's yoke, to work as He worked for the salvation of the lost; and those who are partakers of His sufferings will also be partakers of His glory.21The Review and Herald, May 24, 1892.
From God's Amazing Grace - Page 324
God's Amazing Grace