Windows Wide
Open
By Mrs. E. G. White
There are some who talk in a regretful way concerning the restraints that
the religion of the Bible imposes upon those who would follow its teachings.
They seem to think that restraint is a great disadvantage, but we have reason
to thank God with all our heart that He has raised a heavenly barrier between
us and the ground of the enemy. There are certain tendencies of the natural
heart that many think must be followed in order that the best development
of the individual may result, but that which man thinks essential God sees
would not be the blessing to humanity which men imagine, for the development
of these very traits of character would unfit them for the mansions above.
The Lord places men under test and trial that the dross may be separated
from the gold, but He forces none. He does not bind with fetters and cords
and barriers, for they increase disaffection rather than decrease it.
The remedy for evil is found in Christ as an indwelling Saviour. But in
order that Christ may be in the soul, it must first be emptied of self,
then there is a vacuum created that may be supplied by the Holy Spirit.
The Lord purifies the heart very much as we air a room. We do not close
the doors and windows and throw in some purifying substance; but we open
the doors and throw wide the windows, and let heaven's purifying atmosphere
flow in. The Lord says, "He that doeth truth cometh to the light"
(John 3:21). The windows of impulse, of feeling, must be opened up toward
heaven, and the dust of selfishness and earthliness must be expelled.
The grace of God must sweep through the chambers of the mind, the imagination
must have heavenly themes for contemplation, and every element of the
nature must be purified and vitalized by the Spirit of God. |