Taking the Truth to New Territory
Would you like to reduce the level of suffering in this world? The best thing to do is to hasten the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. Do we really have that ability? Yes!
“By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord’s return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.”1
The parable of the talents is widely known by most believers. Many diligently strive for excellence and thrift as a result of its noble teaching. Yet we oftentimes overlook the real purpose of these gifts. Talents are not given for personal ambition. They are designed for service, to be used as tools in the salvation of souls.
“In using the gifts that [God] has entrusted to our care for the salvation of souls, we transfer our wealth to the treasury of heaven. When we are seeking the glory of God and hasting unto the day of God, we are colaborers with Christ, and our joy is not a base and fleeting emotion; but it is the joy of our Lord. We are elevated above the corroding, perplexing cares of this frail fickle world.”2
“ ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father’ (John 14:12). By this, Christ did not mean that the disciples would make more exalted exertions than He had made, but that their work would have greater magnitude. He did not refer merely to miracle working, but to all that would take place under the agency of the Holy Spirit. . . .
“As Christ’s representatives the apostles were to make a decided impression on the world. The fact that they were humble men would not diminish their influence, but increase it; for the minds of their hearers would be carried from them to the Saviour, who, though unseen, was still working with them. The wonderful teaching of the apostles, their words of courage and trust, would assure all that it was not in their own power that they worked, but in the power of Christ.”3
As we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, He is able to do more than we ask or think. The one who seeks the promotion and exaltation of self will perish, while humble service for Christ and humanity will uplift and endure even unto eternity.
We believe in and love the second advent of Christ - so, let us seek to be part of the hastening process. When God’s love and the abiding principles of His law shine through frail earthen vessels, His glory is made known and the return of Christ may come much sooner. Maranatha!