The oftener the New Testament is read, the more instructive it becomes. No one ever wearies of its beautiful words, for they are like precious gems. The deeper the research made into them, the newer and more splendid the light reflected by them. The more we study the Word with a simple, trustful heart, the more we understand the path we must travel in order to reach the Paradise of God.
Our life is something we receive from Christ by a study of His Word. “In him was life”—original, unborrowed. He was the Fountain of life. We receive life from the Saviour which He takes back again. That life which God has given us should be put to the very best account, for as human agents we are forming our own destiny. We need to choose wisely those associates who will best fit us, body, soul, and spirit, for the future country, even the heavenly. In our choice of companions we should not place ourselves under influences that are in any way unfavorable to the formation of pure and correct principles, for we need all the assistance we can possibly obtain that in our associations we may develop characters after Christ’s likeness.
Christ says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21). There are temptations that we must meet. If we yield to them, we are on the losing side, and by meeting with defeat again and again, it becomes a habit to do wrong in the place of doing right. We thus reveal that we choose to work out the principles and attributes of Satan, rather than the principles and attributes of Jesus Christ...
A Christian will not choose as the object of his affection one who by his course of action neglects Jesus Christ, who daily crucifies the Son of God afresh, and puts Him to an open shame. Such reveal by their actions and conversation that they have no respect for the One who gave His life for the life of humanity, enduring for them poverty, temptation, self-denial, and self-sacrifice. Through all His life here He was unappreciated and misunderstood, even by the members of His own family.
Satan was constantly suggesting to His brethren, the sons of Joseph, criticisms of the One who seemed so unlike themselves. Every solicitation to evil was refused by Him, because He would not be persuaded to accept wrongdoing, or to deviate in the slightest from “It is written.” He seemed to have Scripture treasured in heart and mind. He seldom rebuked their course of action, but always had a word from God to speak to them—“It is written.”—Manuscript 2, February 9, 1896, untitled manuscript.
