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The Ministry of Healing
Rich and poor, high and low, free and bond, are God’s heritage.
He who gave His life to redeem man sees in every human being
a value that exceeds finite computation. By the mystery and glory
of the cross we are to discern His estimate of the value of the soul.
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When we do this, we shall feel that human beings, however degraded,
have cost too much to be treated with coldness or contempt. We
shall realize the importance of working for our fellow men, that they
may be exalted to the throne of God.
The lost coin, in the Saviour’s parable, though lying in the dirt
and rubbish, was a piece of silver still. Its owner sought it because
it was of value. So every soul, however degraded by sin, is in
God’s sight accounted precious. As the coin bore the image and
superscription of the reigning power, so man at his creation bore
the image and superscription of God. Though now marred and dim
through the influence of sin, the traces of this inscription remain
upon every soul. God desires to recover that soul and to retrace upon
it His own image in righteousness and holiness.
How little do we enter into sympathy with Christ on that which
should be the strongest bond of union between us and Him—
compassion for depraved, guilty, suffering souls, dead in trespasses
and sins! The inhumanity of man toward man is our greatest sin.
Many think that they are representing the justice of God while they
wholly fail of representing His tenderness and His great love. Often
the ones whom they meet with sternness and severity are under the
stress of temptation. Satan is wrestling with these souls, and harsh,
unsympathetic words discourage them and cause them to fall a prey
to the tempter’s power.
It is a delicate matter to deal with minds. Only He who reads
the heart knows how to bring men to repentance. Only His wisdom
can give us success in reaching the lost. You may stand up stiffly,
feeling, “I am holier than thou,” and it matters not how correct your
reasoning or how true your words; they will never touch hearts. The
love of Christ, manifested in word and act, will win its way to the
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soul, when the reiteration of precept or argument would accomplish
nothing.
We need more of Christlike sympathy; not merely sympathy
for those who appear to us to be faultless, but sympathy for poor,
suffering, struggling souls, who are often overtaken in fault, sinning