Ever Upward
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Col. 2: 6.
This means that you are to study the life of Christ. You are to
study it with as much more earnestness than you study secular lines of knowledge, as eternal interests are more important than temporal, earthly pursuits. If you
appreciate the value and sacredness of eternal things, you will bring your sharpest thoughts, your best energies, to the solving of the problem that involves your
eternal well- being; for every other interest sinks into nothingness in comparison with that.
You have the Pattern, Christ Jesus; walk in His footsteps.
"Add to your faith virtue" (2 Peter 1: 5). There is no promise given to the one who is
retrograding. The apostle, in his testimony, is aiming to excite the believers to advancement in grace and holiness. They already profess to be living the truth, they
have a knowledge of the precious faith, they have been made partakers of the divine nature. But if they stop here they will lose the grace they have received. . . .
Truth is an active, working principle, molding heart and life so that there is a constant upward movement. . . . In every step of climbing, the will is obtaining a new
spring of action. The moral tone is becoming more like the mind and character of Christ. The progressive Christian has grace and love which passes knowledge, for
divine insight into the character of Christ takes a deep hold upon his affections. The glory of the Lord revealed above the ladder can only be appreciated by the
progressive climber, who is ever attracted higher, to nobler aims which Christ reveals.
The steps upward to heaven must be taken one at a time; every advance step strengthens us for the next. The transforming power of the grace of God upon the
human heart is a work which but few comprehend because they are too indolent to make the necessary effort. . . .
It is beyond the power of man to conceive the high and noble attainments that are within his reach if he will combine human effort with the grace of God, who is
the Source of all wisdom and power. And there is an eternal weight of glory beyond.
From God's Amazing Grace - Page 240
