Love for the Erring

by Ellen G. White

The Review and Herald, November 30, 1886

     Christ came to bring salvation within the reach of all. Upon the cross of Calvary he paid the infinite redemption-price for a world lost. His self-denial and self sacrifice, his unselfish labor, his humiliation, and, above all, the offering up of his life, testify of the depth of his love for fallen man. It was to seek and to save that which was lost that he came to earth. His mission was to sinners--sinners of every grade, of every tongue and nation. He paid the price for all, to ransom them and bring them into union and sympathy with himself. The most erring, the most sinful, were not passed by; his labors were especially for those who most needed the salvation he came to bring. The greater their need of reform, the deeper was his interest, the greater his sympathy, and the more earnest his labors. His great heart of love was stirred to its depths for the ones who were the most hopeless, and who most needed his transforming grace.
     In the parable of the lost sheep is represented the wonderful love of Christ for the erring, wandering ones. He does not choose to remain with those who accept his salvation, bestowing all his efforts upon them, and receiving their gratitude and love. The true Shepherd leaves the flock that love him, and goes out into the wilderness, enduring hardship and facing danger and death, to seek and save the sheep that has wandered from the fold, and that must perish if not brought back. When after diligent search the lost is found, the Shepherd, though suffering from weariness, pain, and hunger, does not leave it in its weakness to follow him. He does not drive it back, but, oh wondrous love! he tenderly gathers it in his arms, and placing it upon his shoulder bears it to the fold. Then he calls upon his neighbors to rejoice with him over the lost that is found.
     The parable of the prodigal son, and that of the lost piece of silver teach the same lesson. Every soul that is especially imperiled by falling into temptation causes pain to the heart of Christ, and calls forth his tenderest sympathy and most earnest labor. Over one sinner that repenteth, his joy is greater than over the ninety and nine who need no repentance.
     These lessons are for our benefit. Christ has enjoined upon his disciples that they co-operate with him in his work; that they love one another as he has loved them. The agony which he endured upon the cross testifies of the estimate he places upon the human soul. All who accept this great salvation pledge themselves to be co-workers with him. None are to consider themselves special favorites of heaven, and center their interest and attention upon self.

All who have enlisted in the service of Christ are to work as he worked, and to love as he loved even those who are in ignorance and sin.

All who have enlisted in the service of Christ are to work as he worked, and to love as he loved even those who are in ignorance and sin.
     But there has been among us as a people a lack of deep, earnest, soul-touching sympathy and love for the tempted and the erring. Many have manifested great coldness and sinful neglect, represented by Christ as passing by on the other side--keeping as far as possible from the very ones who most need help. The newly converted soul often has fierce conflicts with established habits, or with some special form of temptation, and he may be overtaken in a fault. Overcome by some master passion or tendency, he is guilty of indiscretion or actual wrong. It is then that energy, tact, and wisdom are required of his brethren, that he may be restored to spiritual health. In such cases the instructions of God's word apply: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves." But how little of the pitying tenderness of Christ is manifested by his professed followers! When one errs, others too often feel at liberty to make the case appear as bad as possible. Those who perhaps are guilty of fully as great sins in some other direction, will treat their brother with cruel severity. Errors committed through ignorance, thoughtlessness, or weakness are exaggerated into willful, premeditated sin. As they see souls going astray, some fold their hands, and say, "I told you so. I knew there was no dependence to be placed upon them." Thus they place themselves in the attitude of Satan, exulting in spirit that their evil surmisings have proved to be correct.
     We must expect to meet and bear with great imperfections in those who are young and inexperienced. Christ has bidden us seek to restore such in the spirit of meekness, and he holds us responsible for pursuing a course which will drive them to discouragement, despair, and ruin. Unless they daily cultivate the precious plant of love, many who believe the solemn truths for this time are in danger of becoming narrow, unsympathizing, bigoted, and critical of others, esteeming themselves as righteous when they are far from being approved of God. Some are uncourteous, abrupt, and harsh. They are like chestnut burrs; they prick whenever touched. These do not rightly represent Christ, and they do incalculable harm by misrepresenting our loving Saviour.

We must come up to a higher standard, or we are unworthy of the Christian name.

We must come up to a higher standard, or we are unworthy of the Christian name. We should cultivate the spirit with which Christ labored to save the erring. These are as dear to him as we are. They are equally capable of being trophies of his grace, and heirs of his kingdom. But they are exposed to the snares of a wily foe, exposed to danger and defilement, and, without the saving grace of Christ, to certain ruin. Did we view this matter in the right light, how would our zeal be quickened, and our earnest, self-sacrificing efforts be multiplied to come close to those who need our help, our prayers, our sympathy and love.
     Let those who have been remiss in this work consider their duty in the light of the great commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." This obligation is resting upon all. All are required to labor to diminish the ills and multiply the blessings of their fellow-creatures. If we are strong to resist temptation, we are under the greater obligation to help those who are weak and yielding. Have we knowledge, we should instruct the ignorant. Has God blessed us with this world's goods, it is our duty to succor the poor. We must work for others' good. Let all within the sphere of our influence be partakers of whatever of excellence we may possess. None should be content to feed on the bread of life without sharing it with those around them.
     Those only live for Christ and honor his name who are true to their Master in seeking to save that which is lost. Genuine piety will surely manifest the deep longing and earnest labor of the crucified Saviour to save those for whom he died. If our hearts are softened and subdued by the grace of Christ, and glowing with a sense of God's goodness and love, there will be a natural outflow of love, sympathy, and tenderness to others. The truth exemplified in the life will exert its power, like the hidden leaven, upon all with whom it is brought in contact.
     God has ordained that in order to grow in grace and in a knowledge of Christ, men must follow his example, and work as he worked. It will often require a struggle to control our own feelings and refrain from speaking in a manner to discourage those who are laboring under temptation. A life of daily prayer and praise, a life which will shed light upon the path of others, cannot be maintained without earnest effort. But such effort will yield precious fruit, blessing not only the receiver but the giver. The spirit of unselfish labor for others gives depth,

Those who exercise the Christian graces will grow.

stability, and Christ-like loveliness to the character, and brings peace and happiness to its possessor. The aspirations are elevated. There is no room for sloth or selfishness. Those who exercise the Christian graces will grow. They will have spiritual sinew and muscle, and will be strong to work for God. They will have clear spiritual perception, a steady, growing faith, and increased power in prayer. Those who are watching for souls, those who devote themselves most fully to labor for the salvation of the erring, are most surely working out their own salvation.
     But how this work has been neglected! If the thoughts and affections were wholly given to God, think you that souls in error, under the temptations of Satan, would be dropped as carelessly and unfeelingly as they have been? Would not greater efforts be put forth, in the love and simplicity of Christ, to save these wandering ones? All who are truly consecrated to God will engage with the greatest zeal in the work for which he has done the most, for which he has made an infinite sacrifice. This is the special work to be cherished and sustained, and never allowed to flag.
     God calls upon his people to arise, and come out of the chilling, frosty atmosphere in which they have been living, to shake off the impressions and ideas that have frozen up the impulses of love and held them in selfish inactivity. He bids them come up from their low, earthly level, and breathe in the clear, sunny atmosphere of heaven.
     Our meetings for worship should be sacred, precious occasions. The prayer-meeting is not a place where brethren are to censure and condemn one another, where there are to be unkind feelings and hard speeches. Christ will be driven from the assemblies where this spirit is manifested, and Satan will come in to take the lead. Nothing that savors of an unchristian, unloving spirit should be permitted to enter; for do we not assemble to seek mercy and forgiveness from the Lord? And the Saviour has plainly said, "With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Who can stand before God and plead a faultless character, a blameless life? And how, then, dare any criticise and condemn their brethren? Those who themselves can hope for salvation only through the merits of Christ, who must seek forgiveness by virtue of his blood, are under the strongest obligation to exercise love, pity, and forgiveness toward their fellow-sinners.
     Unless you educate yourselves to respect the place of devotion, you will receive no blessing from God. You may worship him in form, but there will be no spiritual service. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name," says Jesus, "there am I in the midst of them." All should feel that they are in the divine presence; and instead of dwelling upon the faults and errors of others, they should be diligently searching their own hearts. If you have confessions to make of your own sins, do your duty, and leave others to do theirs.
     When you indulge your own harshness of character by manifesting a hard, unfeeling spirit, you are repulsing the very ones whom you should win. Your harshness and severity destroy their love of assembling together, and too often result in driving them from the truth. You should realize that you yourselves are under the rebuke of God. While you condemn others, the Lord condemns you. You have a duty to do to confess your own unchristian conduct.

May the Lord move upon the hearts of the individual members of the church

May the Lord move upon the hearts of the individual members of the church, until his transforming grace shall be revealed in life and character. Then when you assemble together it will not be to criticise one another, but to talk of Jesus and his love.
     Our meetings should be made intensely interesting. They should be pervaded with the very atmosphere of heaven. Let there be no long, dry speeches and formal prayers, merely for the sake of occupying the time. All should be ready to act their part with promptness, and when their duty is done, the meeting should be closed. Thus the interest will be kept up to the last. This is offering to God acceptable worship. His service should be made interesting and attractive, and not be allowed to degenerate into a dry form. We must live for Christ minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day; then Christ will dwell in us, and when we meet together, his love will be in our hearts, welling up like a refreshing spring in the desert, refreshing all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the waters of life.
     We are not to depend upon two or three members to do the work for the whole church. We must individually have a strong, active faith, carrying forward the work God has left us to do. There must be an intense, living interest to inquire of God, "What wilt thou have me to do?" "How shall I do my work for time and for eternity?" We must individually bend all our powers to search for the truth, employing every means within our reach that will aid us in a diligent, prayerful investigation of the Scriptures; and then we must live the truth, that we may save souls.
     An earnest effort should be made in every church to put away evil-speaking and a censorious spirit. Severity and fault-finding must be rebuked as the work of Satan. Mutual love and confidence must be encouraged and strengthened in the members of the church. Let all close their ears to gossip and censure. Direct the tale-bearer to the teachings of God's word. Bid him carry his complaints directly to those whom he thinks in error. This united action would bring a flood of light into the church, and close the door to a flood of evil.
     The admonition of the True Witness to the Sardis church is, "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent." The sin especially charged against this church is that they have not strengthened the things that remain that are ready to die. Does this warning apply to us?
     God has done his part of the work for the salvation of men, and now he calls for the co-operation of the church. There is the blood of Christ, the word of truth, the Holy Spirit, and there are the perishing souls. Every follower of Christ has a part to act to bring men to accept the blessings Heaven has provided. Let us closely examine ourselves, and see if we have done this work. Let us question the motives, the actions of the life. Are there not many unpleasant pictures hanging in memory's halls? Often have you needed the forgiveness of Jesus; you have been constantly dependent upon his compassion and love. Yet have you not failed to manifest toward others the spirit which Christ has exercised toward you? Have you felt a burden for the one whom you saw venturing into forbidden paths? Have you kindly admonished him? Have you wept for him and prayed with him? Have you shown by words of tenderness and kindly acts that you love him and desire to save him? As you have associated with those who were faltering and staggering under the load of their own infirmities of disposition and faulty habits, have you left them to fight the battles alone, when you might have given them help? Have you not passed these sorely tempted ones by on the other side, while the world has stood ready to give them sympathy, and to allure them into Satan's nets? Have you not, like Cain, been ready to say, "Am I my brother's keeper?" How must the great Head of the church regard the work of your life? How does He to whom every soul is precious as the purchase of his blood, look upon your indifference to those who stray from the right path? Be sure that He who is the true Watchman of the Lord's house, the sleepless Warder of the temple courts, has marked every neglect.
     Have not Christ and his love been shut out from your life, until a mechanical form has taken the place of heart service? Where is the kindling of soul you once felt at the mention of the name of Jesus? In the freshness of your early dedication, how fervent was your love for souls. How earnestly you sought to represent to them the Saviour's love. The absence of that love has made you cold, critical, exacting. Seek to win it back, and then labor to bring souls to Christ. If you refuse to do this, others who have had less light and experience, and fewer opportunities, will come up and take your place, and do that which you have neglected; for the work must be done to save the tempted, the tried, the perishing. Christ offers the service to his church; who will accept it?
     God has not been unmindful of the good deeds, the self-denying acts, of the church in the past. All are registered on high. But these are not enough. These will not save the church when she ceases to fulfill her mission. Unless the cruel neglect and indifference manifested in the past shall cease, the church, instead of going from strength to strength, will continue to degenerate into weakness and formality. Shall we let this be? Is the dull torpor, the mournful deterioration in love and spiritual zeal, which exists today, to be perpetuated? Is this the condition in which Christ is to find his church?
     Brethren, your own lamps will surely flicker and become dim, until they go out in darkness, unless you shall make decided efforts to reform. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works." The opportunity now presented may be short. If this season of grace and repentance passes unimproved, the warning is given, "I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place." These words are uttered by the long-suffering, forbearing One. They are a solemn warning to churches and to individuals, that the Watcher who never slumbers is measuring their course of action. It is only by reason of his marvelous patience that they are not cut down as cumberers of the ground. But his Spirit will not always strive. His patience will wait but little longer.
     At the last day the final decision by the Judge of all the earth will turn upon our interest in, and practical labor for, the needy, the oppressed, the tempted. You cannot always pass these by on the other side, and yourselves find entrance as redeemed sinners into the city of God. "Inasmuch," says Christ, "as ye did it not unto one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
     But it is not yet too late to redeem the neglects of the past. Let there be a revival of the first love, the first ardor. Search out the ones you have driven away; bind up by confession the wounds you have made. Come close to the great Heart of pitying love, and let the current of that divine compassion flow into your heart, and from you into the hearts of others. Let the tenderness and mercy that Jesus has revealed in his own precious life can be an example to us of the manner in which we should treat our fellow-beings, especially those who are our brethren in Christ. Many have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, whom one word of kindly cheer and courage would have strengthened to overcome. Never, never become heartless, cold, unsympathizing, and censorious. Never lose an opportunity to say a word to encourage and inspire hope. We cannot tell how far-reaching may be our tender words of kindness, our Christ like efforts to lighten some burden. The erring can be restored in no other way than in the spirit of meekness, gentleness, and tender love.

     "Wouldst thou an erring soul redeem,
       And lead a lost one back to God?
     Wouldst thou a guardian angel seem
       To one who long in guilt has trod?
     Go kindly to him, take his hand,
       With gentle words, within thine own,
     And by his side a brother stand,
       Till thou the demon sin dethrone.

     "Scorn not the guilty, then, but plead
       With him in kindest, gentlest mood,
     And back to the lost one thou mayest lead
       To God, humanity, and good.
     Thou art thyself but man, and thou
       Art weak, perchance to fall as he;
     Then mercy to the fallen show,
       That mercy may be shown to thee."
     Nimes, France.