Man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-balanced mind. He was perfect in his
being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy. But through
disobedience, his powers were perverted, and selfishness took the place of love. His nature
became so weakened through transgression that it was impossible for him, in his own strength, to
resist the power of evil. He was made captive by Satan, and would have remained so forever had
not God specially interposed. It was the tempter’s purpose to thwart the divine plan in man’s
creation, and fill the earth with woe and desolation. And he would point to all this evil as the
result of God’s work in creating man.

In his sinless state, man held joyful communion with Him “in whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. But after his sin, he could no longer find joy in
holiness, and he sought to hide from the presence of God. Such is still the condition of the
unrenewed heart. It is not in harmony with God, and finds no joy in communion with Him. The
sinner could not be happy in God’s presence; he would shrink from the companionship of holy
beings. Could he be permitted to enter heaven, it would have no joy for him. The spirit of
unselfish love that reigns there –every heart responding to the heart of Infinite Love –would
touch no answering chord in his soul.

His thoughts, his interests, his motives, would be alien to those that actuate the sinless dwellers there. He would be a discordant note in the melody of heaven. Heaven would be to him a place of torture; he would long to be hidden from Him who is its light, and the center of its joy. It is no arbitrary decree on the part of God that excludes the
wicked from heaven; they are shut out by their own unfitness for its companionship. The glory of God would be to them a consuming fire. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them.

  • It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our
  • hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not
  • one.” “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
  • indeed can be.” Job 14:4; Romans 8:7. Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort,
  • all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward
  • correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life.
  • There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed
  • from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of
  • the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.

The Saviour said, “Except a man be born from above,” unless he shall receive a new heart, new
desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life, “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John
3:3, margin.

“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” 1 Corinthians
2:14; John 3:7. Of Christ it is written, “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men”the only “name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” John 1:4; Acts 4:12.

It is not enough to perceive the loving-kindness of God, to see the benevolence, the fatherly
tenderness, of His character. It is not enough to discern the wisdom and justice of His law, to see
that it is founded upon the eternal principle of love. Paul the apostle saw all this when he
exclaimed, “I consent unto the law that it is good.” “The law is holy, and the commandment holy,
and just, and good.” But he added, in the bitterness of his soul-anguish and despair, “I am carnal,
sold under sin.” Romans 7:16, 12, 14. He longed for the purity, the righteousness, to which in
himself he was powerless to attain, and cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver
me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24, margin. Such is the cry that has gone up from
burdened hearts in all lands and in all ages. To all, there is but one answer, “Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29

Lonely and outcast as he was, separated from all that had made life dear, the one thought
that above all others pressed upon his soul, was the fear that his sin had cut him off from God,
that he was forsaken of Heaven. In sadness he lay down to rest on the bare earth, around him
only the lonely hills, and above, the heavens bright with stars. As he slept, a strange light broke
upon his vision; and lo, from the plain on which he lay, vast shadowy stairs seemed to lead
upward to the very gates of heaven, and upon them angels of God were passing up and down;
while from the glory above, the divine voice was heard in a message of comfort and hope. Thus
was made known to Jacob that which met the need and longing of his soul–a Saviour. With joy
and gratitude he saw revealed a way by which he, a sinner, could be restored to communion with
God. The mystic ladder of his dream represented Jesus, the only medium of communication
between God and man.

This is the same figure to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nathanael, when He
said, “Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son
of man.” John 1:51. In the apostasy, man alienated himself from God; earth was cut off from
heaven. Across the gulf that lay between, there could be no communion. But through Christ,
earth is again linked with heaven. With His own merits, Christ has bridged the gulf which sin
had made, so that the ministering angels can hold communion with man. Christ connects fallen
man in his weakness and helplessness with the Source of infinite power.

But in vain are men’s dreams of progress, in vain all efforts for the uplifting of humanity, if they
neglect the one Source of hope and help for the fallen race. “Every good gift and every perfect
gift” (James 1:17) is from God. There is no true excellence of character apart from Him. And the
only way to God is Christ. He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto
the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6.

The heart of God yearns over His earthly children with a love stronger than death. In giving up
His Son, He has poured out to us all heaven in one gift. The Saviour’s life and death and
intercession, the ministry of angels, the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working above and
through all, the unceasing interest of heavenly beings,–all are enlisted in behalf of man’s
redemption.

Oh, let us contemplate the amazing sacrifice that has been made for us! Let us try to appreciate
the labor and energy that Heaven is expending to reclaim the lost, and bring them back to the
Father’s house. Motives stronger, and agencies more powerful, could never be brought into
operation; the exceeding rewards for right-doing, the enjoyment of heaven, the society of the
angels, the communion and love of God and His Son, the elevation and extension of all our
powers throughout eternal ages–are these not mighty incentives and encouragements to urge us
to give the heart’s loving service to our Creator and Redeemer?

Shall we not regard the mercy of God? What more could He do? Let us place ourselves in right
relation to Him who has loved us with amazing love. Let us avail ourselves of the means
provided for us that we may be transformed into His likeness, and be restored to fellowship with
the ministering angels, to harmony and communion with the Father and the Son.

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