Christians in
All Ages Have Overcome
For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4
The apostles built upon a sure
foundation, even the Rock of Ages. To this foundation they brought the stones
that they quarried from the world. Not without hindrance did the builders
labor. Their work was made exceedingly difficult by the opposition of the
enemies of Christ. They had to contend against the bigotry, prejudice, and
hatred of those who were building upon a false foundation. . . .
Kings and governors, priests and rulers,
sought to destroy the temple of God. But in the face of imprisonment, torture,
and death, faithful men carried the work forward; and the structure grew,
beautiful and symmetrical. . . .
Centuries of fierce persecution followed
the establishment of the Christian church, but there were never wanting men who
counted the work of building God's temple dearer than life itself. . . .
The enemy of righteousness left nothing
undone in his effort to stop the work committed to the Lord's builders. But God
"left not Himself without witness." Workers were raised up who ably
defended the faith once delivered to the saints. History bears record to the
fortitude and heroism of these men. Like the apostles, many of them fell at
their post, but the building of the temple went steadily forward. The workmen
were slain, but the work advanced. The Waldenses, John Wycliffe, Huss and
Jerome, Martin Luther and Zwingle, Cranmer, Latimer, and Knox, the Huguenots,
John and Charles Wesley, and a host of others brought to the foundation
material that will endure throughout eternity. . . . We may look back through
the centuries and see the living stones of which it is composed gleaming like
jets of light through the darkness of error and superstition. Throughout
eternity these precious jewels will shine with increasing luster, testifying to
the power of the truth of God.
From My Life Today - Page 325
