Friday: Further Thought ~ The Roots of Restlessness

Further Thought:

“There can be no growth or fruitfulness in the life that is centered in self. If you have accepted Christ as a personal Saviour, you are to forget yourself, and try to help others. Talk of the love of Christ, tell of His goodness. Do every duty that presents itself.

Image @ Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Carry the burden of souls upon your heart, and by every means in your power seek to save the lost. As you receive the Spirit of Christ — the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others — you will grow and bring forth fruit. The graces of the Spirit will ripen in your character. Your faith will increase, your convictions deepen, your love be made perfect. More and more you will reflect the likeness of Christ in all that is pure, noble, and lovely.” — Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pages 67, 68.

In dealing with issues between church members, “conversation has been protracted for hours between the parties concerned, and not only has their time been wasted, but the servants of God are held to listen to them, when the hearts of both parties are unsubdued by grace. If pride and selfishness were laid aside, five minutes would remove most difficulties.” — Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 119.

Discussion Questions:

In class, think about practical ways of overcoming selfishness. How can you keep each other accountable so that these ideas can become a reality?
Ambitions are not inherently bad. Yet, how can we anticipate and imagine great things from God without falling into the trap of being consumed by ambition?
Most of us don’t show ambition, hypocrisy, selfishness, or envy on the outside. We are very capable of offering a more benign outside faÃ§ade. Like the huge root system of an aspen tree, however, all these negative characteristics lurk below the surface. What does Spirit-guided character transformation look like in practice? How can we overcome the root of restlessness and find true rest in Jesus?
Dwell more on your answer to Thursday’s final question about the importance of the Second Coming. After all, without it, what hope do we have? Without it, what good would Christ’s first coming have done for us, knowing that the dead sleep until the resurrection, which happens only at the Second Coming?

<–Thursday

Amen!