SHAKE OFF THE DUST--KEEP MOVING
Whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.--Matthew 10:14
Often God's workers are opposed in the place where they labor, and thus their usefulness is hindered. They may have done their best in all wisdom. They have sown good and precious seed. But the opposing elements become fiercer and more discouraging, and it may be wise for them to go to another place, for even though some are convinced of the truth, they are intimidated by the opposition. They have not the courage to acknowledge that their reason is convicted.
Let the messengers of truth pass on to another field. Here there may [meet] a more favorable class of people, and may successfully accomplish the work of sowing and reaping. The report of their success will find its way to the place where God's work was apparently unsuccessful, and the next messenger of truth who goes there will be more favorably received. The seed sown in trial and discouragement will be seen to have life and vitality. First will appear the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
The rejection of the truth of the gospel by some prepares the way for its reception by others, who can see the weakness and inconsistency of the arguments used to make the truth of none effect. Thus those who oppose the counsel of God are by their inconsistency advancing the truth rather than hindering it. One thing we must be prepared to encounter; the enemy's determined resistance. He works through human agencies whom he can use to hold the people in ignorance of the word of the Lord. (Letter 20, January 28, 1901)
REFLECTION: These disciples were to be heralds of the truth, to prepare the way for the coming of their Master. The message they had to bear was the word of eternal life, and the destiny of men depended upon their reception or rejection of it. To impress the people with its solemnity, Jesus bade his disciples, "Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city." (The Desire of Ages, 352)
Whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.--Matthew 10:14
Often God's workers are opposed in the place where they labor, and thus their usefulness is hindered. They may have done their best in all wisdom. They have sown good and precious seed. But the opposing elements become fiercer and more discouraging, and it may be wise for them to go to another place, for even though some are convinced of the truth, they are intimidated by the opposition. They have not the courage to acknowledge that their reason is convicted.
Let the messengers of truth pass on to another field. Here there may [meet] a more favorable class of people, and may successfully accomplish the work of sowing and reaping. The report of their success will find its way to the place where God's work was apparently unsuccessful, and the next messenger of truth who goes there will be more favorably received. The seed sown in trial and discouragement will be seen to have life and vitality. First will appear the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.
The rejection of the truth of the gospel by some prepares the way for its reception by others, who can see the weakness and inconsistency of the arguments used to make the truth of none effect. Thus those who oppose the counsel of God are by their inconsistency advancing the truth rather than hindering it. One thing we must be prepared to encounter; the enemy's determined resistance. He works through human agencies whom he can use to hold the people in ignorance of the word of the Lord. (Letter 20, January 28, 1901)
REFLECTION: These disciples were to be heralds of the truth, to prepare the way for the coming of their Master. The message they had to bear was the word of eternal life, and the destiny of men depended upon their reception or rejection of it. To impress the people with its solemnity, Jesus bade his disciples, "Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city." (The Desire of Ages, 352)
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