To Be Like Jesus: Obedience Through Grace, February 9

 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8, NKJV. 

God desires us to reach the standard of perfection made possible for us by the gift of Christ. He calls upon us to make our choice on the right side, to connect with heavenly agencies, to adopt principles that will restore in us the divine image. In His written Word and in the great book of nature He has revealed the principles of life. It is our work to obtain a knowledge of these principles, and by obedience to cooperate with Him in restoring health to the body as well as to the soul. 

Human beings need to learn that the blessings of obedience, in their fullness, can be theirs only as they receive the grace of Christ. It is His grace that gives men and women power to obey the laws of God. It is this that enables them to break the bondage of evil habit. This is the only power that can make them and keep them steadfast in the right path.... 

When the gospel is received in its purity and power, it is a cure for the maladies that originated in sin. The Sun of Righteousness arises, “with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2). Not all that this world bestows can heal a broken heart, or impart peace of mind, or remove care, or banish disease. Fame, genius, talent—all are powerless to gladden the sorrowful heart or to restore the wasted life. The life of God in the soul is humanity's only hope. 

The love which Christ diffuses through the whole being is a vitalizing power. Every vital part—the brain, the heart, the nerves—it touches with healing.... It implants in the soul joy that nothing earthly can destroy—joy in the Holy Spirit—health-giving, life-giving joy.... 

Although for ages sin has been strengthening its hold on the human race, although through falsehood and artifice Satan has cast the black shadow of his interpretation upon the Word of God, and has caused men and women to doubt His goodness; yet the Father's mercy and love have not ceased to flow earthward in rich currents. If human beings would open the windows of the soul heavenward, in appreciation of the divine gifts, a flood of healing virtue would pour in.—The Ministry of Healing, 114-116.