The hopes of the new converts (continued)

There are people who by nature are unpleasant and unattractive. It is especially important to treat them with foresight and firmness when they begin to show their hope of being Christ. If the work that is done in them is not complete from the beginning, they will be much less useful and happy than they would have been if the probe had been deeply and deftly carried in their hearts. If you encourage these souls, if you do not probe them until they are broken and humiliated, their ugly character traits will not go away. They will always arise, to the great detriment of personal peace, and the influence and usefulness of these Christians.

Take advantage of the special circumstances in which people with a difficult character find themselves, so that they can be shaped like a real redesign. In this case, spare no child, no brother, no husband, no wife. That it is a complete work. If they hope to be converted, and if it is manifest that they bear the image of Christ, they are Christians. But if they do not appear entirely changed, dispel their hope by searching through the truth that judges the thoughts of the heart, and let the Spirit of God do more work. If the image is not yet perfect, try again ; humiliate them until they have the mind of a little child, and then they hope. From that moment, they will be honest and accomplished Christians.

I have often seen people, whose character was most perverse and hateful, in a few days so transformed by this process that they were really new creatures. It seemed as if the work of a lifetime of Christian growth had been made in an instant. This was probably the intention of the Savior in his way of acting with Peter. Peter had converted, but he let himself go to spiritual pride, and he fell. After that, Jesus subdued him by sounding three times the depth of his affection for his Master. From then on, and for the rest of his life, Peter showed himself a faithful and devoted disciple of Jesus Christ.

Jeremy Sourdril