Editorial February 9, 1963 Issue

Refuse Evil, Choose Good

Ralph E. Wagers

The promise of the coming of the Messiah stirred the expectancy of those who lived in anticipation of it, even before Christ Jesus appeared. And now for nearly two thousand years the life of Jesus has impelled millions to view their existence, their responsibilities, their possibilities in a new and ennobling light.

There are many facets to the Master's life, each of which moves men to higher aspirations and achievements. Even a glimpse of what Jesus accomplished in presenting Christ, the true idea of God, sets men to work emulating him in some degree. Yet no single concept of who the Master was or what he did, regardless of how satisfying it may be, should be allowed to obscure an ever-expanding appreciation of what his coming means to humanity. His life, more than any other in history, has impelled a turning from a material sense of existence to a spiritual sense—from what the material senses behold to a spiritual interpretation of all things.

It was foretold of the Messiah that he would "know to refuse the evil, and choose the good" (Isa. 7:15). Jesus' sense of values greatly exceeded the limited views of those who were less spiritually-minded. Isaiah foresaw what would characterize the Saviour's ability to maintain and demonstrate an understanding of spiritual reality in the midst of contrary appearances, when he spoke of "the spirit of the Lord" that should rest upon him, "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord" (11:2).

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