Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:13, 14.

This scripture teaches a very different lesson from that which is presented in the words of many who profess to believe the gospel. We are exhorted to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, and to look for the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Some have made an objection to my work, because I teach that it is our duty to be looking for Christ’s personal appearing in the clouds of heaven. They have said, “You would think that the day of the Lord was right upon us to hear Mrs. White speak in reference to the coming of Christ; and she has been preaching on that same subject for the last forty years, and the Lord has not yet come.”

This very objection might have been brought against the words of Christ Himself. He said by the mouth of the beloved disciple, “Behold, I come quickly,” and John responds, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Jesus spoke these words as words of warning and encouragement to His people; and why should we not heed them? The Lord has said that it is the faithful who will be found watching and waiting for Him. It was the unfaithful servant who said, “My Lord delayeth his coming,” and began to smite his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunken.

The exact time of Christ’s second coming is not revealed. Jesus said, No man knoweth the day nor the hour. But He also gave signs of His coming, and said, “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” He bade them, as the signs of His coming should appear, “Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” And in view of these things the apostle wrote: “Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day.” Since we know not the hour of Christ’s coming, we must live soberly and godly in this present world, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” …

His people are to preserve their peculiar character as His representatives. There is work for every one of them to do. The rich should bring their means, the honored their influence, the learned their wisdom, the poor their virtue, if they would be effective workers with God. They are to bring themselves into right relation with God, that they may reflect the light of the glory of God that shines in the face of Jesus Christ…. They are to warn men of the coming judgments. They are to represent Christ to the people.—The Signs of the Times, June 24, 1889.

From Reflecting Christ

When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14:13, 14.

It is the reward of Christ’s workers to enter into His joy. That joy, to which Christ Himself looks forward with eager desire, is presented in His request to His Father, “I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.”

The angels were waiting to welcome Jesus, as He ascended after His resurrection. The heavenly host longed to greet again their loved Commander, returned to them from the prison house of death. Eagerly they pressed about Him as He entered the gates of heaven. But He waved them back. His heart was with the lonely, sorrowing band of disciples whom He had left upon Olivet. It is still with His struggling children on earth, who have the battle with the destroyer yet to wage. “Father,” He says, “I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.”

Christ’s redeemed ones are His jewels, His precious and peculiar treasure. “They shall be as the stones of a crown”—“the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” In them “he shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”

And will not His workers rejoice when they, too, behold the fruit of their labors? …

Every impulse of the Holy Spirit leading men to goodness and to God is noted in the books of heaven, and in the day of God everyone who has given himself as an instrument for the Holy Spirit’s working will be permitted to behold what his life has wrought.

Wonderful will be the revealing as the lines of holy influence, with their precious results, are brought to view. What will be the gratitude of souls that will meet us in the heavenly courts, as they understand the sympathetic, loving interest which has been taken in their salvation! All praise, honor, and glory will be given to God and to the Lamb for our redemption; but it will not detract from the glory of God to express gratitude to the instrumentality He has employed in the salvation of souls ready to perish.

The redeemed will meet and recognize those whose attention they have directed to the uplifted Saviour. What blessed converse they have with these souls! “I was a sinner,” it will be said, … “and you came to me, and drew my attention to the precious Saviour as my only hope. And I believed in Him.” … What rejoicing there will be as these redeemed ones meet and greet those who have had a burden in their behalf!—The Review and Herald, January 5, 1905.

From Reflecting Christ

He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6.

Ministry means service, and to this ministry we are all called. It is a dishonor to God for anyone to choose a life of self-pleasing. My brethren and sisters, do you realize that every year thousands and thousands of souls are perishing, dying in their sins because the light of truth has not been flashed upon their pathway? …

There is a great work to be done in our world. Men and women are to be converted, not by the gift of tongues nor by the working of miracles, but by the preaching of Christ crucified. Why delay the effort to make the world better? Why wait for some wonderful thing to be done, some costly apparatus to be provided? However humble your sphere, however lowly your work, if you labor in harmony with the teachings of the Saviour, He will reveal Himself through you, and your influence will draw souls to Him. He will honor the meek and lowly ones, who seek earnestly to do service for Him. Into all that we do, whether our work be in the shop, on the farm, or in the office, we are to bring the endeavor to save souls.

We are to sow beside all waters, keeping our souls in the love of God, working while it is day, using the means entrusted to us in the Master’s service. Whatever our hands find to do, we are to do it with cheerfulness; whatever sacrifice we are called upon to make, we are to make it cheerfully. As we sow beside all waters, we shall realize the truth of the words, “He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

We owe everything to grace, sovereign grace. Grace ordained our redemption, our regeneration, and our adoption to heirship with Jesus Christ. Let this grace be revealed to others.

The Saviour takes those whom He finds will be molded, and uses them for His own name’s glory. He uses material that others would pass by, and works in all who will give themselves to Him. He delights to take apparently hopeless material, those whom Satan has debased, and through whom he has worked, and make them the subjects of His grace. He rejoices to deliver them from suffering, and from the wrath that is to fall upon the disobedient. He makes His children His agents in the accomplishment of this work, and in its success, even in this life, they find a precious reward.

But what is this compared with the joy that will be theirs in the great day of final revealing?—The Review and Herald, January 5, 1905.

From Reflecting Christ

My tongue will sing of your righteousness. Psalm 51:14, N.I.V.

Instruction in singing is greatly needed in every school. Much more interest should be manifested…. Students who have learned to sing, with melodious voices, sweet gospel songs in such a way that the words are easily understood can do much good as singing evangelists. They will find many opportunities to use the talent that God has given them, carrying melody and sunshine into many lonely places darkened by sin and sorrow and affliction, by singing to those who seldom have the privileges of any kind of gospel ministry.

Go out into the highways and the hedges. Endeavor to reach the higher as well as the lower classes. Enter the homes of the rich and the poor. As you go from house to house to sing, ask, “Would you be pleased to have us sing? We should be glad to hold a song service with you, and to offer a few words of prayer to ask God to keep us.” Not many will refuse you entrance—Manuscript 67, 1903.

A spirit of devotion was cherished in the schools of the prophets…. Students … were taught how to pray, how to approach their Creator, how to exercise faith in Him, and how to understand and obey the teachings of His Spirit. Sanctified intellects brought forth from the treasure house of God things new and old, and the Spirit of God was manifested in prophecy and sacred song.

Music was made to serve a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts to that which is pure, noble, and elevating, and to awaken in the soul devotion and gratitude to God. What a contrast between the ancient custom and the uses to which music is now too often devoted! How many employ this gift to exalt self, instead of using it to glorify God! A love for music leads the unwary to unite with world lovers in pleasure gatherings where God has forbidden His children to go. Thus that which is a great blessing when rightly used, becomes one of the most successful agencies by which Satan allures the mind from duty and from the contemplation of eternal things.

Music forms a part of God’s worship in the courts above, and we should endeavor, in our songs of praise, to approach as nearly as possible to the harmony of the heavenly choirs. The proper training of the voice is an important feature in education, and should not be neglected. Singing, as a part of religious service, is as much an act of worship as is prayer.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 594.

From Reflecting Christ

The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Matthew 4:16.

There are many now in the shadow of death who need to be instructed in the truths of the gospel. Nearly the whole world is lying in wickedness. To every believer in Christ words of hope have been given for those who sit in darkness….

Earnest, devoted young people are needed to enter the work as nurses…. The Lord wants wise men and women, who can act in the capacity of nurses, to comfort and help the sick and suffering. O that all who are afflicted might be ministered to by Christian physicians and nurses who could help them to place their weary, pain-racked bodies in the care of the Great Healer, in faith looking to him for restoration! If through judicious ministration the patient is led to give his soul to Christ and to bring his thoughts into obedience to the will of God, a great victory is gained.

In our daily ministrations we see many careworn, sorrowful faces. What does the sorrow on these faces show? It shows the need of the soul for the peace of Christ. Men and women, longing for something they have not, have sought to supply their want at earth’s broken cisterns. Let these hear a voice saying, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.” Weary souls, seeking you know not what, come to the water of life. All heaven is yearning over you. “Come to me, that ye might have life.”

There are many lines of work to be carried forward by the missionary nurse. There are opportunities for well-trained nurses to go into homes and there endeavor to awaken an interest in the truth. In almost every community there are large numbers who will not listen to the teaching of God’s Word or attend any religious service. If these are reached by the gospel, it must be carried to their homes. Often the relief of their physical needs is the only avenue by which they can be approached.

Missionary nurses who care for the sick and relieve the distress of the poor will find many opportunities to pray with them, to read to them from God’s Word, and to speak of the Saviour. They can pray with and for the helpless ones who have not strength of will to control the appetites that passion has degraded. They can bring a ray of hope into the lives of the defeated and disheartened. The revelation of unselfish love, manifested in acts of disinterested kindness, will make it easier for these suffering ones to believe in the love of Christ.—The Review and Herald, December 24, 1914.

From Reflecting Christ