It is necessary, in order to pursue this great and arduous work, that the ministers of Christ should possess physical health. To attain this end, they must become regular in their habits, and adopt a healthful system of living. Many are continually complaining and suffering from various indispositions. This is almost always because they do not labor wisely, nor observe the laws of health. They frequently remain too much indoors, occupying heated rooms filled with impure air. Here they apply themselves closely to study or writing, taking little physical exercise, and having little change of employment. As a consequence, the blood becomes sluggish, and the powers of the mind are enfeebled.
The whole system needs the invigorating influence of exercise in the open air. A few hours of manual labor each day would tend to renew the bodily vigor, and rest and relax the mind. In this way the general health would be promoted, and a greater amount of pastoral labor could be performed. The incessant reading and writing of many ministers unfit them for pastoral work. They consume valuable time in abstract study, which should be expended in helping the needy at the right moment. . . .
Our ministers who have reached the age of forty or fifty years should not feel that their labor is less efficient than formerly. Men of years and experience are just the ones to put forth strong and well-directed efforts. They are specially needed at this time; the churches can not afford to part with them. Such ones should not talk of physical and mental feebleness, nor feel that their day of usefulness is over.
Many of them have suffered from severe mental taxation, unrelieved by physical exercise. The result is a deterioration of their powers, and a tendency to shirk responsibilities. What they need is more active labor. This is not alone confined to those whose heads are white with the frost of time, but men young in years have fallen into the same state, and have become mentally feeble. They have a list of set discourses; but if they get beyond the boundaries of these, they lose their soundings.
The old-fashioned pastor, who traveled on horseback, and spent much time in visiting his flock, enjoyed much better health, notwithstanding his hardships and exposures, than our ministers of to-day, who avoid all physical exertion as far as possible, and confine themselves to their books.
Ministers of age and experience should feel it their duty, as God’s hired servants, to go forward, progressing every day, continually becoming more efficient in their work, and constantly gathering fresh matter to set before the people. Each effort to expound the gospel should be an improvement upon that which preceded it. Each year they should develop a deeper piety, a tenderer spirit, a greater spirituality, and a more thorough knowledge of Bible truth. The greater their age and experience, the nearer should they be able to approach the hearts of the people, having a more perfect knowledge of them.
PERIODS OF RELAXATION
I was shown that Sabbath-keepers as a people labor too hard, without allowing themselves change or periods of rest. Recreation is needful to those who are engaged in physical labor, and is still more essential for those whose labor is principally mental. It is not essential to our salvation, nor for the glory of God, to keep the mind laboring constantly and excessively, even upon religious themes. There are amusements, such as dancing, card-playing, chess, checkers, etc., which we can not approve, because Heaven condemns them. These amusements open the door for great evil. They are not beneficial in their tendency, but have an exciting influence, producing in some minds a passion for those plays which lead to gambling and dissipation. All such plays should be condemned by Christians, and something perfectly harmless should be substituted in their place.
I saw that our holidays should not be spent in patterning after the world, yet they should not be passed by unnoticed, for this will bring dissatisfaction to our children. On these days when there is danger that our children will be exposed to evil influences, and become corrupted by the pleasures and excitement of the world, let the parents study to get up something to take the place of more dangerous amusements. Give your children to understand that you have their good and happiness in view.
Let several families living in a city or village unite and leave the occupations which have taxed them physically and mentally, and make an excursion into the country, to the side of a fine lake, or to a nice grove, where the scenery of nature is beautiful. They198should provide themselves with plain, hygienic food, the very best fruits and grains, and spread their table under the shade of some tree, or under the canopy of heaven. The ride, the exercise, and the scenery, will quicken the appetite, and they can enjoy a repast which kings might envy.
On such occasions parents and children should feel free from care, labor, and perplexity. Parents should become children with their children, making everything as pleasant for them as possible. Let the whole day be given to recreation. Exercise in the open air, for those whose employment has been within doors and sedentary, will be beneficial to health. All who can, should feel it a duty to pursue this course. Nothing will be lost, but much gained. They can return to their occupations with new life and new courage to engage in their labor with zeal, and they are better prepared to resist disease.
Sunlight in the Home
If you would have your homes sweet and inviting, make them bright with air and sunshine. Remove your heavy curtains, open the windows, throw back the blinds, and enjoy the rich sunlight, even if it be at the expense of the colors of your carpets. The precious sunlight may fade your carpets, but it will give a healthful color to the cheeks of your children. If you have God’s presence, and possess earnest, loving hearts, a humble home made bright with air and sunlight, and cheerful with the welcome of unselfish hospitality, will be to your family, and to the weary traveler, a heaven below.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 2, p. 527.
Reference for further study: “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 2, pp. 585-594, “Christian Recreation.”
PROHIBITED AMUSEMENTS
Those who are engaged in study should have relaxation. The mind must not be constantly confined to close thought, for the delicate mental machinery becomes worn. The body as well as the mind must have exercise. But there is great need of temperance in amusements, as in every other pursuit. And the character of these amusements should be carefully and thoroughly considered. Every youth should ask himself, What influence will these amusements have on physical, mental, and moral health? Will my mind become so infatuated as to forget God? Shall I cease to have His glory before me?
Card-playing should be prohibited. The associations and tendencies are dangerous. The prince of the powers of darkness presides in the gaming-room and wherever there is card-playing. Evil angels are familiar guests in these places. There is nothing in such amusements beneficial to soul or body. There is nothing to strengthen the intellect, nothing to store it with valuable ideas for future use. The conversation is upon trivial and degrading subjects. There is heard the unseemly jest, the low, vile talk, which lowers and destroys the true dignity of manhood. These games are the most senseless, useless, unprofitable, and dangerous employments the youth can have. Those who engage in card-playing become intensely excited, and soon lose all relish for useful and elevating occupations. Expertness in handling cards will soon lead to a desire to put this knowledge and tact to some use for personal benefit. A small sum is staked, and then a larger, until a thirst for gaming is acquired, which leads to certain ruin. How many200has this pernicious amusement led to every sinful practice, to poverty, to prison, to murder, and to the gallows! And yet many parents do not see the terrible gulf of ruin that is yawning for our youth.
Among the most dangerous resorts for pleasure is the theater. Instead of being a school of morality and virtue, as is so often claimed, it is the very hotbed of immorality. Vicious habits and sinful propensities are strengthened and confirmed by these entertainments. Low songs, lewd gestures, expressions, and attitudes, deprave the imagination and debase the morals. Every youth who habitually attends such exhibitions will be corrupted in principle. There is no influence in our land more powerful to poison the imagination, to destroy religious impressions, and to blunt the relish for the tranquil pleasures and sober realities of life, than theatrical amusements. The love for these scenes increases with every indulgence, as the desire for intoxicating drink strengthens with its use. The only safe course is to shun the theater, the circus, and every other questionable place of amusement.
There are modes of recreation which are highly beneficial to both mind and body. An enlightened, discriminating mind will find abundant means for entertainment and diversion, from sources not only innocent, but instructive. Recreation in the open air, the contemplation of the works of God in nature, will be of the highest benefit.
EXERCISE AS A RESTORER
The idea that those who have overtaxed their mental and physical powers, or who have been broken down in body or mind, must suspend activity in order to regain health, is a great error. In a few cases, entire rest for a time may be necessary; but such instances are rare. In most cases the change would be too great to be beneficial.
Those who have broken down by intense mental labor, should have rest from wearing thought; yet to teach them that it is wrong, or even dangerous, for them to exercise their mental powers at all, leads them to view their condition as worse than it really is. They are nervous, and finally become a burden to themselves, as well as to those who care for them. In this state of mind, their recovery is doubtful indeed.
Those who have overtaxed their physical powers should not be advised to forego labor entirely. To shut them away from all exercise would in many cases prevent their restoration to health. The will goes with the labor of the hands; and when the will-power is dormant, the imagination becomes abnormal, so that it is impossible for the sufferer to resist disease. Inactivity is the greatest curse that could come upon one in such a condition.
Nature’s fine and wonderful mechanism needs to be constantly exercised in order to be in a condition to accomplish the object for which it was designed. The do-nothing system is a dangerous one in any case. Physical exercise in the direction of useful labor has a happy influence upon the mind, strengthens the muscles, improves the circulation, and gives the invalid the satisfaction of knowing how much he can endure,202and that he is not wholly useless in this busy world; whereas, if this is restricted, his attention is turned to himself, and he is in constant danger of exaggerating his difficulties. If invalids would engage in some well-directed physical exercise, using their strength but not abusing it, they would find it an effective agent in their recovery.
Walking for Exercise
Those who are feeble and indolent should not yield to their inclination to be inactive, thus depriving themselves of air and sunlight, but should practice exercising out of doors in walking or working in the garden. They will become very much fatigued, but this will not injure them. . . . It is not good policy to give up the use of certain muscles because pain is felt when they are exercised. The pain is frequently caused by the effort of nature to give life and vigor to those parts that have become partially lifeless through inaction. The motion of these long-disused muscles will cause pain, because nature is awakening them to life.
Walking, in all cases where it is possible, is the best remedy for diseased bodies, because in this exercise all the organs of the body are brought into use. Many who depend upon the movement cure, could accomplish more for themselves by muscular exercise than the movements can do for them. In some cases, want of exercise causes the bowels and muscles to become enfeebled and shrunken, and these organs that have become enfeebled for want of use will be strengthened by exercise. There is no exercise that can take the place of walking. By it the circulation of the blood is greatly improved.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 3, p. 78.
THE EVILS OF INACTIVITY
Physical exercise and labor combined has a happy influence upon the mind, strengthens the muscles, improves the circulation, and gives the invalid the satisfaction of knowing his own power of endurance; whereas, if he is restricted from healthful exercise and physical labor, his attention is turned to himself. He is in constant danger of thinking himself worse than he really is, and of having established within him a diseased imagination which causes him to continually fear that he is overtaxing his powers of endurance. As a general thing, if he should engage in some well-directed labor, using his strength and not abusing it, he would find that physical exercise would prove a more powerful and effective agent in his recovery than even the water treatment he is receiving.
The inactivity of the mental and physical powers as far as useful labor is concerned, is that which keeps many invalids in a condition of feebleness which they feel powerless to rise above. It also gives them a greater opportunity to indulge an impure imagination,—an indulgence which has brought many of them into their present condition of feebleness. They are told that they have expended too much vitality in hard labor, when, in nine cases out of ten, the labor they performed was the only redeeming thing in their lives, and was the means of saving them from utter ruin. While their minds were thus engaged, they could not have as favorable an opportunity to debase their bodies and to complete the work of destroying themselves. To have all such persons cease to labor with brain and muscle, is to give them ample opportunity to be taken captive by the temptations of Satan.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 4, pp. 94, 95.
OPEN THE WINDOWS OF THE SOUL
The burden of sin, with its unrest and unsatisfied desires, lies at the very foundation of a large share of the maladies the sinner suffers. Christ is the mighty healer of the sin-sick soul. These poor afflicted ones need to have a clearer knowledge of Him whom to know aright is life eternal. They need to be patiently and kindly yet earnestly taught how to throw open the windows of the soul and let the sunlight of God's love come in to illuminate the darkened chambers of the mind. The most exalted spiritual truths may be brought home to the heart by the things of nature. The birds of the air, the flowers of the field in their glowing beauty, the springing grain, the fruitful branches of the vine, the trees putting forth their tender buds, the glorious sunset, the crimson clouds predicting a fair morrow, the recurring seasons,—all these may teach us precious lessons of trust and faith. The imagination has here a fruitful field in which to range. The intelligent mind may contemplate with the greatest satisfaction those lessons of divine truth which the world's Redeemer has associated with the things of nature.
Christ sharply reproved the men of His time, because they had not learned from nature the spiritual lessons which they might have learned. All things, animate and inanimate, express to man the knowledge of God. The same divine mind that is working upon the things of nature is speaking to the minds and hearts of men, and creating an inexpressible craving for something they have not. The things of the world can not satisfy their longing.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 4, pp. 579, 580.
Section V
SANITARIUMS—THEIR OBJECTSAND AIMS
GOD'S DESIGN IN OUR SANITARIUMS
Every institution established by Seventh-day Adventists is to be to the world what Joseph was in Egypt and what Daniel and his fellows were in Babylon. As in the providence of God these chosen ones were taken captive, it was to carry to heathen nations the blessings that come to humanity through a knowledge of God. They were to be representatives of Jehovah. They were never to compromise with idolaters; their religious faith and their name as worshipers of the living God they were to bear as a special honor.
And this they did. In prosperity and adversity they honored God, and God honored them. . . .
So the institutions established by God's people today are to glorify His name. The only way in which we can fulfill His expectation is by being representatives of the truth for this time. God is to be recognized in the institutions established by Seventh-day Adventists. By them the truth for this time is to be represented before the world with convincing power.
We are called to represent to the world the character of God as it was revealed to Moses. In answer to the prayer of Moses, "Show me Thy glory," the Lord promised, "I will make all My goodness pass before thee." "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful206and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Ex. 33:18, 19; 34:6, 7. This is the fruit that God desires from His people. In the purity of their characters, in the holiness of their lives, in their mercy and loving-kindness and compassion, they are to demonstrate that “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps. 19:7.
God’s purpose for His institutions to-day may also be read in the purpose which He sought to accomplish through the Jewish nation. Through Israel it was His design to impart rich blessings to all peoples. Through them the way was to be prepared for the diffusion of His light to the whole world. . . .
God desired to make of His people Israel a praise and a glory. Every spiritual advantage was given them. God withheld from them nothing favorable to the formation of character that would make them representatives of Himself.
Their obedience to the laws of God would make them marvels of prosperity before the nations of the world. He who could give them wisdom and skill in all cunning work would continue to be their teacher, and would ennoble and elevate them through obedience to His laws. If obedient, they would be preserved from the diseases that afflicted other nations, and would be blessed with vigor of intellect. The glory of God, His majesty and power, were to be revealed in all their prosperity. They were to be a kingdom of priests and princes. God furnished them with every facility for becoming the greatest nation on the earth. . . .
The Lord years ago gave me special light in regard to the establishment of a health institution where the sick could be treated on altogether different lines from207those followed in any other institution in our world. It was to be founded and conducted upon Bible principles, as the Lord's instrumentality, and it was to be in His hands one of the most effective agencies for giving light to the world. It was God's purpose that it should stand forth with scientific ability, with moral and spiritual power, and as a faithful sentinel of reform in all its bearings. All who should act a part in it were to be reformers, having respect to its principles, and heeding the light of health reform shining upon us as a people.
A BEACON LIGHT
God designed that the institution which He should establish should stand forth as a beacon of light, of warning and reproof. He would prove to the world that an institution conducted on religious principles, as an asylum for the sick, could be sustained without sacrificing its peculiar, holy character; that it could be kept free from the objectionable features found in other health institutions. It was to be an instrumentality for bringing about great reforms.
The Lord revealed that the prosperity of the sanitarium was not to be dependent alone upon the knowledge and skill of its physicians, but upon the favor of God. It was to be known as an institution where God was acknowledged as the Monarch of the universe, an institution that was under His special supervision. Its managers were to make God first and last and best in everything. And in this was to be its strength. If conducted in a manner that God could approve, it would be highly successful, and would stand in advance of all other institutions of the kind in the world. Great light, great knowledge, and superior privileges were given. And in accordance with the light received208would be the responsibility of those to whom the carrying forward of the institution was intrusted.
As our work has extended, and institutions have multiplied, God’s purpose in their establishment remains the same. The conditions of prosperity are unchanged.
The human family is suffering because of transgression of the laws of God. The Lord desires that men shall be led to understand the cause of their suffering and the only way to find relief. He desires them to see that their well-being, physical, mental, and moral, depends upon their obedience to His law. It is His purpose that our institutions shall be as object lessons showing the results of obedience to right principles.
TO PROMULGATE HEALTH PRINCIPLES
In the preparation of a people for the Lord's second coming, a great work is to be accomplished through the promulgation of health principles. The people are to be instructed in regard to the needs of the physical organism, and the value of healthful living as taught in the Scriptures, that the bodies which God has created may be presented to Him a living sacrifice, fitted to render Him acceptable service. There is a great work to be done for suffering humanity in relieving their sufferings by the use of the natural agencies that God has provided, and in teaching them how to prevent sickness by the regulation of the appetites and passions. The people should be taught that transgression of the laws of nature is transgression of the laws of God. They should be taught the truth in physical as well as in spiritual lines, that "the fear of the Lord tendeth to life." Prov. 19:23. "If thou wilt enter into life," Christ says, "keep the commandments.”209Matt. 19:17. Live out My law “as the apple of thine eye.” God’s commandments, obeyed, are “life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” Prov. 4:22.
Our sanitariums are an educating power to teach the people in these lines. Those who are taught can in turn impart to others a knowledge of health-restoring and health-preserving principles. Thus our sanitariums are to be an instrumentality for reaching the people, an agency for showing them the evil of disregarding the laws of life and health, and for teaching them how to preserve the body in the best condition. Sanitariums are to be established in different countries that are entered by our missionaries, and are to be centers from which a work of healing, restoring, and educating shall be carried on.
We are to labor both for the health of the body and for the saving of the soul. Our mission is the same as that of our Master, of whom it is written that He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by Satan. Acts 10:38. Of His own work He says: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek.” “He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18. As we follow Christ’s example of labor for the good of others, we shall awaken their interest in the God whom we love and serve.
MEMORIALS FOR GOD
Our sanitariums in all their departments should be memorials for God, His instrumentalities for sowing210the seeds of truth in human hearts. This they will be if rightly conducted.
The living truth of God is to be made known in our medical institutions. Many persons who come to them are hungering and thirsting for truth, and when it is rightly presented they will receive it with gladness. Our sanitariums have been the means of elevating the truth for this time and bringing it before thousands. The religious influence that pervades these institutions inspires the guests with confidence. The assurance that the Lord presides there, and the many prayers offered for the sick, make an impression upon their hearts. Many who have never before thought of the value of the soul are convicted by the Spirit of God, and not a few are led to change their whole course of life. Impressions that will never be effaced are made upon many who have been self-satisfied, who have thought their own standard of character to be sufficient, and have felt no need of the righteousness of Christ. When the future test comes, when enlightenment comes to them, not a few of these will take their stand with God’s remnant people.
God is honored by institutions conducted in this way. In His mercy He has made the sanitariums such a power in the relief of physical suffering that thousands have been drawn to them to be cured of their maladies. And with many, physical healing is accompanied by the healing of the soul. From the Saviour they receive the forgiveness of their sins. They receive the grace of Christ, and identify themselves with Him, with His interests, His honor. Many go away from our sanitariums with new hearts. The change is decided. These, returning to their homes, are as lights in the world. The Lord makes them His witnesses. Their testimony is, “I have seen His greatness,211I have tasted His goodness. ‘Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.’” Ps. 66:16.
Thus through the prospering hand of our God upon them, our sanitariums have been the means of accomplishing great good. And they are to rise still higher. God will work with the people who will honor Him.
FOUNTAINS OF LIFE
Wonderful is the work which God designs to accomplish through His servants, that His name may be glorified. God made Joseph a fountain of life to the Egyptian nation. Through Joseph the life of that whole people was preserved. Through Daniel God saved the life of all the wise men of Babylon. And these deliverances were as object lessons; they illustrated to the people the spiritual blessings offered them through connection with the God whom Joseph and Daniel worshiped. So through His people to-day God desires to bring blessings to the world. Every worker in whose heart Christ abides, every one who will show forth His love to the world, is a worker together with God for the blessing of humanity. As he receives from the Saviour grace to impart to others, from his whole being flows forth the tide of spiritual life. Christ came as the Great Physician to heal the wounds that sin has made in the human family, and His Spirit, working through His servants, imparts to sin-sick, suffering human beings a mighty healing power, that is efficacious for the body and the soul. “In that day,” says the Scripture, “there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.” Zech. 13:1. The waters of this fountain contain medicinal properties that will heal both physical and spiritual infirmities.
From this fountain flows the mighty river seen in Ezekiel’s vision. “These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea; which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. . . . And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed; it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” Eze. 47:8-12.
Such a river of life and healing God designs that, by His power working through them, our sanitariums shall be.
The Church Qualified for Service
Christ has empowered His church to do the same work that He did during His ministry. To-day He is the same compassionate physician that He was while on this earth. We should let the afflicted understand that in Him there is healing balm for every disease, restoring power for every infirmity. His disciples in this time are to pray for the sick as verily as His disciples of old prayed. And recoveries will follow, for “the prayer of faith shall save the sick.” James 5:15. We need the Holy Spirit’s power, the calm assurance of faith that can claim God’s promises.—“Review and Herald,” June 9, 1904.
Reference for further study: "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 8, pp. 181-191, "God's Purpose in Establishing the Sanitarium."
LIVING WATERS FOR THIRSTY SOULS
The Lord wants wise men and women, acting in the capacity of nurses, to comfort and help the sick and the suffering. . . .
It is for the object of soul-saving that our sanitariums are established. In our daily ministrations we see many careworn, sorrowful faces. What does the sorrow on these faces show?—The need of the soul for the peace of Christ. Poor, sad human beings go to broken cisterns, which can hold no water, thinking to quench their thirst. Let them hear a voice saying, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.” “Come to Me, that ye might have life.” Isa. 55:1; John 5:40.
It is that thirsting souls may be led to the living water, that we plead for sanitariums,—not expensive, mammoth sanitariums, but homelike institutions in pleasant places.
The sick are to be reached, not by massive buildings, but by the establishment of many small sanitariums, which are to be as lights shining in a dark place. Those who are engaged in this work are to reflect the sunlight of Christ’s face. They are to be as salt that has not lost its savor. By sanitarium work, properly conducted, the influence of true, pure religion will be extended to many souls.
**From our sanitariums, trained workers are to go forth into places where the truth has never been proclaimed, and do missionary work for the Master, claiming the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:20.—"Special Testimonies," Series B, No. 8, pp. 13, 14.
SANITARIUMS AND GOSPEL WORK
Our sanitariums are one of the most successful means of reaching all classes of people. Christ is no longer in this world in person, to go through our cities and towns and villages healing the sick. He has commissioned us to carry forward the medical missionary work that He began; and in this work we are to do our very best. Institutions for the care of the sick are to be established, where men and women may be placed under the care of God-fearing medical missionaries, and be treated without drugs. To these institutions will come those who have brought disease on themselves by improper habits of eating and drinking. These are to be taught the principles of healthful living. They are to be taught the value of self-denial and self-restraint. They are to be provided with a simple, wholesome, palatable diet, and are to be cared for by wise physicians and nurses.
Our sanitariums are the right hand of the gospel, opening doors whereby suffering humanity may be reached with the glad tidings of healing through Christ. In these institutions the sick may be taught to commit their cases to the Great Physician, who will coöperate with their earnest efforts to regain health, bringing to them healing of soul as well as healing of body.
There is most precious missionary work to be done in our sanitariums. In them Christ and the angels work to relieve suffering caused by bodily disease. And the work is by no means to stop there. The prayers offered for the sick and the opening of the Scriptures to them give them a knowledge of the great Medical Missionary. Their attention is called to Him as the One who can heal all disease. They learn about215the great gift of eternal life, which the Lord Jesus is longing to bestow on those who receive Him. They learn how to prepare for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him. If I go away, He said, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. In the word of God there are gracious promises, from which those who are suffering, whether in body or in mind, may receive comfort and hope and encouragement.
The plan to provide institutions for the proper care of the sick originated with the Lord. He has instructed His people that these institutions should be established. With them are to be connected intelligent, God-fearing physicians, who know how to treat the sick from the standpoint of the skillful Christian physician. These physicians are to be earnest and active, serving the Lord in their activity. They are to remember that they are working in the place and under the oversight of the Great Physician. They stand as guardians of the beings that Christ has purchased with His own blood, and it is therefore essential that they be governed by high, noble principles, carrying out the will of the divine Medical Missionary, who is ever watching over the sick and suffering.
He who is set as a guardian of the health of the sick should understand by experience the soothing power of the grace of Christ, so that to those who come to him for treatment he can impart in words the uplifting, health-giving power of God’s own truth. A physician is not fit for medical missionary work until he has gained a knowledge of Him who came to save perishing, sin-sick souls. If Christ is his teacher, if he has an experimental knowledge of the truth, he can hold up the Saviour before the sick and dying.
The sick note carefully the looks and words and acts of their physician, and as the Christian physician kneels beside the bedside of the sufferer, asking the Great Physician to take the case into His own hands, an impression is made upon the mind of the sick one that may result in the saving of his soul.
Plants Needed in Many Places
Christ embraced the world in His missionary work, and the Lord has shown me by revelation that it is not His plan for large centers to be made, for large institutions to be established, and for the funds of our people in all parts of the world to be exhausted in the support of a few large institutions, when the necessities of the times call for something to be done, as Providence opens the way, in many places. Plants should be established in various places all over the world. First one, and then another part of the vineyard is to be entered, until all has been cultivated. Efforts are to be put forth wherever the need is greatest. But we can not carry on this aggressive warfare, and at the same time make an extravagant outlay of means in a few places.
The Battle Creek Sanitarium is too large. A great many workers will be required to care for the patients who come. A tenth of the number of patients who come to that institution is as many as can be cared for with the best results in one medical missionary center. Centers should be made in all the cities that are unacquainted with the great work that the Lord would have done to warn the world that the end of all things is at hand. “There is too much,” said the Great Teacher, “in one place.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 8, pp. 204, 205.
IN ALL THE WORLD
God has qualified His people to enlighten the world. He has intrusted them with faculties by which they are to extend His work until it shall encircle the globe. In all parts of the earth, they are to establish sanitariums, schools, publishing houses, and kindred facilities for the accomplishment of His work.
The closing message of the gospel is to be carried to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Rev. 14:6. In foreign countries many enterprises for the advancement of this message must yet be begun and carried forward. The opening of hygienic restaurants and treatment rooms, and the establishment of sanitariums for the care of the sick and the suffering, is just as necessary in Europe as in America. In many lands, medical missions are to be established to act as God’s helping hand in ministering to the afflicted.
Christ coöperates with those who engage in medical missionary work. Men and women who unselfishly do what they can to establish sanitariums and treatment rooms in many lands will be richly rewarded. Those who visit these institutions will be benefited physically, mentally, and spiritually,—the weary will be refreshed, the sick restored to health, the sin-burdened relieved. In far-off countries, from those whose hearts are by these agencies turned from the service of sin unto righteousness, will be heard thanksgiving and the voice of melody. By their songs of grateful praise a testimony will be borne that will win others to allegiance and to fellowship with Christ.
The conversion of souls to God is the greatest, the noblest work in which human beings can have a part.218In this work are revealed God’s power, His holiness, His forbearance, and His unbounded love. Every true conversion glorifies Him, and causes the angels to break forth into singing.
We are nearing the end of this earth’s history, and the different lines of God’s work are to be carried forward with much more self-sacrifice than is at present manifest. The work for these last days is in a special sense a missionary work. The presentation of present truth, from the first letter of its alphabet to the last, means missionary effort. The work to be done calls for sacrifice at every advance step. From this unselfish service the workers will come forth purified and refined as gold tried in the fire.
The sight of souls perishing in sin should arouse us to put forth greater effort to give the light of present truth to those who are in darkness, and especially to those in fields where as yet very little has been done to establish memorials for God. In all parts of the world a work that should have been done long ago is now to be entered upon and carried forward to completion.