Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work

Chapter 28—Love the Constraining Power

There is altogether too little sympathy brought into our labor for souls. There is not that beseeching, wooing, drawing power that God requires us to exert that souls may be reconciled to Him. If we teach the truth as it is in Jesus, religion will not be regarded as a drudgery, but as a delight. Let the teachers bring sunshine, gratitude, and hearts full of tenderness and Christlike compassion, into their work, and leaven the hearts of their scholars with the spirit of unselfish love; for this is the spirit that pervades heaven. Shall not the workers in the Sabbath-school divest themselves of all pride and self-love, and heartily and sincerely become doers of the word? “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lust thereof.” Genuine faith confides in Christ, and renders implicit submission, consenting to follow Him wheresoever He goeth. When this is fulfilled, as a result of well-directed efforts, many souls will be brought as precious sheaves to the Master. TSS 100.1

Parents and teachers should seek to impress the minds of the children from their earliest years with the importance of salvation. They should teach the children that God is their heavenly Father, that His love is expressed to them in the gift of His only-begotten Son, and that the Saviour of the world manifested His love toward them in coming to our world to die that we might live. If these lessons are presented in love and tenderness, they will leave a lasting impression upon the minds and hearts of the youth. As images and objects are reflected from the face of the mirror, when revealed by the sunlight, so these themes will be mirrored in the mind when illumined by the love of Christ. TSS 101.1