The Review and Herald
April 13, 1905
An Open Letter
“Elmshaven,” Sanitarium, Cal.,
January 11, 1905.
To the Leaders in Our Work at Takoma Park:
I exhort all who are connected with the work at Takoma Park to bring Christ into all that they do and say. Lift him up, higher and still higher, that by beholding him, you may be changed into the same image. To you, and to all others who believe in him, he becomes an inspiring force. To all who receive him he gives power to become the sons of God. Only by obtaining this power can we gain perfection of character. RH April 13, 1905, par. 1
We can be partakers of the divine nature. In the strength of the Redeemer, we can live pure, noble, helpful lives. Make yourselves acquainted with every detail of the life of Christ. Strive to become like the Saviour, who was meek and lowly and self-denying. He was inspired with the purest purposes. So must you be if ever you see the King in his beauty. Pure, unselfish love was the principle that governed all that he said and did. He has power to imbue us with the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. RH April 13, 1905, par. 2
I thank the Lord that we have men in charge of our work at Takoma Park who have taken a firm stand that they will not be corrupted in any of their transactions with worldly men. Thus business men will be convinced that the faith of Seventh-day Adventists is not a pretense or sham, but that it leads men to walk in the way of the Lord and to do his will. RH April 13, 1905, par. 3
I have been instructed that strong temptations will come to men who are connected with our institutions. The work we are called upon to do in Washington is to keep every jot and tittle of the law in surety and in strength, in might and in power. When worldly men present temptations to you, listen not to their offers, and accept not their bribes. I thank the Lord that you have not betrayed the sacred trusts committed to your hands. RH April 13, 1905, par. 4
Our physicians also will have opportunities to gain advantages for themselves, by following worldly policy. Let them distinctly tell those who offer these temptations that they will not enter into any worldly schemes. I rejoice to think that those who have charge of the work in Takoma Park are Christians, men who can teach the youth in their charge to do acceptable work. My brethren, let unselfishness and scrupulous integrity characterize all that you do. Do not allow your actions to be tainted with dishonesty. Work for time and work for eternity, remembering that the Lord sees and hears all that is said and done. His all-seeing eye examines every work. Never resort to the slightest dishonesty to gain an advantage. Do not buy or sell dishonestly. In all that you do, inquire, “Is this the way of the Lord?” Cherish a clear sense of what you must be and do in order to develop a character that is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It is the perfect man in Christ who meets God's ideal. The work of those who are guided and controlled by Christian motives will bear witness for God. Christ lived the very life that he requires his followers to live. RH April 13, 1905, par. 5
The Saviour has a deep contempt for all deception. The stern punishment meted out to Ananias and Sapphira shows this. Desiring to receive commendation for good deeds, yet unwilling to give all to God, they sold their possessions, and keeping back part of the price, laid the rest at the apostles’ feet. They hoped to be thought liberal and self-denying, but the Holy Spirit read the deception, and sudden punishment came upon them. Today the same Spirit condemns all underhand dealing. All selfish meanness is to be put away from the character. This is the lesson that God would have us learn from the experience of Ananias and Sapphira. RH April 13, 1905, par. 6
There are virtues that are to be daily strengthened. A reverence for justice and equity is to be cultivated. He who permits in himself that which he condemns in others is doing himself a great wrong. RH April 13, 1905, par. 7
“Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.” Cherish a supreme reverence for justice and truth, and a hatred for all cruelty and oppression. Do unto others as you would wish them to do to you. God forbids you to favor self, to the disadvantage of another. RH April 13, 1905, par. 8
A terrible deception has taken possession of the Christian world. There is a high profession, but a dwarfed godliness. Let us so live that at last God can say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Our lives may show a steady spiritual growth. But I have seen that which makes me tremble—men and women dwarfed in character, possessing the Word of God, which tells them what they must do in order to be saved, yet unsanctified and unholy. RH April 13, 1905, par. 9
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” RH April 13, 1905, par. 10
This is a time for every one to deal truly with his own case. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father that is in heaven.” RH April 13, 1905, par. 11
Daily, hourly, the leaders in the work are giving lessons to those with whom they are associated. My brethren, be reasonable in your every requirement, as men of intelligence, whom God has chosen. Let all that you do reveal the strictest integrity. Be true and faithful. Set an example that all may safely follow. Do not draw into the web of your character one thread of selfishness; for this would spoil the pattern. RH April 13, 1905, par. 12
As you advance in the work, you will find that there are many things that must receive careful consideration. Allow no shiftlessness. When a man is employed in the work of God, he is under obligation to use all his capabilities in the very best service that he can offer. He is to remember that God has hired him to work in his vineyard. Every woman is to stand in her place, helping to perfect her own character and the characters of the members of her family. Father, mother, and children are to do honor to the principles of heaven, that the influence of angels may unite with their efforts in the preparation of character for the higher life. RH April 13, 1905, par. 13
Ellen G. White.