[First published in “Historical Sketches of S. D. A. Foreign Missions,” 1886.]
(GW 73)
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“We are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”1 Corinthians 3:9
(GW 73.1)
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The work of the Christian laborer is not light or unimportant. He has a high vocation, from which his whole future life must take its mould and coloring. He who gives himself to so sacred a work should bend all his energies to its accomplishment. He should aim high; he will never reach a higher standard than that which he seeks to attain. He cannot diffuse light until he has first received it. He must be a learner before he can have sufficient wisdom and experience to become a teacher, able to open the Scriptures to those who are in darkness. If God has called men to be laborers together with Him, it is equally certain that He has called them to make the best possible preparation rightly to represent the sacred, elevating truths of His word.
(GW 73.2)
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Those who desire to give themselves to the work of God should receive an education and training for this work, that they may be prepared to engage in it intelligently. They should not feel that they can step at once upon the higher rounds of the ladder; those who would succeed must begin at the first round, and climb upward step by step. Opportunities and privileges are granted for them for improvement, and they should make every effort in their power to learn how to do the work of God acceptably.
(GW 73.3)
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