Work to Be Done in Large Cities

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. Isaiah 9:2, NKJV.

Every Christian will have a missionary spirit. To bear fruit is to work as Christ worked, to love souls as He has loved us. The very first impulse of the renewed heart is to bring others also to the Savior: and just as soon as a person is converted to the truth, he or she feels an earnest desire that those in darkness should see the precious light shining from God’s Word....

Missionaries are needed to spread the light of truth in ... great cities, and the children of God — those whom He calls the light of the world — ought to be doing all they can in this direction. You will meet with discouragements; you will have opposition. The enemy will whisper, What can these few poor people do in this great city? But if you walk in the light, you can every one be light bearers to the world.

Do not seek to accomplish some great work, and neglect the little opportunities close at hand. We can do very much by exemplifying the truth in our daily life. The influence which we may thus exert cannot be easily withstood.

People may combat and defy our logic; they may resist our appeals; but a life of holy purpose, of disinterested love in their behalf, is an argument in favor of the truth that they cannot gainsay. Far more can be accomplished by humble, devoted, virtuous lives than can be effected by preaching when a godly example is lacking. You can labor to build up the church, to encourage your fellow believers, and to make the social meetings interesting; and you can let your prayers go out, like sharp sickles, with the laborers into the harvest field. Each should have a personal interest, a burden of soul, to watch and pray for the success of the work.

You can also in meekness call the attention of others to the precious truths of God’s Word. Young men should be instructed that they may labor in these cities. They may never be able to present the truth from the desk, but they could go from house to house, and point the people to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The dust and rubbish of error have buried the precious jewels of truth; but the Lord’s workers can uncover these treasures, so that many will look upon them with delight and awe. — Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 181, 182.