THE CALL TO SANITARIUM WORK
A missionary institution
The Sanitarium is to be a missionary institution in the fullest sense of the word; and its character in this respect must be preserved or it will not bear upon it the superscription of God. To keep it thus will require godliness of life and character in every worker. The success of this institution must be viewed in the light of God’s word. True success will bear the heavenly credentials. The workers for God will rejoice in the Lord, and at the same time be dissatisfied with their own efforts. The moment of rejoicing in the Lord because of success will be the moment of self-abasement because of what has been left undone through neglect and unfaithfulness. {PH066 47.1}
No worldly policies to be embraced
The world looks favorably on some of our methods and ideas; but we must not let the flattery of the world seduce us. We must not depend upon human favor or patronage for success. Like a mighty cleaver, the truth has taken us out of the quarry of the world to be the peculiar people of God, and we can not afford to assimilate with the world. We must not compromise one principle of the truth, or yield one position, to gain the favor of the world. O for a life consistent with our faith! No portion of the Lord’s vineyard has greater possibilities for doing good than the Sanitarium. He has promised that if we follow Christ our Saviour, we shall walk in the light as he is in the light. He desires to show to the world those who will diffuse the light shining from the cross of Calvary. Above everything else in the institution, the spirit of mercy, compassion, human tenderness,–the gentleness of Christ,–is to be manifested. Worldly policy must not prevail, outward appearances must not be permitted to blind the judgment. The poor must receive special attention, because they have not the good things of this life. If the spirit of Christ is cherished and made manifest in the actions, impressions for good will be made upon those who have received a false education concerning life and its great responsibilities. {PH066 46.3}
Its mission
When the Lord specified that there should be a health and temperance institution at Battle Creek, he also specified what should be its object. It was not to be fashioned after the character of any other institution in the world. (1) It was to stand as a Seventh-day Adventist institution, one that should give character to God’s cause in the world. (2)It was also to be an asylum for those who should accept the truth, to which they might resort when sick. (3) It was to be a place where the truth should be made to shine out–not where it should be placed under a bushel. The truth should be the all-important thing in the institution. The Lord designed that it should be a place where he would be honored in word and in deed, where his law should be magnified, where the true faith of the Bible should ever be made prominent before the patrons. {PH066 49.1}
IT needs Workers of a holy caliber
Men who accept a position in any of our health institutions should do so with as full a realization of its responsibilities as possible. The Lord has promised to be a present help in every time of need, and there is no excuse for not doing more real missionary work at the Sanitarium. Far better attention should be paid to obtaining a fitness for every duty. Workers should seek to improve, that they may do their work in the best manner possible, and with fidelity, so as to meet the approval of God. Opportunities for doing good have always been far in advance of the workers, for they have failed to see and improve them because the enemy of right doing has had a controlling power over their minds. {PH066 47.2}
Medical Missionaries.
God has said that if the men connected with this institution would walk humbly and obediently, in purity of life, doing the will of God, it would live and prosper; and from it would be sent forth missionaries to bless others with the light that God has given them. These will, in the spirit of Jesus, demolish the idols in high places; they will unveil superstition, and plant truth, purity, and holiness where now are cherished only error, self-indulgence, intemperance, and iniquity. {PH066 50.1}
Missionaries as nurserymen of Truth
Let forces be set at work to clear new ground, to establish new living interests wherever an opening can be found. Let men learn how to make brief, earnest prayers. Let them learn to speak of the world’s Redeemer, to lift up the Man of Calvary higher and still higher. Transplant trees out of your thickly planted nursery. God is not glorified in having such immense advantages centered in one place. We need wise nurserymen who will transplant trees in different localities, and give them advantages whereby they may grow. It is a positive duty to go into regions beyond. Rally workers, who possess true missionary zeal, and let them go forth to diffuse light and knowledge far and near. Let them take the living principles of health reform into communities that to a large degree are ignorant of what they should do. Let men and women teach these principles to classes that can not have the advantage of the large Sanitarium at ——. {PH066 50.2}
The medical missionary field is open before us. We are beginning to comprehend better the light given years ago–that health reform principles would be as an entering wedge, to be followed by a religious influence. To voice the words of John, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” Would that all might be so taught as to work intelligently as medical missionaries; for this would serve as credentials to them in finding access to homes and families where they could sow the seeds of truth. We want to feel as Christ felt,–that we can not abandon the souls who are in need of what we can do for them; we can not leave the helpless, suffering little ones to the evils of orphanage, and ignorance, and want, and sin, and crime. The Lord would have us to be health reformers in the true sense of the term. {PH066 51.1}
