Tenney, Brother and Sister [G. C.]
25 Sloane St., Summer Hill, New South Wales, Australia
January 4, 1900
Portions of this letter are published in 5MR 162-163. +NoteOne or more typed copies of this document contain additional Ellen White handwritten interlineations which may be viewed at the main office of the Ellen G. White Estate.
Dear Brother and Sister Tenney:
I received your letter after I had sent mine to you. I am not surprised in regard to the physical difficulty of which you speak. Do not <retain> the trap you have. It is this, I am quite confident, is causing you trouble. Get an easy, four-wheeled carriage, and see if this will not improve the situation. I was much pleased to hear that you were taking your outing. The words of Christ are, “Come ye apart, and rest awhile.” [Mark 6:31.] This was spoken to the disciples by One who made man, and He knew these words would have their influence when He was no longer with them, to help and comfort and rest them by His words, which were appropriate at all times. There are times when the worker needs to stop. You will need these periods much more than some others. You will need to refresh yourself and enjoy a period of relaxation. Your difficulty is a flow of blood to the brain. Your hip difficulty and the flow of blood to the brain is of a serious character. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 1
Do not think the time lost that you spend in resting, for you are placing yourself in the care of nature’s God for repairs. You need such occasions often; and the thought that you are losing time need not come into your mind. You are surely gaining time and refreshing, and renewed power for doing better work. Enter nature’s sanitarium without a thought of losing time. It is the least expensive sanitarium you can patronize. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 2
You speak of accessions to the church in Brisbane. Thank the Lord, my brother; for one soul connected with the church, properly educated, will become a working force to help other souls. I know well what you mean in regard to the funds in the Lord’s treasury. This is something which we will always be perplexed over, but not in despair. The Lord declares, “The gold and silver is mine; and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” [Haggai 2:8; Psalm 50:10.] The Lord has resources with which to carry on aggressive warfare. Any information that comes from the heavenly throne Satan will seek to intercept by his dark shadow; but the heavenly army is not inactive. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 3
We must not lose faith because of the lack of money facilities. We can only do what we can in our lot and in our place. It is not so important that the finite agent such heavy work as that he walks in the footsteps of the Leader, and does not run ahead of Christ or lag behind. “I,” Christ says, “am at your right hand to help you.” “He that will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” [Luke 9:23.] We are perfectly safe in following in the footsteps of our Leader. This is the yoke we are to bear. We are to encourage and cultivate practical sympathy and love for all classes of society. All, the high as well as the lowly, need much sympathy, tenderness, patience, and long-suffering. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 4
There are men and women in Brisbane who have not yet identified themselves with the church. Have a special care to help them. It will often be a heavier cross for you to work for them than to let your sympathies go out to the poorer and more lowly ones. But it is our work to make special efforts for those who are in need of special labor because of the responsibilities they bear and the temptations that come to them in their positions of stewardship. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 5
There are in Brisbane men who are represented to me as like Cornelius of Caesarea, whom God sees, and whom He would connect with the church. Their sympathies are with Seventh-day Adventists. But the threads which bind them to the world hold them there. They have not the moral courage to take their position with the lowly ones. The Lord does not want His work to drift into securing the poorest and those who have been cultivating traits of character which, unless thorough transformed, will bring objectionable elements into the church. Unless the transforming grace of Christ is constantly, daily, at work upon the heart, Christ will be dishonored, and He will be ashamed to call us brethren. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 6
It is essential that more determined effort be made to reach those who are stewards in trust. The Lord will surely work with the men who try. They cannot fail. We must act as Christ’s representatives to reach the higher classes. Satan is pleased to have all the means in money and efforts devoted to lines of work in behalf of those who will give no strength or solidity to the cause. If there was ever a time when our work should be elevated and strong, bearing the impress of heaven, it is now. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 7
The question is asked as in the days of Christ, “Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” [John 7:45-48.] This is the great barrier in the way of very many today. They look upon those who connect with this people, and the enemy can sow tares among the wheat. He does it, and will do it. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 8
It is not after the work of Christ to cast the net for the most objectionable class of fish. Efforts can be made for both classes. Our labors for those who have ability and talents should be more earnest and decided, for these, if converted, will become channels of light. If the medical missionary work is carried forward as it should be, there will be many conversions of the higher classes. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 9
Men whose characters have been depraved, and evil and only evil continually, are not the ones with whom God can trust with the sacred work which means so much in these last days. “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” [John 12:42, 43.] We must act our part intelligently. All the talents, all the strength possible, must be brought in to carry the work forward. We are not to be consumers, but as workers together with God. Receiving and imparting is the gospel plan. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.” [1 John 2:6.] 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 10
“Be ye therefore imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you.” [Ephesians 5:1, 2.] We must have on our staff men who are reliable, men who are not devoting their talents to earthly, temporal things. These talents belong to God, and should be devoted to His service, but it requires tact and skill and the grace of Christ to be faithful workers, to secure the very best talent for the honor and glory of God. Men are not to be educated to do haphazard work. We have a message to bear to the world, a character to reveal after the similitude of Christ. Earnestness, fervor, and enthusiasm without extravagance in attitude or language, will always be a power. With these characteristics the speaker will be to the people as the living voice of God. 15LtMs, Lt 4, 1900, par. 11