“Train your mind to search the Scriptures. In this way you can gain a knowledge of God, and work out your own salvation. Fill it with divine truth. It will then be in perfect harmony with the heart, which, cleansed from all selfishness and moral defilement, rejoices to render homage to the law of God.”
The Signs of the Times, April 1, 1897
“There is something for everyone to do in this world of ours. The Lord is coming, and our waiting is to be not a time of idle expectation, but of vigilant work. We are not to spend our time wholly in prayerful meditation, neither are we to drive and hurry and work as if this were required in order that we should gain heaven, while neglecting to devote time to the cultivation of personal piety. There must be a combination of meditation and diligent work. As God has expressed it in His Word, we are to be “not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” Worldly activities are not to crowd out the service of the Lord. The soul needs the riches of the grace of God, and the body needs physical exercise, in order to accomplish the work that must be done for the promulgation of the gospel of Christ….”
Our High Calling, pg 221
The seed dies to spring forth into new life, and in this we are taught the lesson of the resurrection. All who love God will live again in the Eden above. Of the human body laid away to molder in the grave God has said, “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” 1 Corinthians 15:42, 43.
Such are a few of the many lessons taught by nature’s living parable of the sower and the seed. As parents and teachers try to teach these lessons, the work should be made practical. Let the children themselves prepare the soil and sow the seed. As they work, the parent or teacher can explain the garden of the heart with the good or bad seed sown there, and that as the garden must be prepared for the natural seed, so the heart must be prepared for the seed of truth. As the seed is cast into the ground, they can teach the lesson of Christ’s death; and as the blade springs up, they can teach the lesson of the truth of the resurrection. As the plants grow, the correspondence between the natural and the spiritual sowing may be continued.
Christ’s Object Lessons, pg 87
“Let mothers come to Jesus with their perplexities. They will find grace sufficient to aid them in the management of their children. The gates are open for every mother who would lay her burdens at the Saviour’s feet…. He … still invites the mothers to lead up their little ones to be blessed by Him. Even the babe in its mother’s arms may dwell under the shadow of the Almighty through the faith of the praying mother.”
The Adventist Home, 274
Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.
Deuteronomy 4:40
Fathers and mothers, connect with your children. Pray with them. Encourage them. They need encouragement. Why? Because the fallen angels will bring the most beautiful things to present before them in various ways, and they will think that is the highest education. If they can get that education, they will think it is the very highest education that they can have. The highest education that we can have is to be God’s obedient children. It is to have a mind subject to Christ, who laid aside His royal robes and kingly crown and came into our world as a little child to bear all the infirmities of children, and He gave the evidence to all that He had the mind of God, and was doing it. He made all that sacrifice, and at last He was stretched on the cross at Calvary. But before that He was in prayer.
Manuscript 83, 1910
Fashion Character by Little Attentions, Often Repeated—Parents, in the training of your children, study the lessons that God has given in nature. If you would train a pink, or rose, or lily, how would you do it? Ask the gardener by what process he makes every branch and leaf to flourish so beautifully, and to develop in symmetry and loveliness. He will tell you that it was by no rude touch, no violent effort; for this would only break the delicate stems. It was by little attentions, often repeated. He moistened the soil and protected the growing plants from the fierce blasts and from the scorching sun, and God caused them to flourish and to blossom into loveliness. In dealing with your children, follow the method of the gardener. By gentle touches, by loving ministrations, seek to fashion their characters after the pattern of the character of Christ.
The Desire of Ages, 516
The Adventist Home Educator 