Reflection on Ellen White Readings - Essay Example

Reflecting on Ellen White By (Module and number) In the Creation Theory, it has been d and preached throughout the ages that the world was created by God in 6 days. On the 7th day, God rested and this became the Sabbath. What is the Sabbath? Ellen White expressed on her book, Patriarchs and Prophets: Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should look upon the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon God’s great work of creation; and that as he should behold the evidences of God’s wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his Maker.1 Followers of the Christian and Catholic faiths should abide by the law that God had declared. The observance of the Sabbath Day is part of the Ten Commandments that were given by God to Moses at Mt. Sinai. Not all Christians or Catholics follow this commandment anymore. Even the calendar that is being used during the past centuries has their weeks starting on what should be considered as the Sabbath day which is Sunday. The Sabbath Day should be observed by those people who believe not just in the scriptures but also in the whole religious belief. God himself laid out the first week as for man to pattern the succeeding weeks that will come. A statement from White in The Desire of Ages, “Six days were employed in the work of creation; upon the seventh, God rested, and He then blessed this day and set it apart as a day of rest for man.”2 Further reading on the works of White, the author stated in The Great Controversy that: Many urged that Sundaykeeping had been an established doctrine and a widespread custom of the church for many centuries. Against this argument it was shown that the Sabbath and its observance were more ancient and widespread, even as old as the world itself, and bearing the sanction both of angels and of God.3 Sabbath has been barely observed by people especially during the latter decades of the 20th century and even during the first decades of the 21st century. It would be either people are too busy having their leisure vacations or others may have shifts at work. Because of worldly reasons, people have started to ignore the observance of the Sabbath and stating reasons or justifications that God will understand the fact that they need to work or enjoy at least a day after weeks or months filled with strenuous work. There has been an increasing number in the population who fails to observe the Sabbath Day. Could this be a reason why even when people continuously work hard day and night, they still fail to achieve the contentment in different life aspects? White stated that, “The true joy of life is found only by the working men and women…The Creator has prepared no place for the stagnating practice of indolence.”4 This is how the act of working was laid out to be a responsibility of every person in the world. One needs to work to be able to fulfill the tasks that the Creator gave man to enable the human race to flourish and continue its existence. The world’s population has increased drastically in the past decades even before the 21st century dawned. Job opportunities have been decreasing as the population increases. This creates a conflict as to how man would be able to provide the needs of his family. With the increasing need in the financial aspect, one tends to continuously work even during the weekends juggling their times between several jobs. Yet with such hard work and sacrifices, it still seems to be not sufficient to answer the needs of man. Too much work equates to lesser time for the family, the self and the spirit. As a person aspires to earn more, the person forgets to observe the Sabbath Day. Could this negligence be one of the reasons why even a person works relentlessly, the person still fails to achieve stability and success? According to White’s biography, “In successive scenes she was carried through a review of the factors that give validity to the Sabbath and its observance.”5 When a person is shown the validity of a commandment, it does not necessarily mean that others will be given the same proof at the same way as shown to another person. People can doubt what White is preaching or testifying to be the truth as they would not exactly understand the same as it is not experienced by those listening to the author’s statement. The author has continuously expressed in her works the validity and the importance of the observance of the Sabbath. One can express doubt in the observation of the Sabbath Day as when one stops work, the person will not earn anything to provide for the family. Though it has been stated that true joy can be found in work, it has also been commanded or required that a person needs to observe the Sabbath not just to rest but also to listen to words of God and appreciate the beauty that was created in the first 6 days of the week. This is justified by White when the author stated: So long as they remained loyal to the divine law, their capacity to know, to enjoy, and to love would continuously increase. They would be constantly gaining new treasures of knowledge, discovering fresh springs of happiness, and obtaining clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the immeasurable, unfailing love of God.6 Many would laugh at this as a day of rest is not feasible to gain so many things especially with regards to worldly things. However, it is true that one who fails to rest would not be feeling well and exhausted in the succeeding days. This is the result of too much work and stress that the mind and body is enduring throughout the week. It has been a saying that even God needed to rest after working 6 straight days when He created the work, what more is man who is just a creation of God. Sabbath Day is the day when man should acknowledge the blessings and creations that God gave not just to the human race but to all its creation in world. Quoting White, “The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world.”7 When God observed the Sabbath, the question that should be reflected upon is “Who is man to not observe the Sabbath when even God himself needed time to rest and reflect?” Since the observance of the Sabbath belongs to the Ten Commandments, failure of its fulfillment is considered as a sin which will then take man away from God. However, Sabbath Day should not just be observed by doing nothing except rest. It should also be spent by listening to the teachings of God as it is a way to recharge and further enrich and strengthen the spirit. The 6 days that God provided men to work should be spent working. The commandments and the scriptures stated that in a week, man should only work 6 days and not 7. On the 7th day, man should rest and thank the Creator for all the things which have been fulfilled in the 6 days. Non-observance of the Sabbath does not just make the physical body weak but especially the spirit. When failing to observe the Sabbath, it is disobeying God, exploiting the body and weakening the spirit all in one day. As White put it into words, “As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them.”8 As man continues to not observe the Sabbath, the more man departs from God and into the temptation of evil doers. When the Sabbath was ignored, it is also like ignoring all the creations and blessings that God gave to man when the world was created. As it has been continuously stated, the 7th day was made to acknowledge the goodness that God has done on the first 6 days of the week. In recent decades, there have been talks and so-called prophecies that Judgment Day is fast approaching. If a person wants to repent, it should start now. One way that a person can show his repentance is to start observing the day that God proclaimed as holy and this is the day of the Sabbath. When the Jews departed from God, the 7th day was not observed as a day of rest and thanks. People started working even on the Sabbath and started to forget the whole meaning of the word. What was important for men now is to earn and work even on the 7th day. Man should start to realize that the non-observance of the Sabbath is a sin and even if man continuously work relentlessly 7 days a week he would not be able to achieve its goal as the person continuously sin against God. Sabbath Day is not just a regular day. This is a holy day and a day to be once again reunited with the Creator. White gives the idea of how life would be when people start to observe the holy day. Though there is no guarantee that solemnity and holiness will be achieved by observing Sabbath, it is always a step closer taken by man towards his Creator. Bibliography White, Arthur L. Ellen White: Woman of Vision. USA: Review and Herald Publishing Association. 2000. White, Ellen G. Patriarchs and Prophets. Tellico Plains, TN: Digital Inspiration. 2006. ---. The Desire of Ages. Tellico Plains, TN: Digital Inspiration. 2006. ---. The Great Controversy. Tellico Plains, TN: Digital Inspiration. 2006. Read More