Nothing will arouse a self-sacrificing zeal and broaden and strengthen the character as will engaging in work for others. Many professed Christians, in joining a church, think only of themselves. They wish to enjoy church fellowship and pastoral care. They become members of large and prosperous churches and are content to do little for others. In this way they are robbing themselves of the most precious blessings. Many would be greatly benefited by sacrificing their pleasant, comfortable situation. They need to go where their energies will be called out in Christian work and they can learn to bear responsibilities. MHH 78.2
Trees that are crowded together do not become healthy and strong. The gardener transplants them that they may have room to develop. A similar work would benefit many of the members of large churches. They need to be placed where their energies will be called forth in active Christian effort. They are losing their spiritual life, becoming dwarfed and inefficient, because they lack self-sacrificing work for others. Transplanted to some missionary field, they would grow strong and vigorous. MHH 78.3
But none need wait until called to some distant field before beginning to help others. Doors of service are open everywhere. All around us are those who need our help. The widow, the orphan, the sick and dying, the heartsick, the discouraged, the ignorant, and the outcast are on every hand. MHH 78.4
We should feel it our special duty to work for those in our neighborhood. Study how you can best help those who take no interest in religious things. As you visit your friends and neighbors, show an interest in both their spiritual and temporal welfare. Speak to them of Christ as a sin-pardoning Savior. Invite your neighbors to your home, and read with them from the precious Bible and from books that explain its truths. Invite them to unite with you in song and prayer. In these little gatherings, Christ Himself will be present, as He has promised, and hearts will be touched by His grace. MHH 78.5
Church members should educate themselves to do this work. This is just as essential as to save the benighted souls in foreign countries. While some feel burdened to win souls in distant lands, the many who are at home should feel the burden of precious souls who are around them, and work diligently for their salvation. MHH 78.6
Many regret that they are living a narrow life. They themselves can make their life broad and influential if they will. Those who love Jesus with heart and mind and soul, and their neighbors as themselves, have a wide field in which to use their ability and influence. MHH 79.1
None should pass by little opportunities, looking for larger work. You might do successfully the small work but fail utterly in attempting the larger work and become discouraged. It is by doing with your might what you find to do that you will develop aptitude for larger work. It is by slighting the daily opportunities, by neglecting the little things right at hand, that many become fruitless and withered. MHH 79.2
Do not depend upon human aid. Look beyond human beings to the One appointed by God to bear our griefs, carry our sorrows, and supply our necessities. Taking God at His word, make a beginning wherever you find work to do, and move forward with unfaltering faith. It is faith in Christ’s presence that gives strength and steadfastness. Work with unselfish interest, with painstaking effort, with persevering energy. MHH 79.3
In fields where the conditions are so objectionable and disheartening that many are unwilling to go to them, remarkable changes have been made by the efforts of self-sacrificing workers. Patiently and perseveringly they worked, not relying on human power but on God, and His grace sustained them. The amount of good thus accomplished will never be known in this world, but blessed results will be seen in the great hereafter. MHH 79.4