Education
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 29: The Sabbath
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The Sabbath is a sign of creative and redeeming power; it points to God
as the source of life and knowledge; it recalls man's primeval glory,
and thus witnesses to God's purpose to re-create us in His own image.
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The value of the Sabbath as a means of education is beyond
estimate. Whatever of ours God claims from us, He returns again, enriched,
transfigured, with His own glory. The tithe that He claimed from Israel was
devoted to preserving among men, in its glorious beauty, the pattern of His
temple in the heavens, the token of His presence on the earth. So the portion
of our time which He claims is given again to us, bearing His name and seal.
"It is a sign," He says, "between Me and you; . . .
that ye may know that I am the Lord;" because "in six days the Lord
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh
day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus
31:13; 20:11. The Sabbath is a sign of creative and redeeming power; it points
to God as the source of life and knowledge; it recalls man's primeval glory,
and thus witnesses to God's purpose to re-create us in His own image. {Ed 250.1}
The Sabbath and the family were alike instituted in Eden,
and in God's purpose they are indissolubly linked together. On this day more
than on any other, it is possible for us to live the life of Eden. It was God's
plan for the members of the family to be associated in work [251]
and study, in worship and recreation, the father as priest of his household,
and both father and mother as teachers and companions of their children. But
the results of sin, having changed the conditions of life, to a great degree
prevent this association. Often the father hardly sees the faces of his
children throughout the week. He is almost wholly deprived of opportunity for
companionship or instruction. But God's love has set a limit to the demands of
toil. Over the Sabbath He places His merciful hand. In His own day He preserves
for the family opportunity for communion with Him, with nature, and with one
another. {Ed 250.2}
Since the Sabbath is the memorial of creative power, it is
the day above all others when we should acquaint ourselves with God through His
works. In the minds of the children the very thought of the Sabbath should be
bound up with the beauty of natural things. Happy is the family who can go to
the place of worship on the Sabbath as Jesus and His disciples went to the
synagogue—across the fields, along the shores of the lake, or through
the groves. Happy the father and mother who can teach their children God's
written word with illustrations from the open pages of the book of nature; who
can gather under the green trees, in the fresh, pure air, to study the word and
to sing the praise of the Father above. {Ed 251.1}
By such associations parents may bind their children to
their hearts, and thus to God, by ties that can never be broken. {Ed 251.2}
As a means of intellectual training, the opportunities of
the Sabbath are invaluable. Let the Sabbath-school lesson be learned, not by a
hasty glance at the lesson scripture on Sabbath morning, but by careful study
for [252]
the next week on Sabbath afternoon, with daily review or illustration during
the week. Thus the lesson will become fixed in the memory, a treasure never to
be wholly lost. {Ed 251.3}
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In listening to the sermon, let parents and children note
the text and the scriptures quoted, and as much as possible of the line of
thought, to repeat to one another at home. This will go far toward relieving
the weariness with which children so often listen to a sermon, and it will
cultivate in all a habit of attention and of connected thought. {Ed 252.1}
Meditation on the themes thus suggested will open to the
student treasures of which he has never dreamed. He will prove in his own life
the reality of the experience described in the scripture: {Ed 252.2}
"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word
was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." Jeremiah 15:16. {Ed 252.3}
"I will meditate in Thy statutes." "More to
be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. . . .
Moreover by them is Thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great
reward." Psalm 119:48; 19:10, 11. {Ed 252.4}
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"Faith and Prayer"
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