Ellen Chat Conversation

Ellen White strongly cautioned against idleness as we approach the end of time, stating that "a life beautified with holiness is not a life of idle contemplation; but a life filled up with earnest work for the Master" (GCB October 1, 1896, par. 7). While the specific phrase about planting a tree is not found in the provided documents, she taught the underlying principle that we must continue to work and "occupy" until the very end. She emphasized that even if time is short, we are called to active service rather than passive waiting. She wrote that "it may be but a few years until your life history shall close, but you must occupy till then" (10MR 227.2). This means that rather than withdrawing from activity because the end is near, believers should "begin to act decidedly and determinedly, and with intense interest to increase the facilities, that a great work may be done in a short time" (GCB October 1, 1896, par. 7). In her own life, Ellen White modeled this principle of working diligently despite knowing her time was limited. Even when she expected to rest in the grave a little time before the Lord comes,she received messages to "hasten her work" and prepare her books so they could continue to serve the church after her death (GCB June 1, 1913, par. 11). She believed that soon your time for work will be forever pastand urged others to "watch for opportunities to speak a word in season" (7T 15.3). The call to labor is urgent because the spiritual "fields; for they are white already to harvest" (6T 23.3). Ellen White applied Christ's parable of the laborers to our time, asking, "Why stand ye here all the day idle? Go labor today in my vineyard" (15MR 81.1). This indicates that our focus should be on diligent, practical effort in God's service rather than being paralyzed by the nearness of the end. Practically, this means that our faith in the second coming should not lead to a stop in useful activities or the building of necessary institutions. Instead, she advised that if indeed the Lord is coming, it is time to sell what you have and give almsand to invest means into the "treasury of the Lord, that institutions may be erected" (GCB October 1, 1896, par. 7). She taught that faith and works are not disseveredand that we should continue to build and prepare for the future even as we look for the Lord's appearing (GCB October 1, 1896, par. 7). --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What did Ellen White say about the balance between waiting and working for Christ's return? • How should our belief in the soon coming of Christ affect our daily work and business? • What specific "work" did she encourage believers to do in the "vineyard" today?