Friday: Further Thought – Shining as Lights in the Night
Daily Lesson for Friday 30th of January 2026
Further Thought
“The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who on earth has drunk most deeply of the spirit of His self-sacrificing love,—love that ‘vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, .
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
. . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil’ (1 Corinthians 13:4-5),—love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice, even unto death, for the saving of humanity. This spirit was made manifest in the life of Paul. He said, ‘For to me to live is Christ;’ for his life revealed Christ to men; ‘and to die is gain,’—gain to Christ; death itself would make manifest the power of His grace, and gather souls to Him. ‘Christ shall be magnified in my body,’ he said, ‘whether it be by life or by death.’ Philippians 1:20-21.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 549.
“The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. . . .
“When multitudes of false brethren are distinguished from the true, then the hidden ones will be revealed to view, and with hosannas range under the banner of Christ. Those who have been timid and self-distrustful will declare themselves openly for Christ and His truth. The most weak and hesitating in the church will be as David—willing to do and dare. The deeper the night for God’s people, the more brilliant the stars. Satan will sorely harass the faithful; but, in the name of Jesus, they will come off more than conquerors.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, Pages 81, 82.
Discussion Questions
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This week’s lesson has been a reminder to me about the importance of people in the Gospel story. We so often read the Pauline epistles with the aim of understanding his erudite description of salvation. This week has shown us that people were important to Paul too. It reminded me that some of the best Sabbath School lesson studies I have attended have been ones that have started off, with, “How has this week gone with you?” Time was taken getting to know the people in our Sabbath School Community and it became a bonding experience where we learned to care about one another.
It also reminded me that in this Sabbath School Net community we so often know so little about one another. I remember back in 1997 I was about to go to San Francisco for my first overseas computer science conference, I put up a message on Sabbath School Net that I would be arriving on Friday and the conference would start on Sunday. I would like someone to take us to Sabbath School and Church on Sabbath. A Sabbath School Net member offered to pick Carmel and I up on Friday and take us home for the weekend. We had a great time and attended Sabbath School and Church at Sebastopol, and made friends for life. On another occasion, I had a conference in Las Vegas, and a Sabbath School Net member asked if we could break our journey at Los Angeles as he would like to take us to his church near San Diego for Sabbath School and Church and to visit the San Diego Wildlife park. Another great experience and another set of friends for life.
I think sometimes we have become too impersonal in our discussions on Sabbath School Net. We are here to study the Bible and we quote texts to one another in our effort to convince ourselves that we have a handle on our understanding of scripture. And in the process, we isolate ourselves behind the torrent of words. We should remind ourselves that Jesus came to earth and minister to people, not to create doctrine.
This is the Gospel in action. It is the affirmation of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. When we see beyond the theology, the doctrinal discussion, and the prophetic interpretation, and we share ourselves with one another as Christian brothers and sisters. Paul saw people as important. The connection with one another matters.