“Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as we think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:44. Go to your rest at night with every sin confessed. Thus we did when in 1844 we expected to meet our Lord. And now this great event is nearer than when we first believed. Be ye always ready, in the evening, in the morning, and at noon, that when the cry is heard, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him,” you may, even though awakened out of sleep, go forth to meet Him with your lamps trimmed and burning. {9T 48.3} “Freely Ye Have Received, Freely Give”Self-sacrifice is the keynote of the teachings of Christ. Often it is presented and enjoined in language that seems authoritative, because God sees that there is no other way to save man than to cut away from his life the selfishness which, if retained, would degrade the whole being. {9T 49.1}

(49) [Selvopofrelse er grundtonen i Kristi lære. Ofte omtales og indskærpes selvopofrelse i ord, som synes bydende, men det sker, netop fordi Gud ved, at der slet ingen anden mulighed gives, hvorpå menneskene kan frelses, end ved at borttage fra dem den selviskhed, som, hvis den næres, vil fordærve både sjæl og legeme.