The Desire of Ages by Ellen White - Book Report/Review Example

Ellen G. White Desire of Ages: book report reflection and analysis Introduction Seventh-day Adventist pioneer, Ellen G. White offers one of the most celebrated books about the life of Jesus Christ authored in her The Desire of Ages and the Seventh-day Adventists regard this work as their favorite source of spiritual nourishment outside the Bible. In a reflective analysis of the book, one recognizes that the unfathomable devotional tone and conspicuously beautiful phrases of the work, along with its Christ-centered theme, make it strikingly unique. In the book, the author appeals to man’s desire for God, in spite of his race, sex, color, etc, and the reader is taken to new levels of experience in his search for God. According to the author, there is an ineffable desire, in the hearts of all mankind, for something they do not now possess and this desire is implanted in the very constitution of man by the merciful God. It is God’s desire, as Ellen G. White maintains, that the human shall seek the best things in the world and find them to the eternal blessing of his soul. In the preface of the book, White suggests that “It is God’s design that this longing of the human heart should lead to the One who alone is able to satisfy it. The desire is of Him that it may lead to Him, the fullness and fulfillment of that desire. That fullness is found in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Eternal God. ‘For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell;’ ‘for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.’” (White, 13) It is also essential to realize that ‘in Him ye are made full’ with respect to every desire divinely implanted and normally followed and the book emphasizes the importance of Jesus in the fulfillment of the desires of man. Ellen G. White, a woman of large and long experience in the affairs of God, sets forth new beauties from the life of Jesus in the book The Desire of Ages and she opens before the reader the undreamed of riches for the ultimate pursuit of desires. The book, which is the volume three of the “Conflict of the Ages” series, presents the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ and the title of the book is taken from an Old Testament prophecy of Jesus in Haggai 2:7, where the prophet calls Him “the Desire of all nations”. An analysis of the various chapters in the book can help one in realizing the real value of the work in achieving the desires of man. In a careful reading of the book, one recognizes the essential purpose of the book, which is to set forth Jesus Christ as the One in whom every longing may be satisfied, and it is an excellent work guiding the reader to the mysteries concerning Jesus Christ. Reflection and Analysis of Ellen G. White’s Desire of Ages Ellen G. White’s Desire of Ages offers one of the most essential explanations of how one can find an eternal satisfaction in Jesus Christ for every longing of human beings. A reflective exploration of some of the chapters in the book confirms that the author effectively sets forth new beauties from the life of Jesus and she presents Jesus as the One in whom every longing can be satisfied. There have been numerous books written the life of Christ all through the history of mankind and, unlike the other books, The Desire of Ages should be comprehended as a work which was written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. As Robert W. Olso maintains, “In marked contrast to other works on Christ’s life, it was written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. It carries within its pages its own divine credentials. It breathes a heavenly spirit. Here we come face to face with the Lord Himself.” (Olso, 6-7) Significantly, a reader becomes personally acquainted with his Savior, though a reflective reading of The Desire of Ages, as through no other book outside the Bible, and it is absolute that a reader who is receptive to the leading of the Holy Spirit will definitely realize the workings of the spirit. Through her book, Ellen G. White offers the readers an important way to realize the infinite truths concerning Jesus Christ and the readers come to recognize that Jesus Christ is the source to satisfy every desire of humanity. As the preface suggests, the author opens before the reader undreamed-of riches from the infinite treasure house and she offers new and glorious interpretations for many familiar passages, which take the readers beyond the ordinary understanding of Jesus. In the book, White presents Jesus Christ “as the fullness of the Godhead, the infinitely merciful Savior of sinners, the Sun of Righteousness, the merciful High Priest, the Healer of all human maladies and diseases, the tender, compassionate Friend, the constant, ever-present and helpful Companion, the Prince of the House of David, the Shield of His people, the Prince of Peace, the Coming King, the Everlasting Father, the culmination and fruition of the desires and hopes of all the ages.” (White, 14) Therefore, in a reflective analysis of the major themes of the book, it becomes lucid that the author has been effective in presenting Jesus Christ as the One who can satisfy every longing of human beings and the reader is able to recognize the great power of Jesus Christ to satisfy the desires of humanity. In the first chapter of the book, “God with Us”, the author presents Jesus Christ as Immanuel, i.e. God is with us, and the reader of the book realizes the He was ‘the image of God,’ the image of His greatness and majesty, and ‘the outshining of His glory.’ Therefore, the author is effective in suggesting that Jesus Christ came to the world to manifest the glory of being one with the Father from the days of eternity. According to the author, it was to reveal the light of God’s love and to be ‘God with us’ that Jesus Christ came to this sin-darkened earth. “By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God,--God’s thought made audible… Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which ‘angels desire to look,’ and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the un-fallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love.” (White, 19-20) Therefore, the author makes an attempt, at the outset, to present Jesus Christ as the redeemer of the world and as the light from God revealing the truth of God to man. As the book maintains, Christ’s redeeming work justifies the rule of God and Jesus presented the Omnipotent One as the God of love. Through Jesus, the work of redemption becomes complete and the world is honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Therefore, the significance of the book The Desire of Ages is that it presents Jesus Christ as the one and only redeemer of human world and as the One who offers God’s presence among human beings all through the ages. All through the book, Ellen G. White presents Jesus Christ as the only solace of, and answer to, all human desires and the author presents Him as the ‘Fullness of the Time’ in the third chapter of the book. Using various important references from the Bible, the author establishes that Jesus Christ came to the world when the fullness of the time was come in order to redeem the humanity and to offer them the adoption of sons, rather than the status of the slaves. Through a thorough exploration of the Scriptures, and the Prophesies in the Old Testament, the author establishes that Jesus Christ is the Savior, whose coming was foretold in Eden and whom the people of the Old Testament were expecting. “‘When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.’ Providence had directed the movements of nations, and the tide of human impulse and influence, until the world was ripe for the coming of the Deliverer. The nations were united under one government. One language was widely spoken, and was everywhere recognized as the language of literature. From all lands the Jews of the dispersion gathered to Jerusalem to the annual feasts. As these returned to the places of their sojourn, they could spread throughout the world the tidings of the Messiah’s coming.” (White, 32) Thus, one of the most fundamental intentions of the author in writing this book is to establish Jesus Christ as the Savior from the God, whom the entire world was expecting through the ages, and she presents Jesus Christ as the One who can satisfy every desire of human beings. Although there are several passages all through the book which substantiate the general criticism against the work, that it is highly plagiarized, one can realize that the author is effectively making use of these passages to establish her arguments which present Jesus Christ as the One in whom every longing can be satisfied. As Leonard Brand and Don S. McMahon purports, “Ellen White made considerable use of her source books, even though she did not often closely follow their specific wording. She did not blindly copy the thoughts in those sources, but made selective and creative use of her own writings and the writings of others to produce … a ‘customized’ composition that expressed her belief system. Her unique fingerprint is most evident in the devotional, moral, or Christian appeals that are abundant in The Desire of Ages.” (Brand and McMahon, 27) Therefore, Ellen White makes use of the various sources to ascertain her arguments and beliefs which greatly influence the readers, and it is the convincing and persuasive quality of the writing that helped the author in establishing her arguments effectively. Conclusion A reflective exploration of The Desire of Ages Ellen G. White confirms that the major purpose of this book, as suggested in the Preface, is to set forth Jesus Christ as the One in whom every longing of human beings can be satisfied. Unlike the common books on the life of Christ, which offer large funds of information and many glimpses of the many-sided life of Jesus of Nazareth, the author in his work focuses on presenting Jesus Christ as the one and only redeemer of the world and the true source and answer of satisfying every desire of human beings. A reader who is engaged in a careful exploration of the book is guided by the Spirit of God to the realization of very essential awareness of the ways of God. It is undoubtedly an important work which can serve as an essential source of spiritual nourishment outside the Bible. Works Cited Brand, Leonard and Don S. McMahon. The prophet and her critics: a striking new analysis refutes the charges that Ellen G. White "borrowed" the health message. Pacific Press Publishing. 2005. P 27. Olso, Robert W. “How the Desire of Ages Was Written.” P 6-7. Dec 04. 2009. . White, Ellen G. The Desire of Ages. Mountain View, Calif: Pacific Press Publishing. 2006. P 13. Read More