“There is a deep earnestness in the invitation, ‘Come; for all things are now ready.’ How could those bidden make excuses of so trivial a character, and risk losing eternal life? And yet in every age of the world men are fulfilling this parable in refusing the invitation to the gospel feast. One urges as an excuse his temporal concerns; his property demands his attention. Another is hindered by the claims of society. But none of these excuses count with God. The refusal decides the eternal destiny of the soul; for the words of Christ are, ‘None of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.’
“Can anyone consider the condescension of God in preparing the gospel feast, and its great cost, and treat the invitation slightingly? No man, nor even the highest angel, can estimate the great cost; it is known only to the Father and the Son. The love of God for sinful man is beyond computation. It is the wonder of all heaven, but none can comprehend it. How could their loved Commander in the heavenly courts be permitted to endure such self-denial, such great sacrifice, to bring to man the gospel privileges? And yet with many these privileges are not considered of as much value as the approbation of their neighbours.” –The Bible Echo, October 28, 1895
“The work of every mortal is to work on the Lord’s side. Who can measure the worth of the soul? There is no way in which we can estimate the worth of the soul except by the light that shines from Calvary. We there see how Christ valued the human soul. And since He has given Himself for us, our intellect and all our powers belong to Him.
“What a wonder that Christ died for sinners! Who can understand it? Never can the mystery of Calvary be explained to finite minds. The mind faints as it attempts to grasp it—that God should give His only Son to suffer shame and reproach, to be tracked by spies, to suffer ignominy, and finally to die. And yet, after all this sacrifice, men talk as though they do not need Christ!” –Manuscript 7, 1884
“The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He who could command all the powers of nature, who by a word could summon mighty angels to do His will and execute vengeance upon His enemies,—the beloved of God, the Majesty of Heaven,—submitted to insult, torture, and death, that sinners might be redeemed. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory, and humiliate Himself from love to man, will ever excite the wonder and admiration of the universe. As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer, and behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in His countenance; as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting, and know that His kingdom is to have no end, they break forth in rapturous song, ‘Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His own most precious blood!’” –The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, p. 468
Ellen G. White