A great work is before us; it is not our own devising or planning. All heaven is interested in this work, and those who engage in it must stand under the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel. God would have us stand with our faces to the front, watching every movement of our Leader and prepared to obey orders. To every man He has given His work. God has given men and women faculties that are not to be wasted in idle contemplation and fitful emotion, but employed in decided action. Our abilities are not to be absorbed in abstraction, and neither are they to be used in idle bustle. Everything in the outside world is stirred by a power from beneath. Those who know the truth must be filled with an inspiration from God Himself. The lamps of the soul must be kept trimmed and burning. (TDG 33.2) MC VC