“I must pray to God that somebody else may do whatever I leave undone. But I shall not have any right to that prayer unless I do my duty wherever I see it.” – Edward Garrett
A great deal is said in the Scriptures about serving the Lord. But how are we to serve him? What kind of work comes under the head of service? There are wrong impressions regarding this. All suppose that they are serving the Lord when they engage in specifically religious exercises. After his day’s work a man goes to a prayer meeting. He regards that as serving, but does not think of calling his long day’s secular work by the same sweet designation. A woman visits a sick neighbor in the afternoon, reads a few passages and bows in prayer at her bedside. She feels as she turns away that the Lord accepts that as service, but she does not dare to think of her long morning’s work at home in burdensome household duties or among her children, mending, patching, teaching, comforting, as of the same sacred character.
And yet it is possible for us to do the simplest, most prosaic of these things in such a way as to render acceptable service to the Lord. The question, then, arises, how are we to perform these common secular duties so as to make them pleasing to Christ as ministries to him?
First of all, our lives must be truly consecrated to Christ. If they are not, the most magnificent services will not be accepted. Then the work we do must be the work to which he calls us at the time. Something else than our present duty, though requiring more toil and appearing more splendid, will not be pleasing while present duty is left unperformed. A missionary journey to Joppa will not be accepted as a substitute for a similar visit to Nineveh. Prayer will not be a sweet savor if at the moment there is a human need crying for help unheeded. Running to Dorcas meetings and temperance societies or attending noonday prayer meetings will not win the smile of approval while home duties are neglected.
Page 1