| The Joy of Service |
Chapter 7 |
Page 5 |
There are two classes of ministry in every life. There are the things which a man does purposely, which he plans to do, which he trains himself to do, which he does with special thought and deliberation. Then there is a wayside ministry, which he does without previous purpose, as he goes along through life, engaged in his allotted duties. This embraces the countless little things of common courtesy and kindness, the things done on the instant, the greetings, and the amenities of the street, the words of cheer, comfort, or encouragement, spoken as men meet each other. We are apt not to make much account of these wayside services, while we usually set a high value on the things we have done with care, thought, and preparation. Yet it may be that ofttimes the former are of more worth to God than the latter. There is less of self in them, less thought of being seen of men, and more of the simple outworking of the heart’s love.
The doing of God’s will is always a great thing, whether it be something that affects the welfare of a nation, or something that concerns only the good or the comfort of the lowliest of Christ’s little ones. There is a legend of an angel who was sent to earth to keep a king from sinning, and at the same time to help a little struggling ant home with its burden. Both tasks were alike noble, because both were God’s will. In a great painting by one of the masters, there is a convent kitchen in which angels are doing the work. One is putting the kettle on the fire, one is lifting a pail of water, one is reaching up to the dresser shelf after a plate; and these angels seem just as heavenly in this lowly work as if they were doing Divine errands around God’s throne.
We need to learn the lesson that anything that is God’s will is great, and that whatever is not God’s will is unworthy and ignoble, though it be swaying a scepter over a nation, or being a world’s idol. Many of us have to spend most of our life in what seems drudgery. Perhaps we think it is unworthy of us. We feel that we are capable of greater things, and should not be required to spend our time in matters so trivial, perhaps so menial. But if it is God’s will we are doing, our drudgery, as it appears to heavenly eyes, is radiant as angel’s ministry.
Page 5