| The Ministry of Comfort |
Chapter 17 |
Page 5 |
May it not often be so that the gifts which men praise and regard as most honourable are not those whose power reaches highest into heaven and deepest into men’s hearts, but the gifts which attract no attention, of which no man boasts? Let not the eloquent preacher think more highly of himself or of his gift than he ought to think, but so to think as to think soberly. It may be that but for the lowly brother who sits on the pulpit stairs and prays, the great preacher’s words would have no power over men to bring them to God.
Thinking soberly does not forget that the greatest gifts are great only in the measure in which they are used. The abilities which God bestows upon us are not merely for the adornment of our life – they are given to us in order that they may be used. No one gift in itself is really greater than another. The humblest member of the body that fulfills its function thereby becomes honourable. But this gives it no reason to think highly of itself, or to depreciate other members and their functions. The lowliest Christian who does well the lowliest work given him to do, making the most of his gifts or his abilities in the serving of men and for the honour of God, is realizing God’s thought for his life, and is pleasing God just as well as he who with his large ability does a work far greater in itself.
Page 5