Calling in Christian preaching refers to the divine summons to serve God's purposes, often involving a decisive commitment to His will (Romans 8:28). Illustrations emphasize the gravity of choosing God's path over worldly alternatives and the fulfillment found in pursuing a higher, spiritual purpose rather than mere occupation (Ephesians 4:1).
The ministry demands genuine spiritual transformation, not mere profession.
What Woodrow Wilson said about preachers is worthy of the careful consideration of every one of us: "When I hear some of the things which young men say to men by way of putting the arguments to themselves for going into the ministry, I think they are talking of another profession. Their motive is to do something. I know you do not have to be anything in particular to be a lawyer. You do not have to be anything in particular, except a kind-hearted man, perhaps, to be a physician, nor undergo any strong spiritual change in order to be a merchant. The only profession which consists in being something is the ministry of our Lord and Savior-and it does not consist of anything else. That conception of the ministry which rubs all the marks off and mixes him in the crowd so that you cannot pick him out, is a process of eliminating the ministry itself." The Proper Attitude
A church was in need of a pastor. A candidate came who preached on hell. The next Sunday another candidate came whose sermon was also on hell, and his fundamental teaching was the same as that of the first one.When the members of the church were called upon to vote, they voted for the second candidate. When they were asked why, the answer was, "The first one spoke as if he were glad that people were going to hell, while the second seemed sorry for it." The Divine Commission
An examining committee of ministers once met to determine the qualifications of Billy Sunday for ordination as a gospel minister. Among other questions fired at the world-famous baseball player was a request that he identify a well-known church father and name some of his writings. Billy was stumped. After fumbling around for a moment, he looked up with a twinkle in his eye and said, "I never heard of him. He was never on my team." The learned theologians deliberated together, but found it hard to make a decision. Finally, one of them moved that Billy Sunday be recommended for ordination, adding, "He has already won more souls for Christ than the whole shebang of us put together." The secret-he was sent by God. A Spiritual Lesson
A preacher was watching an old man trout-fishing, briskly pulling them in one after the other. "You manage it cleverly, old friend," said the preacher. "I passed a good many fishermen below who don't seem to be catching anything." The old man lifted himself up and stuck his rod in the ground. "Well, you see, sir," he said, "there are three rules for trout fishing: first, keep yourself out of sight; the second is, keep yourself farther out of sight; and the third is, keep yourself still farther out of sight. Then you'll do it."
Finney’s prayerful surrender led to a life of faithful Christian service and purpose.
Some years ago, a young graduate reported to a law office for training or apprenticeship. The senior lawyer who hired him quickly indoctrinated him in the office routine. Then the young lawyer sat at his desk and carried on this conversation with himself.
"What are you going to do when you finish your apprenticeship?"
"Hang out my shingle and practice law, of course!"
"What then?"
"Why, make a lot of money!"
"What then?"
"When I get rich I shall retire."
"What then?"
"Well, I will die."
"What then?"
His whole body trembling, Charles G. Finney rushed out of the office and ran to a park some few hundred yards distant. He remained there in prayer, vowing that he would not return to his office or to his room until he had settled his life's work. He saw himself as he was-selfish, ambitious, sinful. And he gave himself to the Lord for Him to use. Leaving the park, Finney stepped forth, in faith in God, to a life of usefulness rarely paralleled in the last two centuries.
A big salary is worthless if the job doesn't align with God's calling and purpose.
A brilliant young man with a magnetic personality went out to the mission field. His salary was just a pittance. A large commercial firm was so eager to obtain his services that they offered him ten times his salary, but he refused. They offered to make it even larger if he would accept. "Oh, the salary is big enough," he told them, "but the job isn't!"
Christians must live worthy of their royal calling, not indulging in worldly pleasures.
"If you saw a man labouring in filthy ditches, and soiling himself as poor men do, would you believe that he was heir apparent to a crown, called to inherit a kingdom? Who will believe in your heavenly calling when you stick in the mud of worldly pleasures, and are carried away with carking care for secular interests?" Princes should behave as princes. Their haunts should be in palaces, and not amid dung-heaps. How, then, is it that some who profess and call themselves Christians are found raking in questionable amusements to discover pleasure, and many others groping amid sordid avarice to find satisfaction in wealth? What are they at to be thus disgracing the blood royal? How dare they drag the name of the "Blessed and only Potentate" through the mire? A prince of the blood acting as a beggar would dishonour not only himself but all the royal house. Nobility has obligations. Grace, which is the eminent nobility of saints, lays them under heavy bonds to act as the true aristocracy of the universe. Come, my soul, dost thou carry thyself royally? I am made a king by Jesus Christ,—are my bearing and conversation answerable to the dignity laid upon me? Lord, thou must teach thy poor child. He has so long been a vagabond and an outcast that unless thou teach him the majestic manners of thy holy courts he will dishonour both himself and thee.
An angel urged St. Cuthbert to forsake vain amusements and embrace God's calling.
As St. Cuthbert was one day playing at ball with his companions, there stood among them a fair young child, the fairest creature ever eye beheld; and he said to St. Cuthbert, "Good brother, leave these vain plays; set not thy heart upon them; mind thy book: has not God chosen thee out to be great in his Church?" But Cuthbert heeded him not; and the fair child wrung his hands, and wept, and threw himself down on the ground in great heaviness. And when Cuthbert ran to comfort him, he said, "Nay, my brother, it is for thee I weep, that preferest thy vain sports to the teaching of the servants of God;" and then he vanished suddenly, and Cuthbert knew that it was an angel that had spoken to him; and from that time forth his piety and love of learning recommended him to the notice of the good Prior of Melrose, who instructed him carefully in the Holy Scriptures. And he became celebrated for his piety, eloquence, and missionary labors.
— Mrs. Jameson
Interfering in matters beyond one's skill leads to shame and stagnation.
He which meddleth with that he hath not to do is compared to one that eatcheth a dog by the ears, and dare neither hold him still nor let him go: so he can neither go forward for want of skill, nor backward for shame. Henry Smith.
Christians are called to valiantly serve God with His armor and strength.
Like as if the queen, to show her puissance against a foreign power, should call forth some of her subjects who are most beholden to her to combat in her presence for her honor, they would, no doubt, strain all their strength in this service, yea, and their lives too: even so, much more ought we that are Christians to perform this duty to our God and Prince, who hath called us out by name to fight for his honor, to be a chosen and peculiar people unto himself, to stand on his posts, to show forth his virtues, and to be zealous of good works; yea, and, that we might the better perform this service, he hath furnished us with his own armor and weapons, yea, and his own holy hand is with us too, though all men see it not: therefore we must endeavor to do valiantly, and to do our best, to answer the expectation of our heavenly King and Prince. Cawdray.
God draws sinners lovingly by revealing Christ's provision, leading to willing faith.
God draws his people, not with force, as mere machines, but "with the cords of a man and with the hands of love." The subject may be best unfolded by a familiar illustration. How was it that Jacob was drawn into Egypt? He was made to feel the pressure of a grievous famine; he was informed that there was plenty of corn in Egypt, and that his dearly-beloved Joseph was the lord of all that land, and that he disposed of the good things to whomsoever he would. He was told, moreover, that Joseph had expressly invited him, and had sent wagons for the conveyance of his family, together with abundant provisions for the way; and, finally, he was assured, that, at the end of this journey, all the good of the land of Egypt should be his. Did he need, after this, to have a chain fastened round him to be dragged into Egypt? No: all that he needed was faith to believe the tidings; and, when once he was persuaded of the truth of these things, he was willing of himself to go into that good land. Thus God draws sinners. He causes them to feel their need of mercy; he informs them that Jesus Christ has all heaven at his disposal; that he has sent to invite them, assuring them of all that is needful by the way, and all the glory of heaven at the end. Thus a thorough belief of these truths bends the most stubborn heart, and overcomes the most reluctant mind. Rev. C. Simeon.
Many are called but few chosen, illustrated by biblical examples of limited salvation.
Noah preached the coming flood to the old world for a hundred years; but only eight souls were saved thereby. To the cities of the plain, Lot preached; but only three souls were chosen from them. Six hundred thousand men, besides women and children, passed through the Red Sea; but only two entered the Promised Land. Gideon went to fight the Midianites with thirty-two thousand men; but only three hundred were allowed to participate in the victory. These are types of the many "called, and few chosen."
Some have a calling but fail to respond or act upon it effectively.
As the ostrich hath wings, and fieth not; so some men have a calling, but they answer it not; they have words, but they work not. Cawdray.
People often fail by pursuing callings unsuited to their gifts and talents.
One man, perhaps, proves miserable in the study of the law, who might have flourished in that of physics or divinity. Another runs his head against the pulpit, who might have been very serviceable to his country at the plough. And a third proves a very dull and heavy philosopher, who possibly would have made a good mechanic, and have done well enough at the useful philosophy of the spade or the anvil. Dr. South.
Knowing God's purpose for life motivates faithful and focused service to Him.
As a captain sent by his prince on some great exploit is accustomed, when he cometh to the place appointed, to consider wherefore he was sent, to what end, what to prosecute, what to perform, what shall be required at his hands by him that sent him thither; these cogitations shall stir him up to attend to that which he came for, and not to employ himself in impertinent affairs: so every rational being ought to ask himself why and to what end he was created of God, and sent into this world? what to do? wherein to bestow his days? He shall find that it was for no other cause only to serve God in a right manner in this life. Caudray.
A youth forgets his royal calling, choosing worldly pleasures over his true purpose.
Hazael, the son of an Eastern prince, had been educated in the valley of the wise men, and had passed there the days of his boyhood. Then his father sent him to Persia to finish his education, and to learn the ways and manners of men. Perfect liberty was granted to the youth; but Serujah, his old master, secretly watched the life and doings of the prince. When he arrived in Persia, he was led away by the pleasures of the capital and the turmoil of luxurious life; so that he forgot his destination, and thoughtlessly gave up his heart to pleasure: he remembered no longer his royal calling. When he was one day walking in the pleasure-gardens of Ispahan, Serujah passed him in the garb of a pilgrim, having a staff in his right hand. But Hazael knew Serujah, and asked him, "Whence comest thou, and whither goest thou?" Serujah answered, and said, "I know not." Then the youth marvelled, and said, "Hast thou left thy home, and dost thou travel abroad not knowing whither?" Serujah answered, "I have forgotten it: I walk to and fro; and the path which seems to me the widest and the most pleasant, that choose I."—"And whither will such bootless wanderings lead thee?" asked the astonished youth. Serujah answered, "I know not; why should I care?" Then Hazael turned to those who stood around him, and said, "This man was the teacher of my youth, and full of wisdom; but, behold! he has grown foolish, and lacks understanding. Alas! how is he changed, and become like another being!" Then Serujah threw down his wallet, and went to the youth, and said, "Thou sayest it, Hazael, my life has changed like thine. Formerly, I was thy guide, and thou didst follow me in the way which I showed thee. But now I have ceased to be thy guide; I have begun to follow thee. Behold, my wandering! wherein I lose sight of the way, and the goal is like thine: reason has departed from thee, even as it has quitted me. Who is the more foolish, thou or I? and which of us is wandering in the worse path?" Thus said Serujah. Then Hazael acknowledged his transgression, and returned to the way of wisdom, which Serujah had taught him. Krummacher.
A man of one idea centers all life and mission around Jesus Christ.
It is said that Luther was a man of one idea: and that idea Jesus
But it does not mean, I suppose, that he had no other ideas in his mind. This would be false to fact. It means, I conceive, that Jesus was the one idea of his mind, from which all others emanated; the same as the trunk of a tree is one, but gives life and growth to scores of branches, hundreds and thousands of buds and leaves; just as a great tradesman has one idea, his trade, but that divides and works out into a thousand ideas of ways and means of promoting his trade. In this sense, Paul, Wesley, Howard, Whitefield, Wellington, &c., were men of one idea. He who wishes to fulfil his mission in this world must be a man of one idea. Date.
A man possessed by one grand idea pursues truth, liberty, and Christ everywhere.
I like a man to have an idea: it is a great property. Some people seem as if they had no ideas at all; but I like a man of one idea. What is a man of one idea? Why, he is a man in whom an idea takes possession of his skull, and of both hemispheres of his brain; of the frontal region, the back region, and the lateral region; and the idea walks up and down in his brain, from hemisphere to hemisphere, from convolution to convolution; and thus the man is literally a man of one idea. And when the one idea is, that knowledge shall be everywhere and ignorance nowhere, order everywhere and disorder nowhere, liberty everywhere and slavery nowhere; when that one idea is, that truth shall be everywhere and falsehood nowhere, love everywhere and hatred nowhere, concord everywhere and discord nowhere, Christ everywhere and Satan nowhere on the earth at all, — that is a grand idea.
— Dr. Beaumont
Labor in our calling yields unexpected blessings even without finding worldly treasure.
As the sons of the husbandman in the fable, who being told by their father, lying on his death-bed, that he left much gold buried under the ground in his vineyard, fell a delving and digging all about the vines; and though they found no gold, yet, by stirring the mould about the roots of the trees, gained a great vintage that year; even so it falleth out in the labor of our calling. Spencer.
True following of Christ requires a vocation that enables doing much good.
"Sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor, and follow me:" but sell not all thou hast, except thou come and follow me, — that is, except thou have a vocation wherein thou mayest do as much good with little means as with great; for otherwise, in feeding the streams, thou driest the fountain. Lord Bacon.
Without occupation or skill, even wealth can be lost, leading to hardship.
A lovely girl was wooed and won by a young man of considerable fortune. He was a man of education and refinement; but he had no occupation, no trade. He lived on his money, the interest of which alone would have supported a family handsomely. But fortune departed, and with it visible means of support. He could get no employment, because he did not know how to do any thing. He lived in a log-cabin on the banks of the Ohio River with his whole family in a single room, subsisting on water, fat bacon, and corn-bread. He finally obtained a situation: the labor was great; compensation small, but it kept them from starvation. In his efforts to discharge his duties, he overworked himself, and, after seventeen short years, died, leaving his widow and six girls in utter destitution.
Opportunity must align with talents for a person to achieve eminence.
No man possesses a genius so commanding that he can attain eminence, unless a subject suited to his talents should present itself, and an opportunity occurs for this development. Pliny.
Everyone has a unique place and purpose, even if seemingly flawed or different.
An old carpenter tells how his son brought home a crooked and apparently useless piece of timber, for which he rebuked him. The son bore it patiently, saying, "There's a place for it somewhere." Shortly after, they built a queer house, and found a place which only that crooked timber would fit, and it seemed made for that place. So the carpenter says there's a place for every one, — for the crooked as well as the straight.
A father's vow led to his son fulfilling both their ministry callings faithfully.
A minister now living relates the following. In early life, his father felt called to the ministry, but asked God to excuse him, and made a vow to give his eldest son to the work of the ministry. The vow was apparently accepted of God, as the father felt no longer the pressure of this special duty, and prospered in his religious life. Twenty years later, the son was converted, and felt, that, if he would be religious at all, he must be a minister. He accepted the duty gladly, prepared for it: and, after his ordination, his father said to him, for the first time informing him of the vow, "My son, you have a double duty to do. You have your own work and mine also."
A preacher's denial of his call to preach is humorously contradicted by an observer.
A writer in the Georgetown Baptist Herald, says,
"A preacher, not one hundred miles from this, while contending, as he thought, for the "ancient order of things," by ridiculing the doctrine of a call to the ministry, as proof that there is no such call, observed, that he never believed he was called to preach,—
"And no person else ever believed it,"
said an acquaintance standing by.
A moral farmer becomes a preacher after conversion and family worship impact others.
The late Rev. R.
Hill writes thus:—A certain farmer, well known to me, was always moral, yet ignorant of the gospel. By reading some of the sermons of the late Mr. Romaine, he was called to the knowledge of the truth. The farmer was a man of good sense and great integrity; and he now conceived his domestics should not live without family worship. In his kitchen the Bible was always as much in sight as the bacon-rack; and when he read the Bible to them, he could not but express the simple feelings of his heart. He wept, and they wept in concert. And in prayer, he found he was not wanting in "the spirit of grace and of supplications." Thus being enabled to tell his own wants before his family, they began to find out their wants also. This answered the end. The family was filled with surprise, and they surprised their neighbors, who stole in to unite in this worship. They now requested him to preach; but the modest farmer resisted the call. He had a gracious sister, who charged him not to fight against God, for that others, besides his own family, were benefited by their attendance. The farmer consented; yet he was no enthusiast, but a solid, pious, thinking man, and had a good knowledge of his Bible: and no man of good sense, though he has neither Greek, Latin, nor logic, will ever talk nonsense. Thus he commenced a preacher, and was wonderfully blessed: quite the apostle, the reformer of the neighborhood. The generous public speedily accommodated the farmer with a convenient place of worship, in the town. The farmer was solemnly ordained to the pastoral charge, and the communion among them was very seriously and largely attended
258. Industry, Energy, and Devotion to their Work.
Whitefield refused political involvement, urging focus on making one's calling and election sure.
When Mr. Whitefield was in the zenith of his popularity, lord Clare, who knew that his influence was considerable, applied to him, by letter, requesting his assistance at Bristol, at the ensuing general election. To this request Mr. Whitefield replied, that in general elections he never interfered; but he would earnestly exhort his lordship to use great diligence to make his own particular calling and election sure!
God calls men to preach and uses trials to teach the wisdom of obedience.
Men may be distinctly called of God to proclaim His message, yet refuse to obey. Indisposition to preach will not rid one of obligation to preach. God sends storms to teach wisdom of obedience
Christ empowers His messengers to succeed as they labor with concern for souls.
Whom Christ sends He goes along with to give success. His messengers should apply themselves under deep concern for souls and not expecting comforts from the world
God can call and use even a child as His mouthpiece for His service.
Child may have an ear for God's call and a message for God's bidding. God sometimes passes over ordained ministry and men of note and uses a mere lad as His mouthpiece. Mt. 21:16; 11:25; 1 Cor. 1:27
Obediently following God's call without knowing the path tests faith, not disobedience.
God bidding Abram to go forth not knowing whither. Testing in the path to which we are called not an evidence we are out of His will. Path of obedience may be trying to flesh
Undertaking roles God hasn't called us to leads to ruin and serious consequences.
Uzziah kills his career by undertaking something God has never called him to do. To play the priest when uncalled is to play with fire
God's work takes priority over earthly demands, even royal summons.
While Usher was in the pulpit preaching, a message arrived stating that the king wanted to see him at once. He came down from the pulpit, listened to the command, and then told the messenger that he was employed in God’s business, but as soon as he was through with it, he would answer the king’s summons. He then resumed his sermon.
God uses small beginnings to call and save individuals for His purpose.
An obscure man preached one Sunday to a few persons in a Methodist chapel in the South of England. A boy of fifteen years of age was in the audience, driven into the chapel by a snowstorm. The man took as his text the words, “Look unto me and be ye saved,” and as he stumbled along as best he could, the light of heaven flashed into that boy’s heart. He went out of the chapel saved, and soon became known as C. H. Spurgeon, the boy-preacher.
The parsonage at Epworth, England, caught fire one night, and all the inmates were rescued except one son.
The boy came to a window, and was brought safely to the ground by two farm-hands, one standing on the shoulder of the other. The boy was John Wesley.
Like Samuel, we must be ready for God's call at any moment in life.
When I was a boy I belonged to a baseball team in the village where I lived, and when we played games with a team from another village we had a scorer who not only kept tally of the runs, but also told us who was to be the next at the bat. He would say, "So-and-so is at the bat, So-and-so is on deck." And when he told a boy he was "on deck," that boy knew he was to be the next one at the bat. Boys and girls are always on deck, whether they are playing ball or not, for a boy or girl never knows when he is going to be called upon to play some part in the game called Life. And the strange thing about it is, there is no scorer who tells you that you are on deck. So you never get any warning, and you may be on deck and not know it, and so miss your chance. Samuel, for instance, was a boy who used to close the curtains and put out the candles at night in the temple away back hundreds of years before Christ was born. One evening he had put out the lights and closed the curtains, just the same as he had a hundred times before, and then lay down to sleep. He little thought that this particular day he was on deck, and was to be called into the game by God. But that night God called him, and sent him on a very important errand that was to change his whole life and the history of his people. And things like that are happening in America to-day. I read a story the other day of a young student who was overtaken by a rainstorm, and borrowed an umbrella of a lawyer. He returned it a few days later with a note of thanks. Not long afterward he received a letter from the lawyer offering him a position in his office on account of his good handwriting. The student took the position, kept on with his studies in college, and after he graduated from college went right along in that office till he became a man of influence. He didn't know what it meant when he wrote that note. He was on deck. The lesson that I want to draw is this: That you must be on the lookout and do well the things that come to you each day, for who knows but you may be on deck that very day, and be called to play some important part? For only those are called who are on deck; that is, ready to play. The boy or girl who does not do his work well day by day may miss his chance of being called to take some larger place in life when the times comes. Take this motto from the Old Testament: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."
Single-minded passion for Christ leads to powerful service and witness.
When Audubon the celebrated American ornithologist was in Paris he grew quite weary of it, and his diary does not contain a cheerful word about that gay city until he writes, "The stock-pigeon roosts in the trees of the garden of the Tuileries in great numbers; blackbirds also do the same, and are extremely noisy before dark; some few rooks and magpies are seen there also. In the Jardin, or walks of the Palais 'Royal, common sparrows are prodigiously plentiful. The mountain finch passes in scattered numbers over Paris at this season, going northerly." So also when in London the great naturalist was quite out of his element, and only seemed pleased when a flight of wildfowl passed over the city. Here was the secret of his success—his complete absorption in his one study—birds alone had charms for him. We who would attain to eminence in the service of Christ must let the love of souls, in an equal way, master and engross us. When writing a paper for the Natural History Society upon the habits of the wild pigeon, Audubon says, "So absorbed was my whole soul and spirit in the work, that I felt as if I were in the woods of America, among the pigeons, and my ears were filled with the sound of their rustling wings." We should all write, speak, and preach for our Lord Jesus far more powerfully if our love to the Lord were a passion so dominant as to make the great realities of eternity vividly real and supremely commanding in our minds.
Illustrates the call for individuals to rise above the crowd and make a new impact.
Sam Walter Foss sings of the man who comes up from the crowd in these verses:
There’s a dead hum of voices all saying the same thing,
And our forefathers’ songs are the songs that we sing,
And the deeds by our fathers and grandfathers done
Are done by the son of the son of the son,
And our heads in contrition are bowed.
And lo, a call for a man who shall make all things new
Goes down through the throng. See! he rises in view!
Make room for the man who shall make all things new!
For the man comes up from the crowd.
And where is the man who comes up from the throng,
Who does the new deed and sings the new song,
Who makes the old world as a world that is new?
And who is the man? It is you! It is you!
And our praise is exultant and proud.
We are waiting for you there--for you are the man!
Come up from the jostle as soon as you can;
Come up from the crowd there, for you are the man--
The man who comes up from the crowd. (Text.)
Earnestness and passion are essential for accomplishing great things in God’s work.
See RELIGION, EARLY.
EARNESTNESS
Professor Ticknor, speaking in one of his letters of the intense excitement with which he listened to Webster’s Plymouth address, says:
Three or four times I thought my temples would burst with the gush of blood; for, after all, you must know that I am aware it is no connected and compacted whole, but a collection of wonderful fragments of burning eloquence, to which his manner gave tenfold force. When I came out, I was almost afraid to come near him. It seemed to me that he was like the mount that might not be touched, and that burned with fire.
The lips of the prophet of old were touched by the live coal. No great thing is ever done without earnestness. (Text.)
Diligence and encouragement can reveal and develop hidden genius and calling.
Two boys, mistreated by their employer, ran away, taking the road to Rome. They reached the Eternal City. Peter was taken as cook’s boy in a cardinal’s house, Michael could find nothing to do, so he almost despaired and almost starved. But he liked to visit the churches and gaze at the fine pictures therein.
Something stirred within him, and he took bits of charcoal and sketched pictures on the walls of Peter’s attic room. One day the cardinal discovered them. The boys were frightened, and Michael declared that he would rub them all out. But he did not understand the cardinal, who was amazed at their accuracy and power. He took Michael to a drawing-master, and gave Peter a better position in his house. Michael worked diligently and became an enthusiast in his art.
His other name was Angelo. This was the humble beginning of the man who was almost a universal genius--painter, architect, sculptor and poet. (Text.)
Great deeds call forth the right person from the common crowd to fulfill God’s purposes.
At every great call for great deeds the right man comes out of the common crowd to do it, this is the truth Sam. Walter Foss enforces in these verses:
Men seem as alike as the leaves on the trees,
As alike as the bees in the swarming of bees;
And we look at the millions that make up the state,
All equally little and equally great,
And the pride of our courage is cowed.
Then fate calls for a man who is larger than men,
There is a surge in the crowd--there’s a movement--and then
There arises the man who is larger than men--
And the man comes up from the crowd.
The chasers of trifles run hither and yon,
And the mean little days of small trifles go on,
And the world seems no better at sunset than dawn,
And the race still increases its plentiful spawn,
And the voice of our wailing is loud.
Then the great deed calls out for the great man to come,
And the crowd unbelieving, sits sullen and dumb--
But the great deed is done, for the great man is come--
Ay, the man comes up from the crowd. (Text.)
A young man’s interests reveal his suitability for a career, showing the need for discernment.
See SOLIDARITY; SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.
INTEREST, SIGNIFICANT
I have often been appealed to by friends, who said: “Can’t you take this young man and give him employment?” Then I will watch that young man for a month or so and see what it is that he takes up in the morning. If he takes up the newspaper and turns to the political part of the paper, and is interested in that, why that is a good symptom of his intellectual tendencies; but if, instead of that, he takes up a magazine and sits down to read a love story, why you can not make a newspaper man out of him.
— CHARLES A. DANA
People live with different purposes: health, amusement, or meaningful work and impact.
In a current book a college president tells this story:
A traveler in Japan says that one day as he stood on the quay in Tokyo waiting for a steamer, he excited the attention of a coolie doing the work of a stevedore, who knew he was an American. As the coolie went by with his load, in his pigeon English he said, “Come buy cargo?” By which he meant, “Are you in Japan on business?” The man shook his head. The second time the coolie passed, he again asked, “Come look and see?” By which he meant to ask if the American were a tourist seeing the country. Receiving a negative reply, the next time he passed he tried one more question. “Spec’ die soon?” By which he meant to ask if the man was there for his health.
This the writer used to describe three different classes of people in the world. There is the young man who seems to be in the world for his health. They want to be coddled. There is the young man who seems to be in the world as a traveler. He wants to be amused. There are the young men who are in the world for business. They mean to do something and be somebody.
— N. MCGEE WATERS
God calls people from ordinary work to fulfill His divine purposes.
It was while Moses was at his common task that the call came to him. This wilderness training was simply a third school which he entered to fit him for the great work of his life. When God wants a man he usually calls one who is busy among the commonplace things of life. Commonplace duties are always glorified in God’s sight. When God wanted a prophet he selected Amos from among the farmer-shepherds. When He wanted a poet He called a lad from keeping sheep. When He wanted an apostle He called a swearing tar from mending his net on the beach of Galilee. When He wanted a missionary He selected a Paul from among the tent-makers. When He wanted a deliverer of Israel He called a man from the commonplace duties of the desert. When God wanted to show man how much He loved him and honored toil, He chose to incarnate Himself in the carpenter of Nazareth.
“This is the gospel of labor,
Ring it ye bells of the kirk;
The Lord of Love, came down from above,
To live with the men who work;
This is the rose He planted,
Here is the thorn-curst soil,
Heaven is blest, with perfect rest,
But the blessing of earth is toil.”
(Text.)
A merchant’s sudden death of a friend led him to forsake wealth and become a preacher.
Peter Waldo was a citizen and opulent merchant of Lyons, and at one period a believer of the errors of popery. Being in company, however, with some friends, one of whom suddenly fell dead to the ground, he was aroused to the importance of religious truth, and led to inquire seriously after it. So deeply was he impressed with the superior value of eternal things, that he gave up his mercantile occupations, distributed his wealth to the poor, exhorted his neighbors to seek the bread of life, and became a most eminent minister in the Waldensian churches, who are thus designated from him.
Fourteen boys from one Sunday school class became ministers through early instruction.
Mr. Clark, afterwards schoolmaster at Sierra Leone, taught a Sunday school at Edinburgh. His method of giving instruction was, after the pupils had read, or repeated a portion of Scripture, to put such explanatory and practical questions to them as naturally arose out of the passage, and to conclude with a short address and prayer. Of one class, consisting of sixteen boys, fourteen of them at adult age, were brought to the saving knowledge of God, and acknowledged the early instruction he had given them as the means of their conversion. The whole of these were afterwards engaged in preaching the gospel, some of them in Great Britain, and others in foreign lands.
A missionary’s resolve to go where there are men, despite dangers, shows true calling.
Friends were trying to dissuade one whose ancestors were not three generations out of cannibalism from going as a missionary to one of the savage islands of Polynesia. They recounted all the hardships and dangers to be encountered. “Are there men there?” asked the volunteer.
“Men? Yes; horrible cannibals, who will probably kill you and eat you.”
“That settles it!” was the sublime rejoinder. “That settles it! Wherever there are men, there missionaries are bound to go!”
