April 14

“Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain!” — 1 Cor 15:58

Jesus walks no more among men, doing his deeds of love–but he sends his followers forth to do the works in his name. We ought to abound in all loving ministry just as he did. It is not enough to be good, gentle, sweet, amiable, kindly, patient. It is beautiful to live such a life; and its influence is far-reaching, like the fragrance of Mary’s ointment. But we must also be full of good works. We must be winners of souls. We must live to do good to men, to comfort sorrow, to feed hunger, to relieve distress, to cheer the disheartened, to break chains and liberate sin’s captives, to stand up for the truth, to do battle for the right. We are to be like Christ, and we begin to be like Christ–only when we begin to be useful.

It ought to be a wondrous inspiration to us, in our work for Christ–to read that our labor for God is not in vain. No word of truth spoken in this world is ever lost. On the rocks we find the impressions left ages since by leaves that fell on the soft clay and seemed to perish. So somewhere every word we speak for God, and every smallest deed we do for the love of Christ, leave their immortal record.