"You will here see that to me labor has great dignity. It is not merely the grand instrument by which the earth is overspread with fruitfulness and beauty, and the ocean subdued, and matter wrought into innumerable forms for comfort and ornament. It has a far higher function, which is to give force to the will, efficiency, courage, the capacity of endurance and of persevering devotion to far-reaching plans. Alas, for the man who has not learned to work! He is a poor creature. He does not know himself. He depends on others, with no capacity of making returns for the support they give; and let him not imagine that he has a monopoly of enjoyment. Ease, rest, owes its deliciousness to toil; and no toil is so burdensome as the rest of him who has nothing to task and quicken his powers." 

Another quote from William Ellery Channing given to mechanics and laborers in a sermon. 

 

  "Man owes his growth, his energy, chiefly to that striving of the will, that conflict with difficulty, which we call Effort. 

Easy pleasant work does not make robust minds, nor does it give men a consciousness of their powers, it does not train them to endurance, to perseverance, to steady force of will, that force without which all other acquisitions avail nothing. Manual labor is a school in which men are placed to get energy of purpose and character - a vastly more important endowment than all the learning of other schools." 

This quote comes from a sermon by William Ellery Channing to a group of mechanics and laborers in the 18th century; much still applies today. 

 

    "Our chief source of truth for us in regard to God is Revelation; and this, accordingly, should claim our most serious and devoted study. But when I thus speak of Revelation, I mean the Christian Religion. In the Jewish Scriptures, though many sublime passages are found in relation to the Supreme Divinity, yet in many others the image given of God is adapted to a rude state of society only and to a very immature stage of the human mind. And not a few Christians have depressed their idea of the Infinite Being, by conceiving of Him as He was represented in half-barbarous ages, instead of learning to know Him from Jesus, who came to scatter the shades of Judaism as well as of heathenism, and who alone reveals the Father -- or the Paternal Character of the Creator -- in full glory." William Ellery Channing.   

No doubt many will find great controversy in this statement, but I find myself more and more in agreement. 

  "It was the peculiarity of the greatness of Jesus that it stooped --- I will not say, but -- penetrated without stooping, to the humblest wants; not simply stepped casually aside to look at the most ignominious sorrows, but went directly to them, and lived wholly in them; scattered glorious miracles and sacred truths along the hidden by-paths and in the mean recesses of existence; serving the mendicant and the widow, blessing the child, healing leprosy of the body and soul, and kneeling to wash even the traitors feet. In Himself was the serene and unapproachable dignity of a higher nature, a mind at one with the universe and its Author; in His acts, a frugal respect for the most neglected elements of human life, declaring He came not to be ministered unto but to minister."  James Martineau. 

   "It may be said that Christianity has done much to awaken benevolence, and that it has taught men to call one another brethren. Yes, to call one another so; but has it as yet given the true feeling of brotherhood? We undoubtedly feel ourselves to be all of one race, and this is well. We trace ourselves up to one pair, and feel the same blood flowing in our veins. But do we understand our spiritual brotherhood? Do we feel ourselves to be derived from one Heavenly Parent, in whose image we are all made, and whose perfection we may constantly approach? Do we feel that there is one divine life in our own souls? This seems to me the only true bond of man to man. Here is a tie more sacred, more enduring, than all the ties of this earth. Is it felt, and do we in consequence truly honor one another? 

  Tell me not of the universal corruption of the race. Humanity has already, in not a few instances, borne conspicuously the likeness of Christ and God. The sun grows dim, the grandeur of outward nature shrinks, when compared with the spiritual energy of men who, in the cause of truth, of God, of charity, have spurned all bribes of ease, pleasure, renown, and have withstood shame, want, persecution, torture, and the most dreaded forms of death. In such men I learn the soul was made in God's image, and made to conform itself to the loveliness and greatness of his Son." William Ellery Channing. 

  I enjoy Channing's more liberal view of the soul, he rejects the Calvinist view that the soul of man is desperately wicked and completely dead spiritually. But rather, being made in the image of God and given a conscience, there are glimmers of that image in all humanity. My experience in life has inclined me to believe that. 

 

"One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek ........

To gaze on the beauty of the Lord." Ps. 27:4

The following photos represent God's beauty displayed in innocence, love, heroism and honor, to name a few.

 

What is Faith?

   "When a man says, I believe in Christ, he really says, and means to say, I believe in the beauty of goodness, in the desirableness of purity, in the right of righteousness to be ultimately triumphant. He declares that Christ is his ideal of perfection, that to that ideal he is, in thought at least, loyal and true, and that he longs for the time to come when the actions of his life will be conformable to the thought of his soul.

It is the sight of an ideal whose outward manifestation is not yet seen, the conviction of a truth whose proof lies beyond the eye and ear, the assurance of a result whose accomplishment seems belied by the actual facts of life." George Matheson. 

I think the last paragraph defines Hebrews 11:1. 
 

Aging

 

 

 

 I love good photography, and I love to see people giving it all they've got, I remember where Paul told Timothy to, "Make every effort" 2 Tim. 4:21  and on a spiritual level it is so easy to fall into complacency, so when I see photos like these it inspires me to stay in the race with all I've got, ours will be no perishable crown.

 When I saw this photo, aside from it's startling beauty, I thought, 'it just breathes with God's majesty and hidden truths.' 

Surely there are many sermons suggested here. Such contrasts! 

When I was volunteering at the Union Gospel Mission at lunch, I would often write about my experiences; this was written one year ago.--

"Another young woman in her mid twenties came in for lunch at the mission and she was average looking, very lean and using heavy. She was doing what they call the "flail" which is moving about in a way that her body is difficult to control, not as though she were drunk, but it almost looks like the behavior of someone with M.S.

She was clothed in the most distressing manner; clothes dirty and messy, and her pants were unbuttoned and drooping off of her to the point she was exposed. She had the street grime on her feet and hands and I felt I just had to help her in some way and I asked one of the staff if we had a belt for her. We didn't but I realized it was impossible for me to do anything because she wasn't coherent and I'm sure she would have become combative if I had tried to help her in any way. I looked for a female volunteer but to no avail. So, I handed her the lunch and watched as she reeled and lurched her way out. Here I was right in the building where she could find safety, shelter and counsel and I was impotent to do anything. She just haunted me and her state of vulnerability was so perilous I just couldn't imagine her going a day without suffering some brutal attack. I found myself wondering whose daughter this was and the blood chilling horror they would feel if they saw her in this condition.

The following day, and for a week now, she has been on my mind. We hear of people that are found dead and castaway in the city from time to time and I realized she may well be in one of those reports. So I write her story to help me remember to pray for her because I know at some point my memory of her will fade and she will become just one more nameless person on the streets. Oh God, help keep her safe.

 

This hibernating snapping turtle just woke up. When I saw this it made me laugh and I thought, "This reminds me of what some of our Bibles look like! Time to clean 'em up and get back in the Word! 

John 15:8

"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear MUCH fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."

 When I saw this photo it moved me so deeply; I imagine this teacher in some remote, poverty stricken part of the world, dedicated to teach even though his class has but one small boy in grinding poverty. 

Oh Lord! Take this man's sacrifice and this young boy's mind, and create something beautiful!  

   "Have I not wept for the one who's life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?" Job 30:25

When I saw this picture it reminded me of how important it is for our children to be taught to be involved in the works of Christ. Sunday School can be so productive with a little imagination. Here are some ways we can sensitize our children to the needs of others. 

When there are natural disasters we can, in an age appropriate way, talk about it sharing photos, and plan to spend the month doing something about it. We can make some art works and sell the in the church foyer one Sunday, and send the money to a sister church in the area of the disaster to help fund emergency items. When parents know what the paintings are for they will be supportive and this could also be done in front of a Dept. store with some informative signage; I think it's a good testimony, and if student initiated, I think the public would donate by way of buying a picture. The same can be done with a bake sale, car wash or any craft done in class. 

Here are some other ideas for projects -- 

Letters to service men and women. Child trafficking project; local refugees; support and orphan through the church or organization; help single parents in the church, also widows, sick or shut-ins with gifts or correspondence. Support letters for missionaries supported by the church, and peruse the newspaper for prayer projects etc.