Day 15

 The Power of the World

Just as there are selfish doctors in the noble profession of medicine who do not see their selfishness because they are identified with a noble profession and a serving hospital, so there are people in the Church who fail to see their self-will because they are surrounded by holy things in a body which exists for service.

The deep question we must ask ourselves is this: What kind of people are we becoming?  When a person is converted to the fellowship of the Church, does he in the ongoing life of the parish begin to grasp the great will of God for his world; or does he merely pick up another form of group selfishness which is more dangerous for his soul because it is obscured by religious language?  The only way to escape the dangers of the world is to preach the glory of God and the outgoing, free giving, missionary work of the Church.  When we sit down to plan, what kind of people are we becoming?  Are we becoming more loving, more selfless, more concerned for others?  If we are not, our souls are in danger.

To my dying day, I will never forget that from a congregation, some of them barefoot, in the Philippines, I received an offering for missionary work in the Diocese of Michigan.  From a superficial point of view it was ridiculous that that congregation gave money to missions in Michigan; but from a deeper point of view it was a great thing, for they were lifted beyond themselves to see the great task of the Church.  They were not turned in on themselves, but were identified with God’s family in all the world.

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