A young Sunday School teacher was much discouraged. She had labored faithfully for long among her girls with no outward result. Was it worth going on?
It was Sunday morning, and as she thought of her class, she felt troubled. One of her girls had been found guilty of theft—a girl whom she had prayed for and yearned over, seeking to win her for the Saviour. Would it not be better to leave the school to others? She would not be missed and could be of use at home.
Meditating thus, she passed out into the garden, and sought a secluded spot where she loved to sit. As she approached, she saw her little brother intently watching something.
“Come and see” he said, as she took a seat beside him. Numberless ants were to be seen running to and fro across a path, over which someone had let fall a spadeful of sand. This was evidently in the path of the ants to their nest, and so the industrious little creatures were busily engaged in removing it. Each ant picked up one grain and ran off with it, returning shortly for another. As the whole army worked with a will, the heap of sand was fast disappearing. Each little ant did not stop to look at the heap of sand and say,
“I can never move that; it is of no use trying.”
O no! It ran and moved one grain and did what it could. As Ellen watched, she learned the lesson, and was encouraged to go on.
What about us? We cannot convert one soul, much less our classes. God alone can do that. But let us see to it that we do our part in the work. The Lord has given us the privilege of having a share in sowing the Word; are we going to do nothing because we cannot do it all? We must be content to do well that which lies to our hand, doing it as to the Lord, with a single eye to His glory.
If our hearts are set on results, we shall only meet with disappointment, and shall soon be discouraged and give up; but if we really have our eyes on the Lord Himself, then we can go steadily on, willing to do that which He has given us to do, and being content with the knowledge of His approval. That is where we so often fail—seeking more the approbation of our fellow-laborers than being satisfied with the private consciousness of the Lord’s smile.
Is not this the case? O! the Lord would not have it so. He would have us value His approval of our work, far above any results we might see. He may, in His grace, allow us to see fruit of our labors, for which we unfeignedly thank Him, but He will not have us rest in the fruits, but in the conscious enjoyment of Himself, doing His work in communion with Him. And surely service which does not flow from communion, is of no value in the sight of God.
May we have the Lord Himself as our object, and then whether He allows us to see our work crowned with success, or whether He sees fit that we should see no fruit from our labors, we can go on steadfastly in the work to which He has called us, rejoicing to be privileged to have a share, not only in serving, but also in suffering. Remember the words of the Perfect Servant,
O let us rejoice in the privilege of having fellowship with our rejected Master, while we labor gladly and willingly to gather the children in, to be His, in the day when He makes up His jewels.