Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-01-15
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YOUR WORK AND YOUR WORLD.

The Lord hath need of him."-Llke
1871.
You are never worth much until some
one needs you. Happiness depends on
being useful, or, at least, believing
that we are. The superfuous person is
always In danger. He is out Of place
( IN universe so ordered that its per-
lection depends on each one taking his
place and doing his work There never
was normal life of which 1t could not
be truly said that the world had need
of him.
| 1t is better to make the vain mans
error Of thinking that the fate of the
world hangs in suspension, dependent
/ on your existence, than to fly to the
opposite extreme and 70 lie inert, be-
neving that 1t makes no difference
| whatever whether you are alive or not
whether you do your work or Lot. The
value Of any life depends much on its
sense Of being essential to all lives
! This is a saving sense. 1t makes ear
nest souls. It gives life purpose and
/ so gives it power. The men who go
/ wrong are those who have no sense Of
/ wide responsibilities. The young man
/ without this belief that the world
needs him drifts and easily becomes the
prey Of baser purposes and passions
Give him work, awaken a sense Of him
self as essential to the welfare Of 9TH
ers, and you have taken a long step
| toward his salvation.
This high faith that the world and
the whole order of earth and heaven
need is is something we all need. There
has been type Of theological think
Ing, a custom Of speaking as though
man was altogether an insignificant
and negligible factor as though the in
finite being could do all things without
our aid. No wonder we have learned
to call ourselves worms of the dust,
and to act agreeably thereto.
You cannot attain to high character
without high purpose. If we are the
helpless dust Of the ages, then we can
not rise above the level of the dust. 1t
Is the sense of a divine work that gives
the dignity Of divine character. The
order Of this rational universe is such
that the father of all cannot fulfill his
! high purposes without the service of
the least of his family, so that even I
am essential to it's fullness.
The least life has it's place in the
plan OF the great all. High heaven has
need of you; your fellows have need CT
you, your times need you. 1t may seem
that If you dropped out none would
note your going; but if you do not live
your full life all life will be the poorer
and if you do not do yorr full work
the worlds will halt In their ways
Few of us have any intrinsic i'm
portance in the world; many fail be-
cause they forget this. But all have
potential importance and more fail be-
cause they neglect this and lack the
energy of the vision to take up their
work, develop their powers, and play
their part in the affairs Of their time
and so in all time.
We are too easily contented with
visions of an angels dignity In the fu-
ture and an angels work to do then.
We feel that over there we will amount
to something; here we must be content
to go on as obscure noncntitfes But
greater far than anything we have
dreamed of for angels is the honor and
Importance Of a mans work here.
There can be little hope of development
In the future for souls that have re-
manned dwarfed in dull content here.
Every life is an essential part Of all
life. This makes my life applicable;
it makes 1t more than endurable, en-
joyable. l begin to see life, not as a
chance to suck the orange of expert
ence dry, not as a chance TO get or gain
alone, but as a chance to serve, to do
a mans work in the world, to become
co-operator and partner with the most
high.
A mothers greatness comes out
through her chlld's dependence on her
the man finds himself as he finds how
others need him. New high resources
of fdealism and noble endeavor show
themselves in us all under the stress
of necessity's call when great issues or
events await our endeavors.
All the sacrifice, the heroism. the de-
votion of the past have sprung from
this sense in men-that others needed
them. The best thing that can happen
to us might be some burden of respon-
sibility To make our lives worth !
while high and holy, to give life pur-
4 70
how true it is that the Master Of all |
has increasingly need of the least OF
us all.