We use much more wisdom in material things often than we do in spiritual things. Can we not learn a lesson from the farmer? What does God say to the farmer! "Sow, and ye shall also reap." But the farmer says, "I cannot; I haven't enough. If I had plenty I would sow, but I haven't. My family could not live as well as my neighbor; we could not set a good enough table; we might even have to go hungry." But the command comes again: "Sow, and ye shall also reap," and I venture to say that there is not a farmer in this country of ours but who would go hungry, yea, he and his children would go bare-footed, but he would take some portion of the grain that he had and throw it broadcast over his field, knowing that it would lie there and decay, but trusting in the Lord that it would come back to him after many days. Why cannot we use the same wisdom in spiritual matters?
But there is something that is of more value even than money. It seems to me that the one thing we need is more consecrated women in our churches, women that have more love for their Master and for his cause, women that do not do this work from a sense of duty, but because they love their Lord and Saviour. It seems to me we ought to put love in the same place where Christ put it, on the same pinnacle where Paul put it: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love, it profiteth me nothing; though I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing; and though I give my body to be burned, and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing."
My dear friends, if we only had this love, this consecration, we would be interested in everything that interests our Master. And hearing of our sister in the mountains who knows nothing of him, we would hasten to go ourselves or make it easy for others to go and tell her of His love. And thinking of our colored sister in the South who is oppressed and down-trodden, if we loved Him we would hasten to go with joy and tell her of the yoke that is easy and the burden that is light. And remembering our Indian sister who is so in the dark and is so destitute of knowledge we would find a way to tell her of Him who is the light of the world. And knowing of our Chinese sister here on our shores, who looks forward to a heavenly home for her husband, though she has no such hope for herself, we would go and tell her--or see that some one else told her--of Him who said: "Whosoever cometh unto me shall have eternal life." Our work then would not be done from a sense of duty but as the expression of our love and joy, and all we would ask in return would be the words: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me."