Gairdner could have become as well-known as his fellow students. But when he decided to become a missionary, he wrote to his sister, "I have found ambition dreadfully difficult to cope with. It seems so natural, especially with one's upbringing and education, to look forward to making a mark and a name, and so awfully hard to resign oneself to living and dying tucked away in some corner." We probably will not be called upon to make that kind of sacrifice. But are we willing to serve our Savior in radical obedience? To serve Him faithfully we must put aside our own interests, as Paul did: "God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). We don't need to be famous. But we do need to be faithful wherever God calls us. -Vernon Grounds
Trusting, serving, every day; Just one glimpse of Him in glory Will the toils of life repay. -Hewitt The world rewards quick success; God rewards long-term faithfulness.
Knowing God Through Galatians |
In the late 19th century, a former student of Oxford University became the Lord Chancellor of England. One of his classmates became Britain's Foreign Secretary. A third gained an international reputation as an author. A fourth, Temple Gairdner, was perhaps the most gifted of his classmates but did not achieve fame and influence. Why? He accepted Jesus as his Savior and lived as a missionary in obscure and dangerous places.