1 Timothy 6:1-2 Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor… The position we have in society, when we come to think of it, ought never to make us unhappy. There is a kind of painting, or work, that they make in other countries, that they call mosaic. It is made by little pieces of marble, or pieces of glass of different colours. They are so small that each one represents merely a line. There are simply these little pieces of glass or marble, and, if one of the pieces falls or is trampled on, no matter; it is not worth anything at all of itself. And yet the artist takes that little piece, and places it by another, and hands out another, and proceeds until he makes a human face — the shape, the eyes, the mouth, the lips, the cheeks, the human form, part shaped to part — so that, standing off three or four feet, you could not tell it from an oil painting. Now, suppose that one of those little pieces should say, "I wish he would put me in the apple of the eye"; and another, " I wish he would put me on the lip"; and another the cheek — but the artist knows just where to put it, and to put it any where else would be to mar the picture. And if one should be lost, it would mar the picture. Each one has its place. I have thought it is so in society. God is making a great picture out of society. He is making it out of insignificant materials, out of dust and ashes; but He is making a picture for all eternity, and wherever God may be pleased to put me in that picture, if He puts me at all, it seems to me I should be glad to be there. We shall be glad of it, and the arch angels shall contemplate God's picture. I cannot tell where I shall be; but God is putting us where we should be, and these plans are for our good and our glory and our triumph. And when we get to heaven, we shall not wish we had been much different from what we were, only that we had been better. But here we are so dissatisfied! (Bp. Simpson.) Parallel Verses KJV: Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. |
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