Great Thoughts Romans 14:7-9 For none of us lives to himself, and no man dies to himself.… "I live not wholly for myself," said a beautiful flower one fair morning, as it lifted to the sun its crest sparkling with dewdrops. "I live not wholly for myself. Mortals come and gaze on me, and breathe my fragrance, and go away better than they came; for I minister to their perceptions of the beautiful. I give to the bee his honey, and to the insect his food; I help to clothe the earth in beauty." "I live not wholly for myself," said a wide-spreading tree. "I give a happy home to a hundred living beings; I grant support to the living tendrils of the vine; I absorb the noxious vapours in the air; I spread a welcome shadow for man and beast; and I, too, help to make earth beautiful "I live not wholly for myself," said a laughing mountain streamlet. "I know that my tribute to the ocean is small, but still I am hastening to carry it there. And I try to do all the good I can on my way. The tree and the flower love my banks, for I give them life and nourishment; and even the grass which feels my influence has a greener hue. The minnows find life and happiness in my waters, though I glide onward only a silver thread; and men and animals seek my brink to assuage their thirst, and enjoy the shadow of the trees which I nourish. I live not wholly for myself." "I live not wholly for myself," said a bright-hued bird, as he soared upwards into the air. "My songs are a blessing to man. I have seen the poor man sad and despondent as he went home from his daily work, for he knew not how to obtain food for his little ones. Then I tuned one of my sweetest lays for his ear, and he looked upward, saying: 'Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet my heavenly Father feedeth them. Am not I better than they?' and the look of gloom changed to one of cheerfulness and hope. I live not wholly for myself." "I live not wholly for myself," should be the language of every thinking, reflecting mind. It is the language of duty, guiding to the only paths of happiness on earth, and preparing the soul for unalloyed bliss throughout "the measureless enduring of eternity." (Great Thoughts.) Parallel Verses KJV: For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.WEB: For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. |
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