Wednesday, January 25, 2006

to do and be what we were made for

"But what we have not done yet we can now, what we have done badly hitherto we can do well hencforward, we can repent our sins and begin to give God glory. The moment we do this we reach the end of our being, we do and are what we were made for, we make it worth God's while to have created us. This is a comforting thought: we need not wait in fear till death; any day, any minute we may bless God for our being or for anything, for food, for sunlight, we do and are what we were meant for made for-things that give and mean to give God glory. This is a thing to live for. Then make haste so to live.

...It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work. Smiting on an anvil, sawing a beam, whitewashing a wall, driving horses, sweeping, scouring, everything gives God glory if being in his grace you do it as your duty. To go to Communion worthily gives God great glory, but a man with a dung fork in his hand, a woman with a slop pail, give him glory too. He is so great that all things give him glory if you mean they should. So then, my brethren, live."

-Gerard Manly Hopkins in The Principle or Foundation

1 Comments:

Blogger David Dunton said...

"Everything gives God glory if being in his grace you do it as your duty..."

Amen. Good post.

1/26/2006 1:58 PM  

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