to give them as little trouble as possible; let them look upon you as among the quiet and the orderly, the good and gentle. Do this and do all for Christ's sake, who has loved you and given Himself for you. 5. Be ready cheerfully to wait upon the sick, if you are called upon to do so; be patient with them and kind; do not grudge trouble. If you have opportunity, do what you can to draw their souls to God, that thus their sickness may be sanctified and their souls saved in the day of the Lord. Blessed is he who is the sick man's friend and in the spirit of holy love waits upon him in his hour of suffering and of pain. 6. Try to make your state of poverty a state of religion; see the danger of riches, and remember that they greatly draw down men's souls to the earth, and lure them away from God; say to yourself, "If the world is dark and I am poor in the world, shall I not seek the true light and the true riches of Christ's kingdom? May not those who are last now be first hereafter? May not those who have their evil things now, have their good things hereafter, and shall not I try so to live in my state of poverty that God may forgive me and love me and receive me unto Himself when the few years of this short life have come to an end? God careth for the poor; He is no respecter of persons; He is putting me to this trial and watching me all this time. May I have strength to bear my trial as a good soldier of the Cross, and thus through my Saviour's blood at last reach my crown." O my friend, if you thus live, thus pray, thus bear your trials, thus be kind to others, thus wait and watch upon the Lord, what a change, what a blessed change will it be when God calls you out of this troublesome world to His glorious kingdom. |