I cannot choose; I should have liked so much
To sit at Jesus' feet--to feel the touch
Of his kind gentle hand upon my head
While drinking in the gracious words he said.
And yet to serve Him!--Oh, divine employ--
To minister and give the Master joy;
To bathe in coolest springs his weary feet,
And wait upon Him while He sat at meat!
Worship or service--which? Ah, that is best
To which he calls us, be it toil or rest;
To labor for Him in life's busy stir,
Or seek His feet, a silent worshiper.
--Caroline Atherton Mason.
This is the gospel of labor--ring it, ye bells of the kirk--
The Lord of Love came down from above to live with the men who work.
This is the rose that he planted, here in the thorn-cursed soil;
Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing of earth is toil.
--Henry van Dyke.