Dr. Henry Van Dyke enforces the lesson that God is in all the common
tasks of life, after this fashion:
There was a man who wanted to find Christ, and he imagined he
must leave his work. He was a carpenter, builder, perhaps, or a
stone-mason. He imagined he could only be a Christian by going
to the desert and living a hermit’s life. He never found Christ
there. He then thought he must never go outside the cloisters
of the church, or walls of the temple. He did not find Christ
there. There was something defective about that man’s life. He
was heedless of his children and his fellow men. He was seeking
Christ for himself and not for others. The voice of the Savior
came:
“You did not need to go to the desert to find me; lift the stone
and thou shalt find me. Do your regular work as a stone-mason
and as you do your work you shall find me in your daily labor.
Cleave the wood and there am I. As you lift the timbers, sing
out the song of praise.” Christ is with you in your daily task.
(1241)