Why Should We Work? September 11, 1955
There is a tendency in most of us at times not to do anything that is difficult to do, not to perform any unpleasant service, engage in any inconvenient activity. The tendency is often more apparent...
When Are We Going to Get There? July 10, 1955
A frequent question from those who are going somewhere is this: “When are we going to get there?” It is a question typical of children headed for picnic places. It is a question typical...
What Is Man? February 20, 1955
It has been many centuries since the Psalmist asked this ever-recurring question: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” Both before and since then, many have asked it over and...
To Live, to Work, to Worship… July 24, 1955
“The beginning of things,” wrote an eminent American, “always causes emotions to arise.” The beginning of things: cities, countries—conveniences—we take them somewhat for...
To Enjoy the Journey July 17, 1955
On this question again of wondering always when we are going to “get there”: When our children are young and very dependent upon us, sometimes perhaps we think what we would do if we...
Thou Inquirest What Liberty Is… July 3, 1955
We begin with a sentence with which we could well conclude a sentence taken from the New Testament”Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” and then add to it a question and an...
This We Can Count On… November 20, 1955
Some things we cannot always count on. But the things we can count on are so great, so solid, so sweet and satisfying, that even a brief and incomplete inventory of them fills our hearts with an...
The Use of Daylight--and Darkness November 27, 1955
“In the beginning…” it is written “the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God...
The Unanswered Questions June 26, 1955
All of us are troubled at times by the unanswered questions of life. All of us wonder at times about the point and purpose of many things, and even wonder why we are here. Such thoughts may...
The Things We Wish Were Not October 16, 1955
Sometimes we find ourselves praying and pleading to make some things as if they hadn’t happened. And we find ourselves blaming ourselves for what we did or didn’t do wishing for the...
The Swift Traveling of Time… January 30, 1955
Sometimes, some event in our lives brings sharply into focus the swift traveling of time. It may be a birthday or some other anniversary which ties some happening of the past to the present, and...
The Price of Repenting... January 9, 1955
Repentance doesn’t appear to be very popular. Prophets have been made martyrs for proclaiming it; nations and peoples have died rather than do anything about it. But however unpopular or...
The Long Look August 28, 1955
There seems to be little evidence that the Creator of the universe was ever in a hurry. Everywhere, on this bounteous and beautiful earth, and to the farthest reaches of the firmament, there is...
The Dotted Line… January 23, 1955
Signing on the “dotted line” has come to be a symbol of entering into obligations—a symbol sometimes of getting into things that are not easy to get out of. Many have discovered that it...
The Designer… and the Design May 29, 1955
In some ways, time heals and softens the sharpness of many sorrows, but the sharpness of separation from our loved ones can become acute at any time, as any moment may bring its own reminders of...
The Daylight Hours December 4, 1955
There are proverbs and pronouncements from many centuries back concerning the use of the daylight hours that God has given. Indeed in his dissertation on Economics, the much-quoted Aristotle himself...
The Connotations of Cleanliness June 12, 1955
There are many words whose sounds are sweet because of what they connote words such as warmth and love, home and friends, peace and quiet, comfort and kindness and so many more that have come to...
The Beginning of Things July 31, 1955
The beginning of things is exceedingly important⎯the beginning of trends and tendencies: the beginnings of habits; of quarrels; of good or bad qualities of character; the beginnings of the symptoms...
The Agony of Indecision September 4, 1955
As we look back upon Hamlet with all his problems, one thing for which he was most to be pitied was his agony of indecision – his hanging between “to be or not to be.” But Hamlet...
Telling the Truth October 9, 1955
From Samuel Taylor Coleridge, this sentence suggests a subject: “Veracity,” he said, “does not consist in saying, but in the intention of communicating truth.” Too often it...