In this article is the story about Maxine Grimm of Toole, Utah. Scott met her in Toole. She was instrumental in bringing the Church to the Philipines.
One Sunday morning several years ago, I was in the home of a stake president in a small Idaho town. Before morning prayer, the family read together a few verses of scripture. Among these were the words of Jesus as recorded in John 12:24:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much
fruit.”
No
doubt the Master was referring to his own forthcoming death, declaring
that except he die his mission in life would be largely in vain. But I
see in these words a further meaning. It seems to me that the Lord is
saying to each of us that unless we lose ourselves in the service of
others our lives are largely lived to no real purpose, for he went on to
say, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his
life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” (John 12:25.)
Or, as recorded in Luke, “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall
lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (Luke 17:33.)
In other words, he who lives only unto himself withers and dies, while
he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms in
this life and in eternity.
I recall visiting a college campus where I heard the usual, commonplace
complaining of youth: complaints about the pressures of school—as if it
were a burden rather than an opportunity to partake of the knowledge of
the earth—complaints about housing and about food. I
counseled those youth that if the pressures of school were too heavy,
if they felt to complain about their housing and their food, then I
could suggest a cure for their problems. I suggested that they lay their
books aside for a few hours, leave their rooms, and go visit someone
who is old and lonely, or someone sick and discouraged. By and large, I
have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are
thinking only of ourselves.
For
many years there was a sign on the wall of a shoe repair shop I
patronized. It read, “I complained because I had no shoes until I saw a
man who had no feet.” The most effective medicine for the sickness of
self-pity is to lose ourselves in the service of others.
In any land, in any city, in any home, in any life, there are
opportunities all around to stretch our lives and our interests in
behalf of others.
My
plea is—if we want joy in our hearts, if we want the Spirit of the Lord
in our lives, let us forget ourselves and reach out. Let us put in the
background our own personal, selfish interests and reach out in service
to others. In so doing, we will find the truth of the Master’s great
promise of glad tidings:
“Whosoever
will save his life, shall lose it; or whosoever will save his life,
shall be willing to lay it down for my sake; and if he is not willing to
lay it down for my sake, he shall lose it.
“But whosoever shall be willing to lose his life for my sake, and the gospel, the same shall save it. (JST, Mark 8:37–38.)
No comments:
Post a Comment