Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into theJoy of thy Lord--Matt. xxv. 2.
THESE words are whispered in the ears of many whom the world would pass by unrecognizing.
Not to the great, and the world-famed, are these words said so often, but to the quiet followers who serve Me unobrusively, yet faithfully, who bear their cross bravely, with a smiling face to the world. Thank Me for the quiet lives.
These words speak not only of the passing into that fuller Spirit Life. Duty faithfully done for Me does mean entrance into a Life of Joy--My Joy, the Joy of your Lord. The world may never see it, the humble, patient, quiet service, but I see it, and My reward is not earth's fame, earth's wealth, earth's pleasures, but the Joy Divine.
Whether here, or there, in the earth-world, or in the spirit-world, this is My reward. Joy. The Joy that carries an exquisite thrill in the midst of pain and poverty and suffering. That Joy of which I said no man could take it from you. Earth has no pleasure, no reward, that can give man that Joy. It is known only to My lovers and My friends.
This joy may come, not as the reward of activity in My service. It may be the reward of patient suffering, bravely borne.
Suffering, borne with Me, must in time bring Joy, as does all real contact with Me. So live withMe in that Kingdom of Joy, My Kingdom, the Gateway into which may be service, it may be suffering.
Russell, A. J., ed. God Calling. New York: Barnes, 2002
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