A Gift is a Summons to Service
“I want to keep continually in the foreground the fact that consecration must not be a mere emotional giving of life to causes. The things that matter most are (1) What you put your life into, and (2) What kind of a life you put in. The reason that it matters so much what you put your life into is that some things are so much more worth doing than other things are, that is, they forward the welfare of the race better than other things do. The man who can teach men has no right to raise turnips. Then, too, we all have special gifts and aptitudes which peculiarly fit us for some tasks rather than for other tasks. The very possession of a marked aptitude or gift is in itself a divine call and carries with it a summons to service – a noblesse oblige.”
— Rufus M. Jones, 1910 (source)
Influential Quaker writer and theologian
Today’s Invitation
Imagine your life and purpose in this world as consecrated. What gifts do you have with which to answer the divine call?
This Week’s Query
How do you balance between the activist and contemplative elements of your Quaker faith?
If you are an activist, how do you stay grounded and keep from burning out? How do you bring your faith into your activism? If you are a mystic, when has your spirituality led you to action?
Banner art by Maggie Fiori
