“Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

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  I HEARD a thousand blended notes   While in a grove I sate reclined,  In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts  Bring sad thoughts to the mind.  To her fair works did Nature link  The human soul that through me ran;  And much it grieved my heart to think  What Man has made of Man.  Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower,  The periwinkle trail’d its wreaths;  And ’tis my faith that every flower  Enjoys the air it breathes.  The birds around me hopp’d and play’d,  Their thoughts I cannot measure,—  But the least motion which they made  It seem’d a thrill of pleasure.  The budding twigs spread out their fan  To catch the breezy air;  And I must think, do all I can,  That there was pleasure there.  If this belief from heaven be sent,  If such be Nature’s holy plan,  Have I not reason to lament  What Man has made of Man?

Occupation: Evangelism

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"The major preoccupation of any man's life is his daily employment. But if Jesus Christ has no part in that major occupation of your life, then he is Lord only of the margins. The spare time. The left-overs!

Did you ever notice that the important figures of the Bibles are not the monks and priests? They are shepherds and fishermen and tax gatherers and soldiers and politicians and tentmakers and physicians and carpenters. These are the ones who occupty the center of the stage. You can tell good news about God's actions among men at a water cooler in an office or over a lunch bucket. you can heal a hurt in a car while you are driving home. You can teach the truth that frees and enlightens anywhere."

Ray Stedman, from his sermon on Ephesians 4:11-12, "The Contemporary Christ."

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