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| John Milton (1608-74) |
(John Milton)
When I
consider how my light is spent
Ere half my
days in this dark world and wide,
And that one
Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with
me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve
therewith my Maker, and present
My true
account, lest He returning chide,
"Doth
God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly
ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur,
soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's
work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his
mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly:
thousands at his bidding speed,
And post
o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also
serve who only stand and wait."
Commentary: I believe
that this is a poem of encouragement, saying to those who feel themselves
useless because of some personal impediment, "God does have a job for
you--in HIS time he will reveal it to you. Until then, trust Me and be patient"
(Source).
Meaning: We
all have a place in this world and we all perform a function, regardless of our
ability or disability (Source).
Today I was assisting with a network issue at
Frank Pierce Recreation Center. Roger, the
city’s expert in networking, was on site configuring a new router and
switch. It was my role to assist him in
whatever way he needed. Configuring
routers and switches can be a time consuming process. There are literally thousands of lines of code
to get right. So while Roger was doing
the programming, I was standing by. At
the conclusion of the job when throughput was successfully raised from 1 to 5
megs, I remarked to Roger attributing Milton: “They also serve who only stand
and wait.” Actually I was only half-way
kidding. There was a sense in which I
felt useful even while standing by and assisting only intermittently. My role today is pretty much a metaphor for my
entire life. It seems I have served my Maker
only intermittently. Yet, for most of
that time, I have felt the presence of purpose even during dry spells when
patience was wearing thin. I thank God
for this sustaining state of mind that gives a sense of purpose even at times
when evidence for one’s significance can seem lacking. In a way, such assurance is contrary to all
immediate evidence especially during lapses in direct engagement. In such times it is good to remember that God’s
understanding is greater than our own, that his timing is not our timing, that
desperation and the agony over felt meaninglessness reveals the state of our faith
as much as the state of reality, that patience is essential, and that God
appreciates our faith especially during those times when feeling sorry for
ourselves is most tempting. The Great
Redeemer is a specialist at redeeming time, but our trust is required to
benefit from this assurance.
