“Henry Drummond warned of a ‘worship which ends with the worshiper, a religion expressed only in ceremony, and a faith unrelated to life.’ He goes on later to make this observation:
The great use of the church is to help men to do without it . . . . Church services are ‘diets’ of worship. They are meals. All who are hungry will take them, and, if they are wise, regularly. But no workman is paid for his meals. No Christian is paid for going to church. He goes there for a meal, for strength from God and form his fellow-worshipers to do the work of life–which is the work of Christ.
If all you do is sing to God but never offer your service to him, then you’re living on your lunch hour. And what kind of faithfulness is that?
No man can do more with his life than the will of God–that though we may never be famous or powerful, or called to heroic suffering or acts of self-denial which will vibrate through history: that though we are neither intended to be apostles nor missinonaries nor martyrs, but to be common people living in common houses, spending the day in common offices or common kitchens, yet doing the will of God there, we shall do as much as apostle or missionary or martyr–seeing that they can do no more than do God’s will than where they are–even as we can do as much where we are–and answer the end of our life as truly, faithfully, and triumphantly as they. “
As quoted in Gary Thomas’ book the Beautiful Fight p. 136.
One of my favorite contemporary books!