Work for the Master. By MRS. PARKER, NE of the most encouraging signs of the present day is the intense desire on the part of so many of the young people of our country to do some work for the Master.' This shows strong religious vitality and healthfulness. Just as the body after illness gives signs of returning health by the longing desire to engage again in the ordinary occupations of life, so the awakening soul shows its healthful activity by the seeking to do something for her Great Life-giver. One of Nature's wisest laws is that work of some kind is absolutely necessary to life and health, and the soul is no exception to this rule. As the members of our body grow weak and powerless for want of proper exercise, so our spiritual life dwindles into selfishness and meaningless prayers if its vitality is not supported by work. Faith without works is dead.' It is only mockery of the worst kind daily on our knees to pray, 'Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,' unless we strive with all our strength to do that will. God's will is that we should love Him with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourself.' Love means service, and service means work-work for the Master; and in working for Him we must show our love to our neighbour by caring for his good more than for our own. It does not need a highly educated woman to do this blessed work. Those who have education have a great talent to be employed in the Master's service; but those to whom a liberal education has been denied can equally engage in religious work. The fitness required for it is not the education of the head, but the education of the heart. That our Saviour took His first workers in His vineyard from the ranks of illiterate fishermen should encourage all, no matter what their position or education, to place their time and talents at the feet of Him whose life on earth was spent in constant work for others. At one time, not so very long ago, work for the Master was supposed to be the exclusive privilege of the upper and educated classes; but now, thank God, the cry comes from every class of society, 'What can I do?' Willing hands and loving hearts are waiting to be employed, and many have taken up the work that lay nearest them, and are doing it bravely and well. Let us carnestly pray that each Member of our beloved Society may not only help to swell the chorus of voices crying 'What can I do?' but joyfully 'put their hand to the plough,' and keep it there. soul, take it to God first, not to any earthly friend. Take it to Him in earnest prayer, consecrating your heart and life, your body and your soul, to His service. Ask in faith, and the work for which you are most fitted will be sent. You may have to wait for it, but it will surely come, when your heavenly Master sees that by patience and hope you have been rendered fit for service. In the meantime, take the work which lies nearest your hand, and do it with all your might. Never despise the little acts of kindness, the little words of love, the little bearing the burdens of others, the little self-denials, the little efforts to brighten and purify other lives. They may seem small and insignificant to you and to those about you, but they are all important in the eyes of your great Master, who accepts each little service as ( done for Him.' It was to the 'faithful in few things' that the Lord gave the promise, I will make thee ruler over many things.' The thought that we are not so clever, or so fitted by circumstances as others, must not keep us back from work. God does not expect more than we are able to give; and as He in His infinite wisdom has created no two human beings exactly alike, so, in the same wisdom, He has not endowed all with the same talents. To some He has given great gifts of teaching and influencing others, but to all He has given the power to cheer the sorrowful, to strengthen the sorely tempted, to warn the sinner, to tell of the Saviour's undying love, and to 'rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.' Should we not give grateful thanks to Almighty God for placing within the reach of His humblest creature the privilege of engaging in a work which was preeminently the work of His own dear Son? The joy of living and working for the Master is for all; may it be yours on earth, that when life is over you may receive the crown of life which fadeth not away.' In the following papers we propose to bring before you special work for the Master, in the hope that they may, even in a few instances, answer the question, 'What can I do?' I. any of our INFLUENCE IN THE WORKROOM. Should this paper fall into the hands of Members who are not engaged in business of any kind, will they bear in mind that the same influence which we wish to cultivate in the workroom we also wish to cultivate in the home and in the social circle? From every child of God a purifying, elevating, refining influence should emanate, no matter in what position When once this longing for work arises in the they may be placed. The chief characteristics should be the same everywhere. Influence can only be obtained by a consistent example. Much can be done by conversation, but it needs backing up.' You know the proverb, 'A man of word and not of deed Is like a garden full of weed.' Opportunities for conversation in the workroom are often very limited, but the power of example can always be employed. It does not rob the employer of valuable time, nor encourage idleness amongst the employées, as talking too frequently does. Let us consider the kind of example which the Christian woman should set to those about her. Punctuality in the performance of her duties; undivided attention to her work during the hours for which she is engaged; honourable, honest, and faithful service to her employer, and the strictest care of the goods entrusted to her keeping; aiming at perfection in all her work; remembering that 'Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might,' is a very special command to God's children. At first sight it may appear comparatively easy to exhibit such an example as this, and the difficulty can only be appreciated by those who have conscientiously tried it. For one day or one week it would be easy enough, but it has to be carried through many weeks, months, and years, as long as God spares us to live and work for Him. This can only be done by earnest, constant prayer, and keeping very near to the Strong for strength. Time does not always make it easier to practise a consistent life, for with time the first warm desire to serve the Master sometimes grows cold. Carelessness creeps in, and over-confidence in self. These are quicksands which have made shipwreck of many a fair bark which has started on life's journey full of promise of a useful, happy future. Only by resting always on the Cross, and keeping your eye constantly on the Saviour, our great Exemplar, can your life be kept free from worldly taint, and be an example and influence for good on those with whom you come in contact. In your workroom you will find many varieties of character, and if your influence is to be beneficial you must make a prayerful study of each character, so that you may best know how to influence each. A sad girl needs tenderness in all your words and actions, that the sympathy of the earthly friend may lead her to take her sorrow to the heavenly Friend, who is waiting to comfort and cheer. With a bright, lively girl, full of fun and perhaps a spice of mischief, you can show her, by joining in innocent amusement, that cheerfulness is a characteristic of God's children. Alas! so many lively girls turn away from religious people because they imagine that religion makes people gloomy and severe; whereas, living near to and for God should have the opposite effect, and make our looks and manner joyous and cheerful. It is quite as much a duty to 'rejoice with them that do rejoice' as to 'weep with them that weep.' The giddy, thoughtless girl, try to influence by your own thoughtful steadiness of purpose; the fast, forward girl, by the contrast of your quiet, modest behaviour, and, as opportunity offers, warn her lovingly of the dangers to which she wilfully exposes herself. The bad-tempered, disobliging girl, influence by the sunshine of your good-tempered willingness to do whatever is required of you, and by your constant courtesy and gentleness. The selfish girl influence by the beauty of a life lived entirely for others, by your willingness to give others pleasures and advantages, even at the cost of much personal sacrifice. The proud girl influence by humility; show her that you consider no work beneath your dignity, and that you are humbly endeavouring to follow the example of your Master, who thought it not beneath His dignity to work for His daily bread with His own most holy hands. It may seem to you that these simple details of daily life and conduct are unworthy to be called 'work for the Master;' but they are indeed most important work, for these small actions influence the lives of others for time and for eternity. Unconsciously to yourself, the life you are living is reflected in the life of others, and your example is either improving or lowering the character of your companions. You cannot keep too close a watch over your words and actions, nay, even over your very thoughts, that their tendency may be ever to point upwards and onwards towards the Light. Ambition makes men strive to obtain influence over the minds of others for their own glory and advantage, but the only influence worth striving for is the influence which carries our fellow-creatures above and beyond themselves, until they too lose all thought of self and of their own power and work, in the finished work of their Lord and Saviour. This can only be attained by a pure, holy, consistent, unselfish life, and by watchful jealousy of our Master's honour. Never allow conversation in your presence which even borders on sin, and wholly discourage bad or foolish books and doubtful amusements. We are too apt to slide over these matters, forgetting that they are the beginning of far worse things. Without saying much, you can show by your manner that you strongly disapprove, and never hesitate to give your reason, and to stand up fearlessly for all that is noble and right. Never stop to think what your companions will think about you, but what God will think; and may the Master whom you serve keep you humble and unspotted from the world,' and give you grace to influence others by a Christlike example. Matt. i. 22 to end. Matt. ii. 13 to end. Matt. iii. 13 to end. Matt. iv. 12-22. Gosp. Matt. ii. 1-12. Matt. v. 25-32. Matt. v. 43 to end. Matt. vi. 28 to end; vii. 1-6. TH Matt. v. 13-24 9 F Matt. v. 33-42 IO S Matt. vi. 1-8 Matt. vi. 19-27 12 M Matt. vii. 7-23 13 TU Matt. viii. 1-13 14 W Matt. viii. 18-27 15 TH Matt. ix. 1-9 16 F Matt. ix. 18-27 Correspondence. ANNIVERSARY OF G. F. S. CLUB FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES. DEAR MADAM,-I send you a little account of our Anniversary in case you may like to hear of it. Our Recreation-rooms, under the title of 'G. F. S. Club for Business Members,' were opened at 5 Hornton Street, Kensington, on 3rd December, 1883. During that time we have issued ninety Club tickets for Business Members, and have admitted nine friends of Members by quarterly subscription to the benefits of the Club. We have had Classes as follows: Monday, 8.45: Class for Crewel Work. : Tuesday, 8.45 Bible Reading and Working Party Wednesday Class for Part-Singing. Friday Library Books given out. We hope in the new year to carry on the same, if desired. We celebrated our first Anniversary with a Social Tea, given by the Members themselves, to which they invited the Vicar (the Rev. E. Carr-Glyn), Lady Mary Glyn, Mrs. Inglis (our Branch Secretary), the clergy of the parish, and a few other friends. About sixty-five Members were present. During the evening a lady told them she hoped to give a course of lectures on 'Health v. Hygiene,' on the Friday evenings in January, specially for young women in business,' and invited them to attend. The Vicar also addressed a few kind words to them, congratulating them on the comfortable aspect of their Club-rooms, and on the success attending the first year of their existence, and wishing them every blessing in the future. He called their attention specially to the coming Mission to be held in Kensington in February next, asking their interest and co-operation in the effort which he hoped to make to reach and influence the 'business community' as well as others. Some gleesinging by Club Members and other music enlivened the proceedings, and soon after 10 o'clock all joined in singing 'The day is past and over,' after which the Vicar pronounced the Benediction, and by 11 o'clock our very pleasant evening was brought to a close. JESSIE B. HENSLEY (Asso. for Club), Dec. 15th, 1884. St. Mary Abbott's Branch, Kensington. more. Generally we went across fields, a short way to this village, but as there was so much snow we decided on this occasion to take the road, a walk of two miles or The sun shone most brilliantly, and we started early in the afternoon and felt no cold as we tramped merrily down the hill out of the village, slipping here and there on the hard, trodden-down snow, and admiring the cottages transformed by the snow, which still lay on the roofs of the sheltered ones, into 'Christmas-card' cottages. Some of the gardens had been filled up by the drift, and pathways had been cut, leaving white walls on each side. Everything looked so quaint and pretty, we thought it almost a pity that it must melt some day. 'Oh, look! isn't that a picture?' we cried, as a scarlet-breasted robin perched himself on an ivy-covered post half buried in snow, and trilled out his song—we hoped, in thanks for crumbs that had been given him. Far away over the meadows we could see the dark hills, with the snow lying on them in patches, marked out into squares sometimes by the dark hedges. Then at the foot of the hill a little bridge crossed a stream, which ran black-looking and rapid over the road. On either side of it was a white-lace border of ice, and a small bush which dipped into it near the bridge was a mass of the most perfect icicles, of all sorts and sizes. But we could not stop long to admire; on we must go, through the lanes, where in some places great drifts had been cut through, while in others the snow was standing in banks on the tops of the hedges, hanging over and threatening to topple down on our heads, but sparkling in the sun, and looking soft and pure against the blue sky. In this lane were signs of the suffering this beautiful snow brings. All about the banks were tracks of rabbits sunk deep in the snow, and the stems of some small hollies growing in the bank had their bark eaten off all round as high as rabbits could reach. Poor bunnies! it was a bad time for them. It was very tiring work, walking along those slippery lanes, and we were glad when we reached a hill top and saw the village we sought lying below us in the hollow. How strange and silent everything was! The little white-washed church looked yellow and dismal, guarded by a funereal fir-tree or two, while one or two new red farm-buildings came in most opportunely with a bit of colour. The sun was getting very low when we reached our friends' house, but we went in and tasted their 'Christmas cheer' (only in Yorkshire can you taste real cakes), and heard all about their drift, and about sheep buried in snow, and carriers only just escaping a like fate, and we told all our tales, and then, warmed and refreshed, we started home over the fields, for our friends said that there were no drifts that way. How any one knew this it is impossible to say, for we soon found that no foot of man had trodden there since the snow had fallen, and we had to make tracks for ourselves over a pure, even sheet. The sun was dropping fast down like a ball of fire. Grey clouds had covered the blue sky, all the sparkle had gone from the snow, and the fields, with low hedges, or sometimes only rails surrounding them, through which you could see the next field and the next, looked inexpressibly dreary. One longed to have the power of holding back for a little space the grey curtain which was so fast coming over the earth, but night was coming on, and there was nothing for it but to press on as fast as we could, trusting to our knowledge of the way to keep us on the right path. It was not so bad for the one pair of gaitered knickerbockered legs, but for the two pair encumbered with petticoats it was quite another matter. plod along one behind the other, putting their feet All they could do, however, was to into the holes made by the shooting-boots of their leader. But, oh! the weariness of lifting each foot so high, for the snow was a foot deep, and oh! the length of that road! We could run over it easily in twenty minutes in summer or dry weather, but it seemed to be twice its usual length, and everything looked so strange in the dim light. There was a 'beck' (or stream) running across one field, and we felt anxious about 'hitting' the bridge; but our leader was a good guide, and we got to it and over it quite safely, and as we looked over the rail and into the deep water we saw that the stars had come out here and there between the clouds. The cold was intense by this time, and our fingers were cold, and our faces felt frozen. 'Ah! what was that?' There was a grunt and a stumble, and our leader was floundering up to his waist in a drift. 'It's all right,' he said (it did not look so at all); I have only got into the ditch by the path. You keep out there. Now I'm out. Round here and you will miss it-which we did, and then we laughed, which helped us on till we got out of the fields into a lane, and saw the lights of the village and our home. We were glad to get in, and nice, draggled creatures we were. Icicles were hanging as fringes to every garment. The ties of our bootlaces were great knobs of ice, and as for the boots themselves, they walked this earth no more. Yet we have always looked back to that expedition with pleasure. It is a great joy to look at nature under unusual aspects. It is grand to see even in a small degree into the 'treasures of the snow,' to realise how everything must give way and be at rest before its silent but complete sway. It is good for us to have times when it is forced upon our senses that with all our inventions and improvements we are powerless, except so far as the greatest Power of all permits us to be powerful, |