POEM OF THE DAY: The Elixir by George Herbert

THE ELIXIR.    

George Herbert                   

Teach me, my God and King, 

In all things Thee to see, 

And what I do in anything, 

To do it as for Thee.

Not rudely, as a beast, 

To run into action ; 

But still to make Thee prepossest, 

And give it his perfection.

A man that looks on glass, 

On it may stay his eye,

Or, if he pleaseth, through it pass,

And then the heav'n espy.

All may of Thee partake ;

Nothing can be so mean

Which with his tincture (for Thy sake)

Will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause 

Makes drudgery divine : 

Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws, 

Makes that and th' action fine.

This is the famous stone 

That turneth all to gold ; 

For that which God doth touch and own 

Cannot for less be told. 

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I first heard this poem at a conference at Duke where Malcolm Guite was teaching. He quoted the third stanza. " A man who looks on glass...". Several more poems Malcolm opened up during that week by Herbert, The Windows is another favorite of mine. 

This poem is encouragement to me this morning as I struggle to believe in the gifts that God has called me to invest. I shy away from practicing songs that I have written. I shy away from making plans to sing them for people or record them. I am at times tempted to forget these gifts altogether and bury them in the ground like the frightened servant in Matthew 25. 

I read recently that wages and rewards are put in place by God to teach us that our work has meaning and value. "The worker is worth his wages" says Paul to Timothy (1 Tim. 5:18).  Our work really matters. The invitation to contribute to the Kingdom is real. The Contribution itself is real!  Even the smallest things matter. In fact, in the economy of God, the smallest things matter most and all big things must be made up of small things. 

Pray for me as I struggle to invest by faith in the songs, stories, and life that God has called me to live. Life is a great struggle at times! But God will touch and own all that we offer to him and make it more precious than gold. Through our works of mere glass God can draw the searching eye through to a view of the Kingdom of God.