May 29
God does not overload His own
<“And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey” (Matt. 25:15).
“Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deut. 33:25).
God will not give to any of His people a larger measure of duty than they can fairly overtake; He will not give to the man with one talent the task belonging to the man with two, or to the man with two the task that appertains to more richly gifted natures. He is not the “hard man” who grinds to powder those who serve Him. He knows us altogether. He tenderly loves us, and having measured out our sufficient task, He will put upon us none other burden. But some complain: “As a matter of fact, are we not over-weighted? Is not human life generally too intense, too crowded, too burdensome?” Perhaps this is so; but there are two questions we may put to ourselves. How far do we overweight ourselves? We do it in ignorance, in covetousness, in ambition, in vanity. Many would carry far lighter burdens if only they were more lowly, content, and trustful. Do we not also overweight one another? Through our want of thought, equity, and sympathy we aggravate our neighbor’s burden.