The story is told of an old grandfather's clock, the second hand of which one day suddenly stopped. Complaining that too much was required of it, the second hand lamented the millions of ticks it had had to indicate, never being permitted to stop. Whereupon, the hour hand considerately asked it to mark just one tick, explaining that nothing more was required than to make one movement, then again, and again, one after another, and all would be well. So the second hand began marking the ticks, one at a time, and the old clock was running again as before.
Overwhelmed with the bigness of the tasks before us, do we not sometimes stop and pity ourselves, complaining of our responsibilities? Surely, if we will take but one step at a time, joyously doing the one thing needful where we are, we may rightfully prove that the whole of our work will be well accomplished. Sometimes it is the almost unnoticed belief of self-importance that seems to stop an individual's vital progress.
James reminds us that we are to "receive with meekness the engrafted word," and adds, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." The key to the spiritual import of these statements lies in the word "meekness." When a sense of self-pity or hurt pride claims our attention, it is oftentimes accompanied by self-justification, which is a stranger to meekness. The one way to meet such a situation is to stop deceiving ourselves, and quickly get back into the activity of expressing what we understand of "the engrafted word." To show forth the meekness, kindness, patience, humility which the words and works of our Master, Christ Jesus, indicate, is to be a genuine doer.
