A Poor Shoemaker in His Dreary
Little Shop by J. R. Miller. Therefore we do not
lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly
we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4.16. For our perishable earthly bodies
must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. 1
Corinthians 15 53 The lesson of the imperishable
life has a special application to those who suffer from sickness
or from any bodily affliction. It will help us to endure physical
sufferings quietly and unmurmuringly, if we will remember that it is
only the outward man that can be touched and affected by these
experiences and that the inward man may not only be kept unharmed,
but may be growing all the while in beauty and strength, being
spiritually renewed through pain and suffering. A poor shoemaker
in his dreary little shop in a great city, one day noticed
that there was one little place in his dark room from which he
could get a view of green fields, blue skies and faraway hills. He wisely set up his bench at
that point, so that at any moment he could lift his eyes from his
dull work and have a glimpse of the great, beautiful world
outside. Just so, from the darkest, sick
room, and from the midst of the keenest sufferings, there is
always a point from which we can see the face of Christ and
have a glimpse of the glory of heaven. If only we will find
this place and get this vision, it will make it easy to endure
even the greatest suffering. For we know that when this earthly
tent we live in is taken down, when we die and leave these bodies,
we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by
God Himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present
bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly
bodies like new clothing. Sickness is discouraging and
is hard to bear. But we should remember that the
doing of the will of God is always the noblest, holiest thing we
can do any hour, however hard it may be for us. If we are called
to suffer, let us suffer patiently and sweetly. Under all our sharp
trials, let us keep the peace of God in our hearts. The outward
man may indeed decay, but the inward man will be renewed day
by day.