OUT OF TOUCH by Rays of Light

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 11, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 32.

OUT OF TOUCH.

By Rays of Light

Only a smile; yes, only a smile That a woman o’erburdened with grief Expected from you. ’Twould have given her relief, For her heart ached sore the while; But weary and cheerless she went away, Because, as it happened, that very day You were “out of touch” with your Lord.

Only a word; yes, only a word That the Spirit’s small voice whispered, “Speak;” But the worker passed onward, unblessed and weak, Whom you were meant to have stirred To courage, devotion, and love anew, Because when the message came to you You were “out of touch” with your Lord.

Only a note; yes, only a note To a friend in a distant land, The Spirit said, “Write;” but then you had planned Some different work, and you thought It mattered little. You did not know ’Twould have saved a soul from sin and wo: You were “out of touch” with your Lord.

Only a song; yes, only a song That the Spirit said, “Sing to-night; Thy voice is thy Master’s by purchased right.” But you thought, “’Mid this motley throng I care not to sing of the city of gold;” And the heart that you might have reached grew cold: You were “out of touch” with your Lord.

Only a day; yes, only a day; But, O! can you guess, my friend, Where the influence reaches, and where it will end, Of the hours you have frittered away? The Master’s command is, “Abide in Me;” And fruitless and vain will your service be If “out of touch” with your Lord. —Rays of Light.