The Power of a Devout Life
A devout life has untold power. Like the forces of nature, it is often hidden or obscure; but it holds and shakes the world. Men may refuse to hear your preaching; they are not able to evade the argument of a blameless and holy life. The aroma of it fills all the atmosphere; its doctrine distils like the gentle dew, or like the small rain on the mown grass; its lines go out through all the earth, its words to the end of the world; there is no speech nor language where its voice is not heard. Your religion, to be of any worth, must be such a life. Profession is well, but it is only the gateway to the life—only the sign of the inward substance. The gospel was not proclaimed to give you a creed, but to render possible to you a devout life. You will be a power among men, not in proportion to your knowledge, or your natural endowment, but in proportion to the sanctity and fullness of your religious life.