Unselfish Moments

u And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends.” — Job xlii. 10.

It is only in moments of unselfishness that I am free. The iron chain that binds me is the thought of myself and of my own calamities; if I could but be liberated from that, my captivity would be turned in an hour. If, under the shadow of the cloud, I could but remember that the shadow of the same cloud hovers over my brother-man, the vision of his shadow would destroy mine. In the moment of prayer for him my burden would fall from me. I would seek it, and lo! it would not be found; it would be as if it had not been. 0 Thou Divine Spirit of self-forgetfulness, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the Cross, it is in Thee alone that I can find this freedom. Liberate me from myself, and instead of the iron chain, give me a chain of gold. It is not the chain that lowers me, it is the material of which it is made; it is not the sorrow that makes me a captive, it is the centring of the sorrow round my own life. Help me to take up the burdens of others. Help me to know what it is to have rest in bearing an additional yoke, Thy yoke, the yoke of humanity. Help me to feel what it is to have peace in carrying a new care, Thy care, the care of universal love. Help me to learn what it is to be transfigured in the prayer for others; to have the countenance shining as the light, and the raiment white and glistering.

My fetters shall be wiugs of sympathy whereby I shall pass into the heart of the world, and when I have reached the heart of the world the fetters shall fall; my captivity shall be turned back when I have prayed for my captive friends.

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