A MOTTO FOR YOUR LIFE

When Professor Charles William Eliot was president of Harvard University, he had occasion to dedicate a new hall of philosophy and searched for an appropriate inscription to place above its entrance.

He called together his faculty members and after much deliberation they agreed upon the well-known Greek maxim, "Man is the measure of all things." With that they adjourned for summer vacation.

When school reopened in the fall, they were surprised to find that the president had decided upon his own inscription. Instead of the human-centered "Man is the measure of all things," he had seen fit to inscribe the prayerful words of the biblical psalm, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?"

Before my wife was healed by the Lord, found at the bottom of my every prescription, were these words, " God could not be everywhere, therefore they created mothers and doctors too." Rather arrogant of me, wasn't it? Now, better enlightened, you can find these words at that same spot, " I am just an instrument, a mere tool. The LORD, our GOD is the Divine Physician, and the Ultimate Healer." For me, they are not just mere words, or a motto to throw away whenever I may be asked to provide one. I know now that I am a physician because He wished it, and I am able to treat my patients, because He uses me. I am nothing without HIM.

Suppose you were to choose a motto for your life. What words might you choose? Would they express your goals or dreams or achievements, or would they point others to the Source of all these things? You may never be asked to carve an inscription over the threshold of a great building, but even today, you can place thoughtful quotations on a bulletin board where you work to encourage your co-workers. Or put them on the refrigerator door at home in order to teach your children the elements of your faith.