Daily Devotion

“Our toil on earth will eventually pass with the passage of time; hospital buildings may collapse, and printed books may yellow; but those souls who have felt the love of Christ in their illness and seen the hope of eternal life in their despair will become our most precious crown in eternity.”

John Dudgeon · Farewell letter to colleagues at the London Missionary Society (circa 1898)

Scripture

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 What then is our hope and our joy, and our crown of pride? It is that you will stand before our Lord Jesus when he comes, for you yourselves are our glory and our joy.

Reflection

Dezhen's famous quote echoes Kant's philosophy that "man is the end in himself": buildings will crumble, books will yellow, and achievements and fame will eventually fade with time; all these are merely vehicles and means. Only "man" himself and the eternal soul are the true purpose of our service. Paul's view of his disciples as an eternal crown reminds us that the ultimate value of life lies not in how much merit we accumulate by using people, but in how many souls we save with love.