Called to Serve
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4357
When Adam Geibel was only nine days
old, he caught a cold that led to an eye infection. What should have
been a routine treatment for the infection went tragically wrong, and he
was left blind for the rest of his life.
Tragic accidents like this one can sometimes discourage people from striving to achieve great things—but Adam was too young to know that. As he grew, he found that despite his disability, there were many ways he could serve his fellowman. He studied at the Philadelphia Institute for the Blind; became an accomplished writer of gospel songs, anthems, and cantatas; and eventually founded his own music company in 1906.
One of his best-loved songs is "Called to Serve.” Originally written as a children’s marching song, it has since become an anthem that inspires millions to spread light and love to a world in desperate need of goodness.
The words invite one and all to answer the call to serve:
Called to serve Him, heavenly King of glory,
Chosen ever to witness for his name,
Far and wide his love proclaim.
If you feel weak or unprepared for the task, don’t worry. "God our strength will be” as we "press forward ever, called to serve our King.”1
In one way or another, this call to serve others comes to all of us—regardless of the weaknesses or limitations we think we have. There are people and hearts that only you can reach. Some of them may live "far and wide,” but more likely they are close to home: a family member, a friend, a neighbor, even a stranger who happens to cross your path. Maybe some of these people are in your sphere of influence by chance—or maybe they are there specifically because you can love and lift them in a way no one else can.
1 "Called to Serve,” Hymns, no. 249
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