On Works

Whatever we labor on, we labor on ourselves. An industrious man keeps himself vigorous, disciplined, flexible, and alert. He is the true product of his labors. And while he cannot make a work great, the work, if it demands much of him, can make him great. For it is the masterpiece makes the master; he does not set his seal on it, but it sets its seal on him, as it falls upon him. Truly, if God gives calling to a stone, the stone will come. And if God has called him, it will be seen by his willingness to follow; that is, to place his trust in the Lord; that God will also give him the strength to perform what is asked. Indeed, the work itself will give him the strength to complete it! Do you think Atlas lifts the world because he is strong? I tell you, he is strong because he lifts the world. God does not call a man to great works because the man is great, and worthy of them, but, rather, that by undertaking the works, the man may become so. No mortal was ever prepared to hear the Word of the Lord. Only upon hearing it, do ears become keen and almost equal to the sound.