everlasting-gospels.gif The Lord Blessed Uriah
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May 5 - The Lord Blessed Uriah

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And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, "Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much." Matt. 25:20, 21, RSV.

Uriah Smith was definitely a five-talent man. He stood near the top of the Adventist heap when it came to abilities. And after his conversion in late 1852 he dedicated himself to the Advent cause for the rest of his life. But that didn't mean that he didn't have professional offers that tempted him into areas in which the financial rewards would have been much greater than anything he could ever hope to earn in church employment. One such opportunity came a month after his conversion. Uriah's mind, however, was already firmly set on another land-"a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God"(Heb. 11:10).

Early in 1853 the young dreamer sent James White a 3,500-line poem entitled "The Warning Voice of Time and Prophecy." It impressed James so much that he published a part of it weekly for five months in the Reveiw and Herald. By May 1853 Uriah Smith was serving on the publishing staff of the Review, a career he would follow until his death 50 years later.

Working conditions were primitive at best. The entire Reveiw staff lived in a house in Rochester, New York, that James rented for $175 per year. Not only was White's home scantily furnished with borrowed and somewhat broken furniture, but it also housed the entire publishing enterprise.

With no salary, the only promise they had is that they wouldn't starve. But in the eyes of some, they came pretty close to it, existing largely on a diet of beans and porridge. But Uriah in his youthful optimism made light of the whole experience, noting after he had been living there a few weeks that "though he had no objection to eating beans 365 days in succession, yet when it came to making them a regular diet, he should protest!"

Yet, though sometimes hungry, all, including the young man with one leg, were willing to sacrifice for the work they loved.

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Lord, we thank You today for the talents that you have given to each of us. Help us to use them for You as You open the way, even though it may cost us in earthly things.

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