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 we tell the Father’s story,
Far and wide his love proclaim.
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.
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
1. “Called to Serve,” Hymns, no. 249.
Program #4357
Cuando Adam Geibel tenía apenas nueve días de nacido, se vio afectado por un resfrío que le causó una infección en los ojos. Lo que pudo haber sido tratado de un modo sencillo se complicó y le dejó ciego por el resto de su vida.
Sucesos trágicos como éste pueden llegar a desanimar a la gente de intentar alcanzar grandes logros, pero Adam era demasiado pequeño para desanimarse. Al ir creciendo, descubrió que pese a su discapacidad, podía prestar servicio de muchas otras formas. Estudió en un instituto para no videntes de Filadelfia; llegó a ser un destacado compositor de temas religiosos y con el tiempo fundó su propia compañía de música en 1906.
Una de sus composiciones más veneradas es “Llamados a servir”. Originalmente escrita como una marcha para niños, se ha transformado en un himno que inspira a millones a esparcir luz y amor en un mundo grandemente necesitado de actos de bondad.
Sus estrofas invitan a todos a responder al llamado de servir:
Somos hoy llamados al servicio,
a dar testimonio de Jesús.
Vamos a un mundo de tinieblas
para proclamar la luz.
De un modo u otro, este llamado a servir a los demás es para todos nosotros, más allá de las limitaciones que creamos tener. Hay personas y almas a las que sólo usted puede llegar. Es posible que algunas vivan en “un mundo de tinieblas” aunque sin estar muy lejos de nosotros: un miembro de nuestra familia, un amigo, un vecino o un extraño que se cruce en nuestro camino. Tal vez esos seres humanos estén cerca por coincidencia o quizás porque usted sea la única persona que realmente les puede ayudar.
Si no se siente preparado para ello, no se preocupe, pues como dice el himno en su estrofa final: “Dios nos da poder, luchemos en la causa celestial”.
Musical Selection:
1. Look at the World
John Rutter; Oxford University Press
2. Gloria in Excelsis
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Public Domain
3. In Christ There Is No East or West (organ solo)
Gilbert M. Martin; Sacred Music Press
4. Teach Me to Walk in the Light
Clara W. McMaster; arr. Mack Wilberg; Arrangement Unpublished
5. Spoken Word
6. Called to Serve
Adam Geibel; arr. Mack Wilberg; Arrangement Unpublished
7. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, 1813; arr. Mack Wilberg; Oxford Univeristy Press