The February 19, 1930 issue of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette ran a story from Vienna, Austria of a woman named Corin Ward. Corin was a struggling actress who received a phone call from an attorney, telling her she had been mentioned in the will of a deceased client.

Meeting at the agreed upon time at the attorney's office, Corin was told that the will belonged to a man who wished to be known only as "Dr. Meszaros." Corin told the attorney she did not know any doctor by that name, and wondered if there had been some sort of mistake. The lawyer was not surprised that Corin didn't recognize the name. But there was no doubting that Dr. Meszaros knew Corin.

According to the good doctor's attorney, Meszaros lived in the same city as Corin, and had fallen head over heels in love with her. Meszaros, however, struggled with debilitating fears, and never worked up the courage to speak to the woman he admired from afar. But he also was unable to ever move past the woman who had captured his heart. He died alone. Meszaros left Corin every penny he had saved over the course of his life—all $50,000.

Meszaros loved Corin, but he never expressed his love in either words or actions. And, as a result, the fullness of that love was never realized.

Preaching Angle: Thanksgiving, Gratitude, Praise, Worship—Love always calls for a response. The real tragedy in this story is that Meszaros loved Corin but he never expressed that love. When we love or appreciate someone it's only natural to express that love. In our relationship with God, our love should lead to praise, gratitude, thanksgiving, and worship. As C.S. Lewis wrote:

But the most obvious fact about praise—whether of God or anything—strangely strangely escaped me …. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise …. The world rings with praise—lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game …. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation (C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, Mariner Books, 1964, pp. 93-95).