Chapter thirty one, character building the life work. This one thing I do.
Success in any line demands a definite to aim. He who should achieve
true success in life must keep steadily in view the aim worthy of his endeavor.
Such an aim is set before the youth of to day. The heaven
appointed purpose of giving the Gospel to the world in this generation is the noblest
that can appeal to any human being. It opens a field of effort to
every one whose heart Christ has touched. God's purpose for the children growing up
beside our hearts is wider, deeper, higher than our restricted vision has comprehended
from the humblest lot. Those whom He has seen faithful have in time past
been called to witness for Him in the world's highest places. And many a
lad of to day, growing up as did Daniel in his Judean home,
studying God's word and his works and learning the lessons of faithful service, will
yet stand in legislative assemblies, in halls of justice, or in royal courts
as a witness for the King of kings. Multitudes will be called to a
wider ministry. The whole world is opening to the Gospel. Ethiopia is stretching
out her hands unto God. From Japan and China and India, from the
still darkened lands of our own continent, from every quarter of this world of
ours, comes the cry of sin stricken hearts for a knowledge of the God
of Love. Millions upon millions have never so much as heard of God or
of his love revealed in Christ. It is their right to receive this knowledge.
They have an equal claim with us in the Saviour's mercy. And it
rests with us who have received the knowledge, with our children, to whom
we may impart it to answer their cry, to every household and every school,
to every parent, teacher, and child, upon whom has shone the
light of the Gospel comes at this crisis. The question put to Esther the
Queen, at that momentous crisis in Israel's history, who knoweth whether thou art
come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Those who think of
the result of hastening or hindering the Gospel think of it in relation to themselves
and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give
thought to the suffering that sin has caused our creator. All Heaven suffered in
Christ's agony but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity.
The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that from
its very inception, Sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure
from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach
his ideal, brings grief to him. When there came upon Israel the calamities
that were the sure result of separation from God, subjugation by their enemies,
cruelty, and death, it is said that his soul was grieved for the
misery of Israel. In all their affliction, He was afflicted, and he
bare them and carried them all the days of old. His spirit maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. As the whole creation growneth and
travaileth together in pain. The heart of the Infinite Father is pained in sympathy.
Our world is a vast slaser house, a scene of misery that we
dare not allow even our thoughts to dwell upon. Did we realize it as
it is, The burden would be too terrible. Yet God feels it all
in order to destroy sin. And its results. He gave his best beloved,
and he has put it in our power, through co operation with him,
to bring this scene of misery to an end. The Gospel of the
Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.
And then shall the end come. Go ye into all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature. Is Christ's command to his followers, not that
all are called to be ministers or missionaries in the ordinary sense of the term,
but all may be workers with Him in giving the glad tidings to their
fellow men, to all great or small, learned or ignorant, old or
young. The command is given. In view of this command, can we
educate our sons and daughters for a life of respect or conventionality, a life
professedly Christian but lacking his self sacrifice, a life on which the verdict of
Him who is truth must be. I know not thousands are doing this.
They think to secure for their children the benefits of the Gospel, while they
deny its spirit. But this cannot be. Those who reject the privilege of
fellowship with Christ in service, reject the only training that imparts a fitness for
participation with Him in his glory. They reject the training that in this life
gives strength and nobility of character. Many a father and mother denying their children
to the cross of Christ, have learned too late that they were thus giving
them over to the enemy of God and man. They sealed their ruin not
alone for the future, but for the present life. Temptation overcame them.
They grew up a curse to the world, a grief and shame to those
who gave them being. Even in seeking a preparation for God's service, many
are turned aside by wrong methods of education. Life is too generally regarded as
made up of distinct periods, a period of learning and the period of doing,
of preparation and of achievement. In preparation for a life of service,
the youth are sent to school to acquire knowledge by the study of books.
Cut off from the responsibilities of everyday life, they become absorbed in study and
often lose sight of its purpose. The ardor of their early consecution dies out,
and too many take up with some personal selfish ambition. Upon their graduation,
thousands find themselves out of touch with life they have so long dealt with.
The abstract and theoretical that when the whole being must be roused to meet
the sharp contests of real life, they are unprepared. Instead of the noble
work they purpose, their energies, are engrossed in a struggle for mere subsistence
after repeated disappointments, in despair even of earning an honest livelihood, many drift
into questionable or criminal practices. The world is robbed of the service it might
have received, and God is robbed of the souls he longed to uplift in
noble and honor as representatives of himself. Many parents er in discriminating between their
children in the matter of education. They make almost any sacrifice to secure the
best advantages for one that is bright and apt, But these opportunities are not
thought a necessity for those who are less promising. Little education is deemed essential
for the performance of life's ordinary duties. But who is capable of selecting from
a family of children the ones upon whom or rest the most important responsibilities.
How oft from human judgment has here proved to be at fault. Remember the
experience of Samuel, when sent to anoint from the sons of Jesse one to
be king over Israel. Seven noble looking youth passed before him. As he
looked upon the first in features, comely, in form, well developed,
and in bearing princely, the prophet exclaimed, surely the lords anointed is before
him. But God said, look not at his countenance or on the height
of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not
as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord
looketh on the heart. So of all the seven, the testimony was the
Lord hath not chosen these. And not until David had been called from the
flock was the prophet permitted to fulfill his mission. The elder brothers from whom
Samuel would have chosen, did not possess the qualifications that God sought to be
essential in a ruler of his people. Proud, self centered, self confident.
They were set aside for the one whom they lightly regarded, one who
had preserved the simplicity and sincerity of his youth, and who, while little
in his own sight, could be trained by God for the responsibilities of the
kingdom. So today, in many a child whom the parents would pass by,
God sees capabilities far above those revealed by others who are thought to possess
great promise, And as regards like possibilities, who is capable of deciding what
is great and what is small? How many a worker in the lowly places
of life, by setting on foot agencies for the blessing of the world,
has achieved results that kings might envy. Let every child then receive an education
for the highest service in the more so thy seed, and in the evening,
withhold not thine hand, for thou knowest not which shall prosper, Whether
this or that The specific place appointed us in life is determined by our capabilities.
Not all reach the same development, or do with equal efficiency the same
work. God does not expect for Hyssop to attain the proportions of the cedar
or the olive, the height of the stately palm, but each could aim
just as high as the union of human with divine power makes it possible for
him to reach. Many do not become what they might because they do not
put forth the power that is in them. They do not, as they
might, lay hold on divine strength. Many are diverted from the line in
which they might reach the truest success, seeking greater honor or a more pleasing
task. They attempt something for which they are not fitted. Many a man
whose talents are adapted for some other calling is ambitious to enter a profession,
and he who might have been successful as a farmer, an artisan, or
a nurse feels inadequately the position of a minister, a lawyer, or a
physician. There are others, again, who might have filed a responsible calling,
but who, for want of energy, application, or perseverance, content
themselves with an easier place. We need not follow more closely God's plan of
life. To do our best in the work that lies nearest, To commit
our ways to God, and to watch for the indications of His providence.
These are rules that insure safe guidance in the choice of an occupation. He
who came from heaven to be our example, spent nearly thirty years of his
life in common mechanical labor. But during this time he was studying the Word
and the works of God, and helping teaching or whom his influence could reach.
When his public ministry began, he went about healing the sick, comforting
the sorrowful, and preaching the gospel to the poor. This is the work
of all his followers. He that is greatest among you, he said,
Let him be as the younger, and he that is chief, as he
that doth serve, For I am among you, as he that serveth.
Love and loyalty to Christ are the spring of all true service. In the
heart touched by His love, there is begotten a desire to work for him.
Let this desire be encouraged and rightly guided. Whether in the home,
the neighborhood, or the school. The presence of the poor, the afflicted,
the ignorant, or the unfortunate, should be regarded not as a misfortune,
but as affording precious opportunity for service. In this work, as in
every other skill, is gay in the work itself. It is by training
in the common duties of life, and in ministry to the needy and suffering,
that efficiency is assured. Without this, the best meant efforts are often
useless and even harmful. It is in the water, not on the land,
that men learn to swim. Another obligation, too often likely regarded one
that to the youth awakened to the claims of Christ, needs to be made
plain, is the obligation of church relationship, very close and sacred is the
relation between Christ and his Church. He the bridegroom and the church. The
bride, he the head, and the Church the body. Connection with Christ
then involves connection with his church. The church is organized for service and in
a life of service to Christ. Connection with the church is one of the
first steps. Loyalty to Christ demands the faithful performance of church duties. This
is an important part of one's training, and in a church imbued with the
Master's life, it will lead directly to effort for the world. Without there
are many lines in which the youth can find opportunity for helpful effort. Let
them organize into bands for Christian service, and the co operation will prove an
assistance and an encouragement. Parents and teachers, by taking an interest in the
work of the young people, will be able to give them the benefit of
their own larger experience and can help them to make their efforts effective for good.
It is acquaintance that awaken sympathy and sympathy is the spring of effective ministry.
To awaken in the children and youth sympathy and the spirit of sacrifice for
the suffering millions in the regions beyond, Let them become acquainted with these lands
and their peoples. In this line, much might be accomplished in our schools.
Instead of dwelling on the exploits of the Alexanders and Napoleons of history,
let the pupils study the lives of such men as the Apostle Paul and Martin
Luther, as Moffett and Livingstone and Carey, and the present daily unfolding history
of missionary effort. Instead of burdening their memories with an array of names and
theories that have no bearing upon their lives, and to which once outside the
schoolroom, they rarely give a thought, Let them study all lands in the
light of missionary effort, and become acquainted with the peoples and their needs.
In this closing work of the Gospel, there is a vast field to be
occupied, and more than ever before. The work is to enlist helpers from
the common people. Both the youth and those older in years. Will be
called from the field, from the vineyard and from the workshop, and sent
forth by the Master to give his message. Many of these have had little
opportunity for education, but Christ sees in them qualifications that will enable them to
fulfill His purpose. If they put their hearts into the work and continue to
be learners. He will fit them to labor for him. He who knows
the depths of the world's misery and despair, knows by what means to bring
relief. He sees on every hand souls in darkness, bowed down with sin
and sorrow and pain. But he sees also their possibilities. He sees the
height to which they may attain. Although human beings have abused their mercies,
wasted their talents, and lost the dignity of god like manhood, the Creator
is to be glorified in their redemption. The burden of labor for those needy
ones in the rough places of the earth, cries slays upon those who can
feel for the ignorant, and for such as are out of the way.
He will be present to help those whose hearts are susceptible to pity, though
their hands may be rough and unskilled. He will work through those who can
see mercy in misery and gain in loss. When the light of the world
passes by, privilege will be discerned in hardship, order, in confusion,
success in apparent failure. Calamities will be seen as disguise, blessings, woes
as mercies. Laborers from the common people, sharing the sorrows of their fellow
men, as their masters shared the sorrows of the whole human race, will
by faith see him working with them. The great day of the Lord is
near. It is near and hasteth greatly, and a world is to be
warned with such preparation as they can gain. Thousands upon thousands of the youth
and those older in years should be giving themselves to this work. Already many
hearts are responding to the call of the Master worker, and their numbers will
increase. Let every Christian educator give such workers sympathy and cooperation. Let him
encourage and assist the youth under his care in gaining a preparation to join the
ranks. There is no line of work in which it is possible for the
youth to receive greater benefit. All who engage in ministry are God's helping hand.
They are co workers with the angels. Rather, they are the human
agencies through whom the angels accomplish their mission. Angels speak through their voices and
work by their hands, and the human workers cooperating with heavenly agencies have the
benefit of their education and experience as a means of education. What university course
can equal this? With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly
trained might furnish. How soon the message of a crucified, risen, and
soon coming savior might be carriage to the whole world. How soon might the
end come, the end of suffering and sorrow and sin. How soon,
in place of a possession here with its blight of sin and pain, our
children might receive their inheritance. Where the righteous shall inherit the land and dwell
therein for ever, where the inhabitant shall not say I am sick, and
the voice of weeping shall be no more heard. End of Chapter thirty one.