October 1927
690
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
Ed th e M ach in ist B y C harles S teizle
Mr. Spurgeon used a striking illustration to bring out this text. He said there was a little plant, small and stunted, growing under the shade of a broad-spreading oak. The little plant valued the shade and quiet rest which its noble friend afforded. A woodman with his sharp axe came one day and felled the oak. The plant wept and cried, “My shelter is gone. Every rough wind will blow upon me!” No,” said the angel of the flower. “Now will the sun get at thee, now will the shower fall On thee in more copious abundance. Now thy stunted form shall spring up into loveliness and thy flbwer, which could never have'-*'expanded itself to perfection, shall now laugh in the sunshine and men shall say, ‘How greatly hath this plant increased ; how glorious hath become its beauty through the removal of that which was its shade and delight.’ ” This is the truth in our passage. The purpose of affliction relieves the pain of affliction.
H E had no particular talent. He was just an ordinary machinist. But Ed Douglas was more highly re spected by the two thousand men in the shop than any other chap in the place. His was one of the names that were familiar to pretty nearly every chap working in that big plant. Ed was not popular with the men because he set out to make himself popular by always agreeing with his shopmates. Indeed, he often went full tilt against their opinions, and, principally, against their actions. Often I have seen him approach the fellow who had just ripped out a string of oaths and rebuke him, although never with a suggestion of Pharisaical supremacy. He was sim ply trying to show the blasphemer that it would pay him to cut out his foolish, senseless swearing. He did not belong to any of the fraternal organizations, but I have known him to spend many a night with a sick shopmate. Frequently he left in the home part of the not over-abundant cash in his pocket, but, better than that, he left a srfiile on the face of the tired, discouraged nurse- wife—the children wished that he might come again, and the sick man felt the cheer of his presence. He was an arbitrator in personal disputes in the shop, and the boys never repudiated his decisions. Not infre quently he dared approach the boss in behalf of a sup posedly wronged fellow workman. The boys admired his disinterested nerve. Somehow, he seemed to know when the rest of us had met with adversity, or even the smaller discouragements which make life seem hard. Always was there a strong, cheerful word which usually braced up the fellow who had thought that the whole world had gone wrong. The apprentices were particularly fond of him, because he appeared to have a lively interest in their affairs. Never did he seem to hand out wisdom in large chunks, with an air of patronage or paternalism. Never was there a suspicion of cant. Ed was just a sane, healthy-minded, strong-hearted, Christian working man, who felt there was a place for Christian living outside of the church building and away from the Sunday ser vices. May his kind increase. We need them. The sympa thetic touch of a shopmate counts for more than most of us imagine. Every morning brings its weight of woe, and every evening its burden. No matter what the cause, the need is ever the same, and, relief is usually found in the simple, manly message of love and sympathy manifested in the life of the fellow who works by our side. At least it will help, for it is doing just what the great Carpenter did and what He would continue to do were He upon earth. That’s what made Douglas, the machinist, a bigger factor in the lives of those two thousand working men than any other single individual. It paid him, too. Anyway, you’d think so, if you could see his face while he worked— worked for men and for God—just as a machinist. Afterward o f Affliction "All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous, but grievous: yet afterwards it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteous ness.’’—Heb. 12:11. E NTER into the mind of Christ and you will rise above the level of earthly troubles, and looking down upon life as He looks, you will see a great moral purpose being wrought out.
Gone Home B y J ohn M eek , I n M emory of H is D aughter (2 Cor. 5 :8)
1. GONE to those fair scenes of unsullied light, GONE to where the glorified never see night, Gone there to follow “The Lamb,’’: robed in white— Our Loved One. 2. GONE to the man of the “City of Nain,” GONE there to worship “The Lamb that was slain,” GONE to be “Like Him” and ever re main— Our Loved One. 3. GONE to be with Him in paradise fair, GONE to a portion “Far Better” up there, GONE where all saved ones God’s glory declare. Our Loved One. 4. GONE where our God wipes all tears away, GONE where all saints dwell through God’s endless day, GONE to see Jesus, and Gone there to stay — Our Loved One. 5. GONE to know fully the Father’s own love, GONE where “The Sons” live in Glory above, GONE there forever, GOD’S FULNESS TO PROVE— Our Loved One.
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