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April 1943
Motto: “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev, 1:5), The King’s Business
"I MUST HELP THE JEWS"
“Everything I have seems going or gone—yet I Must Help the Jews." Thus wrote a child of God whose soul had been stirred to its depths be cause of the tragic condition of the Jews throughout the world. “I Must Help the Jews!” Dear child of God, they are still God’s people, beloved for the fathers’^ sakes; and because you have been born again, you love what He loves; and you know that He still loves Israel with an everlasting love. “I Must Help the Jews!” #Driven like cattle and h u n t e d animals, through the fields and forests of Europe; tortured, harassed, brutally beaten, stumbling their way through the bloody attacks of Nazi hate, seeking in vain a place of shelter— what a Christianity for .the Jews to gaze upon! “I Must Help the Jews!” In the face of such a crisis, may God help His true Church to awake! May we who are truly His fill to the full our measure of duty in behalf of a peo ple now facing the spectacle of a world civilization organizing in solid mass for the greatest outburst of Jew-hate the world has ever known! Dear Reader, will you say “I, Too, Must- Help the Jews” ? Help us to tell them “These things you have suf fered are not things which Christians do!” This is an S.O.S. It is Israel’s eleventh hour. So swiftly does the world cataclysm move, i this may be the last call before the trumpet blows, and you will be face to face with a Christ who may look into your eyes and ask, “What have you done for these, my brethren?” Matt. 25:40. AMERICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS TO TH K IEW8, INC. 31 Throop Avenue . Brooklyn, N. V. 1 do want to help the Jews. Here Is $............... Use it as God directs, to make known/ the saving power of the Lord Jesus Ghristigtb Israel.
Number 4
Volume X X X IV
April, 1943
The True-to-the-Bible Family Magasine
TABLE OF CONTENTS Ransom D . Marvin, Staff Artist
Cover Photograph by Screen Traveler, from Gendreau Th e W ord “ Happens” in Europe— John A. Patten..... — ..—...........------ .....122 Dr. Talbot’s Question Box....... ..........................................................................123 Around the K ing’s Table— Louis T. Talbot ....... ...........................................124 Three Days of Resurrection— Norman B. Harrison ......................................125 “ Jesus Doeth A ll Things W e ll”— Mrs. Hugh B. Evans , Jr. ______________ 126 Gold Star at Easter ( A Pantomime)— Helen Frazee-Bower ............ .............129 This Qne Th ing This Easter ( A Symposium).............................................. 131 Bible' Institute Family Circle............................................................. .......—.......132 International Lesson Commentary........ .............................................................134 Notes on Christian Endeavor— Chester J, Padgett, Ruth Charlton Uhlinger, Canard Sandy , Mildred Dean Rice, Miriam J. Davis...'.. ...... 146 Daily Devotional Readings.................................................................................152 Junior King’s Business— Martha S. Hooker ....................................................157 The Official Organ of THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Inc. LOUIS T. TALBOT M ILDRED M. COOK Editor-In-Chief Managing Editor INFORMATION FOR SUBSCRIBERS SUBSCRIPTION PR ICE: “ The King’s Business“ is published monthly, $1.00—one year; $1.50—two years; 50 cents—six months; 10 cents—single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. ^ Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REM ITTANCE —Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express or post office money order payable to “ The King’s Business.” Date of expiration will show plainly each month on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVERTISING— For information with reference to advertising in “ The King’s Business,” address the Advertising Manager, 558 South Hopei Street, Los Angeles, Calif., or our eastern representative, Religious Press Association, 51 No. 52nd St., Philadelphia, Pa. MANUSCRIPTS—“ The King’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent in for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7. 1938, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28, 1925, embodied in paragraph 4, section 538, P. L. and R., authorized October 1, 1518, and November 13, 1938. THE KING’S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif.
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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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The Word "Happens" in Europe By JOHN A . PATTEN
I N A BROADCAST message to the Dutch people some time ago, the Q u e e n of the Netherlands ex pressed her gratitude that the Word, of God was “happening” in Holland— a curious but arresting phrase that de serves examination. When Her Ma jesty declared that the Word of God was “ happening” 'i n H o l l a n d she meant that the Bible was not merely being read, but read with such effect that it was making its influencé felt in men’s lives. There is all the dif ference between reading the Bible with the eyes and reading it with the heart—all the difference between turn ing to the Bible as a duty and turning to it in the agony of a great need. The Queen meant that her people had found the Bible to be an anchor of hope in the storm that had swept across their land—a source of strength and peace in the midst of overwhelm ing catastrophe. The Bible in Holland That the Queen was not mistaken in her diagnosis of the situation is borne out by independent evidence from ,many sources. Dr. Visser t’Hooft, Secretary of the World Council of Churches, paid a visit to the Bible House recently and spoke to the Com mittee on the religious situation in Europe. In the course of his address Dr. t’Hooft mentioned that he had béen in correspondence with Dr. Rut gers, Secretary of the Netherlands Bi ble Society, and his letters indicated
Inspiration from the Bible Not only the clergy but also the school teachers of Norway are making a.stand for freedom, and we may con fidently predict that Quisling, for all his vaunted power, w ill be finally un able to stand against c h u r c h and school in the struggle for the soul of Norway.' Whencé comes the strëngth to with stand the principalities and powers arrayed against the Norwegian peo ple? Bishop Berggrav, t h e honored leader of the Norwegian Church, who has himself been deposed from of fice, gives this moving testimony: “ There are not a few people who now know that their Testament is their most precious possession. Looking back on the past year we realize how the Spirit of God has made God’s Word new and fresh for us every day, in every situa tion, in every new distress. The Word has taken hold of us. God has supported, chastised, and com forted us. We h a y e found the Word when we needed it most,, and it has found and led us to God. We have shared the Word we have found with others. . . . Many who sit and suffer in involuntary solitude have Holy Scripture as „ their only reading matter, their only light . . . thanks be to God, who does not leave us in dark ness, but has given us His Holy Word in clear testimony to all consciènces.” A Widespread Demand The Word is “ happening” not only in Holland and Norway, but also in
that in the midst of their sufferings many ^people were feeling the need of the Bible. “People can now be reached with the Bible who could not be touched before.” , Dr.. t’Hooft referred to a spiritual' movement in Amsterdam which had been so fruitful that it presented a problem—-where to find the leaders to carry it on. Thousands of people wanted to come into B i b l e study groups, but leaders were lacking; and sq it was decided to have: courses of study for group leaders, and these trained leaders would be ready to take over th$ work later on. It is apparent that there is a cer tain religious awakening in Holland, and that people are turning with ea gerness to the study of the Bible. Norway’s Testimony No one can follow without sympathy the struggle going on in Norway be tween the church and that Quisling government which derives its author ity from Berlin. Every conceivable effort' has been made to bring' the church into subjection to the secular power, but in vain. The Norwegian Church, led by its bishops, has flatly refused to render to Caesar the things that are God’s. Spiritual liberty is more precious than worldly advan tage, and the threat to deprive bishops and clergy of their office moved them not at all. When the threat:was car ried ou t. and certain bishops were superseded by Quisling nominees, both' bishops and clergymen ignored the action of the Government and continued to carry on their spiritual work.
[T h is article is a part of the record of the ■ work of the British and Foreign Bible Society , contained in “ The Bible in the World .” — E D IT O R ].
the Bible Society from supplying the Scriptures to c o u n t r i e s in enemy hands, but immediately hostilities cease, the Society will be ready to re sume, perhaps on a wider scale than ever before, the task of giving the Bible to Europe. Each one of us can have a'share in preparing the way by our prayers and our gifts.
Europe, the Bible Society circulated 909,000 volumes of Holy Scripture— impressive evidence of the great de mand for the Word of God among the people of these lands, “ Prepare Ye the Way” The. Word of God is “ happening” in Europe today. The war 'prevents
PRAY This month, pray especially for the “household of faith” in Europe. many other European countries. In face of the trials through which the church on the continent is passing many people have turned again to the ’ Bi ble, and have riot turned in vain. The fires of persecution have fallen on the pages of the Book and made them glow with new meaning and power. Take Finland—a c o u n t r y with which the Bible Society has had long and close associations. Our represen tative there, Mr,. Piminoff, is carrying on the work ip spite of extraordinary difficulties, and such information as reaches us points to the fact that there is an urgent demand for the Word of God in Finland, and in neigh boring countries. He arranged for the printing of 45,000 Finnish Scriptures, a special edition of the New Testa ment and Psalms for Finnish soldiers, and an edition ‘of the Swedish Bible. He was also making plans for the publication of Ukrainian and Russian New Testaments. What is the significance of all this activity? There is evidently a real and widespread demand for the Bible in these Northern lands. In the midst of war and suffering, men are in quiring whether the Scriptures hgve a messag^ for them. Once more we find that iri~ these, countries of North ern Europe the Word of God is “hap pening.” , As the war goes on news from 'countries under Nazi oppression gets scantier,’ and we have not been able to ascertain what were the circulation figures in the great majority of Euro pean countries,during 1941, but one remarkable fact mu s t be recorded: During 1940, in Central and Eastern
Dr. Talbots Question Box Questions (or answer, in this department should be sent to the E d i t o r i a l Department, THE KING’S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope Street, Los Angeles, CaliL
give divine help: a thing that no mother, however good, is able to do. QUE .: A friend of mine says that every Jew> who lived and died before the crucifixion of Christ was saved, because Christ’s atone ment wiped out all their sins. If so, would this .not apply to all nations, as well as to Jews? Yes, it would if the statement of your friend were true. But it is not true. The Lord said to the Jews of 'His time, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). And again, “Whither I go, ye cannot come” .(John 8:22): The Old Testament Scriptures abound with the teaching that being a descendant of Abraham w ill avail nothing, apart from Abraham’s faith in a coming Re deemer. God has had one plan of sal vation from the beginning. People who were saved during the Old Testa- [ Continued on Page 132]
QUE .: Is there any t r u t h in the statement that a Christian mother, after death, looks down always from heaven on her chil dren and knows when they are good or bad? This is not the teaching of the Word of God, and one may be glad that it is not. Why should a mother in heav en have to bear the burdens of earth life, with its responsibilities, its dis appointments, or even its victories? There is nothing in the Bible that shows that the saints who have gone to heaven have any direct contact with saints or sinners who are on earth. Such teaching is a kind of Spir itism and fosters much error. It is much more Wholesome to dwell upon the thought that there is One in the Glory who is aware of all that tran spires on earth, and for those who trust Him “ he ever liveth to make inter cession” (Heb. 7:25). He—the Lord Jesus Christ—cannot only see condi tions on earth, but He can and does
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Around the King's Table LOUIS T. TALBOT, Editor-In-Chief
who has any germiné jóy, and the se cret of how: to obtain it, has a right to selfishly hoard what he has. In this issue, there are shared rwith readers at least four articles that set forth the basis and the demonstration, of true joy in Christ. May,God grant that all who read “Jesus Doeth A ll Things Well” (p. 126); o r '“This. One Thing This Easter” (p. 131), or “Three Days of Resurrection” (p. 125), or “ Gold Star at E a s t e r ” (p. 129) may find therein, Christ’s healing balm that can heal every sorrow of the heart. Comfort at the Cross Patronizing a restaurant where reli gious music is sung and played on the Lord’s Day, a few anonymous guests wrote letters of criticism to the man agement. This excellent reply was given: “We have never-felt that reli gion was gloomy. We believe it belongs with singing b i r d s and gay flowers. But when oùr hearts are touched by real sadness, all these are not enough; the soul must turn to God. We hope that deep sadness never has touched the hearts of our friends who w r o t e recently; but if it should come, we KNOW they will find s o l a c e at the foot of the Old Rugged Cross.” No Joshua Some readers saw a deeper mean ing in the quotations, made by news commentators, of President Roosevelt’s address' delivered on the occasion of Washington’s birthday. The quota tions were: “We know that it was Washing ton’s simple steadfast faith that kept him to the essential princi- - pies of first things first. . . . It was Washington’s faith—and with it, his hope and his charity*—which , was responsible for the. stamina of Valley Forge—and the prayer at Valley Forge. - “ [Some] among us still believe in the age of miracles. They for get there is no J o s h u a in our midst. We cannot count on great Walls crumbling and falling when the trumpets blow' and the peo ples shout.” The President’s meaning is clear. But apart from that, is there not here the secret of all victory-and pow er? Joshua of the "Old Testament fore shadowed in type, the Lord J e s u s Christ. When “ there is no Joshua in the midst”—no recognition of the sov ereignty of the Son of God, in indivi dual lives or in nations—it is true ‘that “we cannot count on- great walls crumbling and falling when the trum pets blow and‘the peoples shout.” But he who trusts Him still can sav. “I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil, 4:13).
A Word from the Editor It has beep my privilege recently to have my first immediate contact with |missionary work. I have been in the heart of Mexico, not as far from civilization, geographically, as some mission fields, but I can scarcely conceive’ of degradation and supersti tion deeper or darker anywhere, or sin more flagrant, or consciences more seared than in the regions I visited. Along with it all, I have seen what the gospel of the .grace of God can do, even in such condition's. Our dear brother, W, Cameron Town send, of the Wycliffe Bible Transla tors, was my host, guide, and inter preter. Through his kindness, I met several of the Translators; more than twenty of these yourig people were formerly Students at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, and are now living under primitive conditions, among iso- 1a t e d Indian tribes, translating for them the riches of the Word of God. I praise God from the depths of my heart for having had this experience. It Has given me a clearer understand ing of the difficulties with which mis-1’ sionaries have to contend. It has in creased my appreciation of the value of prayer support on the part of the home church. It .has made me more determined than ever before to exalt Christ by e v e r y possible means—at- home and in the regions beyond. —L. T. T. This Issue In prayerfully sending f o r t h this Easter issue, the Editors have endeav ored to do two things maihly: To encourage prayer for nations. It is the purpose of this Easter num ber to extend the/rangé, of readers’ thought and their prayer interest to include the great spiritual needs, par ticularly in Europe today. In these troubled countries and their posses sions,' there are many true believers on the Lord Jesùs Christ, numberless hundreds of them suffering keenly. They need the prayers and sympathy of fellow Christians. In the past, not a few representa tives of the-'Bible Institute of Los An geles, along With other faithful mis sionaries, have b e e n , witnesses for Christ in various ones of the European countries. Now the opportunity for this ministry is largely closed. Prayer -is needed, that the doors again may be opened for the spread of the gos pel, in e v e r y country of the world.
Along with the material, and national aid that is given gladly to members of the Allied Nations, shall there not be included that most vital of all as sistance, the help that comes alone through earnest, Christ-centered ;pray er? “Our worst needs,” wrote a repre sentative of the American Bible So ciety in Netherlands Indies, “ are for Dutch Bibles, English Testaments, pa tience, and prayer.”’ | In the second place, the purpose of this issue is this: To help others to experience true resurrection joy. These are hard days and sad days for most people.- No one
THERE, BUT FOR THEE By MARTHA SNELL NICHOLSON He who said, "Let there be light," Was shut within the darkness ' of the womb. And He who said, "Let there be life." Lay still in death within a silent tomb. He who made the burning sun Saw it grow cold and dark on Calvary, And He who brought us peace with God Cried out, “My God, Thou hast forsaken Mel" O suffering Christ who hung that day On that stark cross between the earth and sky— The shuddering sky which veiled its face— There, but for Thee, my Lord, hung I, hung II “ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5 :2 1) .
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Three Days of Resurrection By NORMAN B. HARRISON Minneapolis, Minn.
O NE WHO reads his New Testa ment with any care will realize that it has but little to say for the non-Christian thinker, who is still in the realm of speculation, un willing to accept the Bible’s facts and teachings as the only sure; sufficient, and solid ground on which to stand with any hope of reaching finality in spiritual things. Yet many a Christian man w ill unleash a whole battery of oratory in an effort to prove Immor tality, little realizing how dishonoring is such an attempt to Him who has already “brought life and immortal ity to light through the gospel.” Jesus settled the question of Immor tality for all men and for all time when He said, “The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice [the voice of the Son of God] and shall come forth” (John 5:28, 29). To deny or even ques tion this disclosure of assured resur rection is an entirely unchristian atti tude—the more so as we realize that the declaration is transmuted into demonstration by the Speaker’s own personal resurrection from the dead* The speculative side of the question, then, is settled. On the highest author ity, resurrection is assured to all men. The real question that should concern many is this: How can any one escape resurrection? Jesus continues in His teaching to point Out that there are two kinds of resurrection, dependent upon man’s relationship to Him or lack of such relationship. For the former awaits a “resurrection of life” ; for the latter a “ resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29). Would that men in this latter class might cease their unprofitable prating abdut resurrection and become seriously concerned as to whether they care to face it! With Paul, the believer longs to know “the power of his resurrection,” a power progressively unfolded in a past, present, and future of realization. They constitute three “ days” of resur rection: a Day of Past Achievement; a Day of Present Experience; a Day of Future Destiny. I. DAY OF PAST ACHIEVEMENT A Triumphant Victory Coupled with the death that went before, this constitutes the most sig nificant, the most far-reaching fact of history. One day Jesus voluntarily yielded Himself into the hands of
hate. They c r u c i f i e d Him.. They thought they had ended all, and were rid of Him forever. For His followers, it was a day of seeming defeat, leav ing a sense of utter despair. “We had hoped” was all the disciples could say. Then came the glad news: “He is risen” ; “We have seen the Lord,” In complete certification of the fact, to them and to us, “He showed himself alive after his passion by many in fallible proofs, being seen of them forty days” (Acts 1:3). But, some one asks, did He really rise? How do we know? The answer is simple and sure. There are three lines of irrefutable evidence: 1. Eye Witnesses. It is thus that events of history are authenticated to posterity. Moreover, the credibility of testimony rests in character. A crimi nal may, or may not, tell the truth. But these—Peter, James, John, the women, the many others—were of un impeachable character. They were moved by the highest motives. That they should concert together to de ceive is unthinkable. Further, the ele ment of surprise greatly enhances the value of their testimony.. They did not expect the resurrection. They were slow to accept what they saw and heard. A story was circulated in denial of His resurrection, but by whom? By enemies—those who hated Him. By bribers—those who hired Judas Iscar iot to betray Him. Finding the tomb empty and feeling the necessity of ex planation, they went the length of bribing the soldiers to say, “His dis ciples came by night, and stole ]iim away while we slept.” What puerile nonsense! The testimony of bribers
and sleepers, with money behind it, no one believes. It is a boomerang to all deniers of the bodily resurrection. It is refuted by: 2. His Personal Appearances. “He showed himself alive” to different in dividuals, to various groups, under varying circumstances. He conversed with them. He was known to them by characteristic actions, yes, and by the familiar tones of voice. He met their incredulity by saying, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh'and bones, as ye see me have” (Lk. 24:39). It is inescapable evidence; but it lives on in: 3. The Christian Era, in which the Church, the Lord’s Day supplanting the Seventh Day Sabbath, the Gospel, all are based upon the fact of- Christ’s [Continued on Page 128]
about Immortality. That is a question
n s
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"Jesus «. .
M OTHER and I were at the raneh, thirty miles from San Diego, on that night in tion had told me was to be any dif ferent from other nights'we had spent there. I had gone to bed and was sit ting up writing to Hugh. It was. very peaceful, I remember, the stillness of the night broken only by the restless rustle of branches against the house, moved by the cold night air. The sound of a car in the driveway brought me suddenly erect. “It must j be Hugh,” I thought excitedly. He could not always tell us when he was coming home from Tucson, so I thought nothing of a surprise visit. I slipped on a robe and went down stairs and out into the night to meet him. It was very dark and I paused to turn on the flood light that lighted the garden at night. Immediately the ★ [Drawn largely from letters which Mrs. Evans has written to personal friends, the message of these pages is sent forth with the prayer that others may find herein the basis of true Easter Joy. It was only this thought that made the writer willing for the article's publication. ‘*-1 am arixious," she said, "th a t not -jnuch prominence shall be given to Hugh or to me; too much cannot be said Of our wonderful Lord and what He has done for us—we must dwell on that." Mrs. Evans was graduated from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in 1933 and served for a time as Assistant Dean of Women where the Lord used her life and testimony rtehly. Hugh was her only child.—EDITOR.]
December, which no sense of premoni
STUDENT PILOT'S TESTIMONY By CHARLES H. INGRAM •
Hugh Evans was my instructor, and I loved him as I would a brother. We were about the same age. When we took off on thatfbright afternoon of December 11, 1942, neither of us realized it was Hugh’s last trip. He was such a swell pilot! Since I had reached my thirtieth hour of training, he had promised to teach me simple acrobatics. We climbed to a safe altitude before starting our air work. Our maneuver took us over the foothills of a small mountain rang«. After f >racticing loops, rolls, and spires, we decided to go down to a ower altitude. As Hugh started to pull up, a down draft caught us. The plane went out of control, and things happened too fast for either of'us to do anything. , After the crash, I was so bewildered and hurt that I did' not take in the fact that Hugh actually was gone. Later, in the hospital, though, I had some minutes of serious thinking. “Well,” I said to myself, “ when the Lord takes a fellow Home to heaven like Hugh, there is no need for any one to grieve.” Hugh was a Christian; we all knew it because he lived his religion. I remembered his quiet Voice as he spoke directions to me in the plane. He was always controlled, confident, and considerate of his pupils. He seemed to have an inner peace. ■ — Then I got to thinking: “ Here I am, still living, and Hugh Evans is dead. What is the meaning of all this?” It came over me in a flash: “ The Lord let you live because He has,work for you to do. He means that you snail realize the seri ousness of it and live closer to Him than you ever have before.” I had accepted the Lord Jesos Christ as my Saviour when only nine years old, but I hadn’t known much about letting Him be the Master of my life. I am determined now, however, that in all things “ HE shall have the preeminence.” I know that decision would please Hugh, fot it is one he lived by himself.
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' A MOTHER’S TESTIMONY Another star has turned to gold, a son given in the service of his country. . . . I do not try to UNDERSTAND why my Lord has permitted this, nor do I ask why. To do that would be to question His love and His wisdom. My trust is FULLY in Him. There are tears, but I can truly say, “Jesus doeth all things well.”
. . . Doeth All Things W e i r By MRS. HUGH B. EVANS, JR.
this hour, fo r several days preceding this, I had been especially burdened to pray that the Lord would fully pos sess my boy, using him to leave an imprint of C h r i s t on his students’ lives. God had answered my prayer— not in the way I meant it—but in His way which is best. He makes no mis takes. And I knew, suddenly, that since God in His love and wisdom had taken Hugh to thb place of complete, safety and happiness, I could say, “Amen, Jesus.” “What about the student pilot?” I asked later. ' “He was badly »hurt,” I was told, “ but he is expected to recover.” I remember sighing gratefully, for I knew that when he was called sud denly into the presence of the Lord, my boy had been ready, trusting in Christ. Was this true of the other boy? I did not know. God's Answer to Prayer Mother and I left immediately for Tucson, and there the Lord let .me see how fully He had answered my prayer for Hugh. I did not see the earthly shell that was Hugh for he had been killed instantly, his body crushed. I chose to remember him as I had last seen him, the quick smile that lighted his face when something delighted him and his joy in life and service. 'That this had left its imprint on the lives of others, even as I had prayed, was soon evident. I was told that the whole of Tucson was touched by Hugh’s going. One said, “How did this boy have so many friends?” Many hearts were touched in a special way
when God took Hugh to Himself. Some were made to realize their need of a Saviour, and others, the need of walk ing closer to Hiqi. Bit by bit the Lord was showing me how He had used my boy. On Sunday afternoon, I went out to the hospital to see Charles, the stu dent who was with Hiigh at the time of the accident. He was still suffering from shock and concussion, so I was, permitted to stay only a few minutes. He seemed greatly touched and grate ful when I gave him the Gideon Tes tament that had been Hugh’s. I asked him whether he would like me to write to his mother, and he said, “Oh, yes!” . I have since heard from that mother, a sweet Christian woman, and she has told me how the Lord has been under taking in their home, and in her son’s life, in these recent eventful days. I read her Tetter through tears of gratl-, tude, for I saw in it a part of God’s answer to the prayer He had put in my heart. A little over a month after the acci dent, I stopped again in Tucson on my way to Alabama, and was able to get four of Hugh’s students for dinner. I found them to be sweet Southern boys. I loved them for their own sakes, and for Hugh’s. They told me of their memories of Hugh, how on Thanks giving he had taken them to a foot ball game and then to dinner in town. It had meant so much to the boys to get away from camp for a time. Rut that which gave me the deepest joy was to find that all four of the stu- [ Continued on Page 159]
shadows were dispelled and I walked along the path between the strong live-oak trees that I loved, on out to meet Hugh. I saw at once that it was not Hugh’s car that had stopped, but that of some friends of oUrs. A stranger was with them. When they had introduced him, he turned to me and said that he was from the San Diego division o f the Ryan School of Aeronautics, but that fact caused me no alarm. When he asked whether I had a son who was an instructor for Ryan’s in Tucson, I answered, “ Yes," still without apprehension. He then told me there had been a bad acci dent that afternoon. “ How seriously was Hugh hurt?” I asked quickly. “ I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “ for your son the accident was fatal.” The news was such a shock that I did not grasp it all at once. Had Hugh been a student pilot I might have been more apprehensive over his fly ing, but he was thoroughly at home in the air. Had he been in a combat zone, meeting hourly danger in enemy territory, I might have waited with my heart steeled for some such hour. But for this I had not been prepared. When I began to realize that he was gone, actually gone, I was crush ed. But even with that realization, the tender compassion of my heav enly Father encompassed me, and I felt “ underneath . . . the everlasting arms.” I cannot describe it, but it was precious. Tears came to relieve the heart, but with them there was His peace, for had I not been committing .Hugh to His keeping? Then I knew that God had been preparing me for
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DAYS OF RESURRECTION [ Continued from Page 125]
shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4). Note once more the “ also” ; our sharing in it makes His glory, complete, even as we read, “When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (2 Thess.' 1:10). And again: “Now are we the sons of God . . . when hé shall 'appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). How eagerly should we be “ looking for the blessed hope arid appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesús Christ” (Tit. 2:13, R. V.)! The Christian is not; asked to look for death, but for Him; for the day of His appearing, wherein we shall share His glory in completeness, even to a body that is deathless, glorified, like unto His own. III. DAY O F PRESENT EXPERIENCE A Satisfying Reality We xwho believe on Christ have “ passed out of death into life” (John 5:24, R V.). Crucified with Christ, we are dead, buried, risen with Him, that “so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). This fact ushers us into a day of fellowship with Him. He, the Lord of life, cannot fellowship with the dead; only with those who are risen with Him (cf. Col. 3:1). To all such the Jiv ing Christ freely comes, imparts to them His life in ever fresh measure, indwells them by His presence, claims them as His very own in vital union and satisfying intimacy, works in them holy aspirations and desires, uses them as His own Body in serving Himself; enables them to say, with Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20, R. V.). Resurrection truth requires just this sort of present-day demonstration. Our future hope of resurrection must rest in a present realization of it;' the power of resurrection displayed in a “ putting off” of the old man, and a “putting on” of the new man—which could well be capitalized to designate the New Man, even Christ Jesus, and our life in Him; the translation of His once-for-all victory into the practical day-by-day victories of undefeated, winsome life in Him. -This experience spells Reality. To those who seek to -live “in him,” as the sphere of life's l i v i n g , even thoughts and afféctions as well as actions in conscious accord with the living Christ, the things of the dead past sluffed off and discarded—to all such He becomes as real as breath and being. Fondly the heart whispers, “My beloved is mine, and I am his.”
The missionary replied: “I should be pleased to hear what it is.” This is what the Mohammedan said: “You know when we go .to Mecca, we find, at least a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is your Mecca, you find nothing f, but an empty grave.” But the missionary smiled and said: “That is just the difference: Moham med is dead; Mohammed is in his coffin. And all false systems'of reli gion and philosophy are in their cof fins. But Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is to include all nations and kindreds and tribes, is not here; He is risen. And all power in heaven and on earth is given unto Him. That is our hope.” II. DAY OF FUTURE PROSPECT A Glorious Destiny “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). When these forthright words of our Lord are taken at their1 face value they leave no room for the merest; Shadow of a doubt in the heart of any follower of His. Life and death for us have but one assured outcome— resurrection. The certainty of it is two fold: because of His resurrection, mak ing possible that of others; because of our relationship to Him, making us sharers in His triumph. Thus the apostle, expouhding the certainties of resurrection for believers, links our resurrection with His in that climactic sunburst of gratitude: “Thanks be to God, which ’ giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). Beautiful significance attaches to •the word “ also.” Our Lord’s résurrec tion, standing alone, would be wholly and utterly incomplete. It was never so intended. His had ours always in view. The victory of His lies in the fact that it included ours. Our resur rection w ill be the rounding out of His. But more;. our resurrection is of such glorious import that it touches the two greatest events in history. While, in Its backward reach, if rests upon the triumphant resurrection of Christ, in its forward reach it is to be realized only at His second coming. The revealed order of resurrection is this: “Christ the firstfruits; afterward [next in order] they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Cor. 15:23). Nor does His coming mean merely résur rection, but transformation as well: “ For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait [look expectant ly] for a Saviour, the Lord JesuS Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory” (Phil. 3:20, 21, R. V.). So this prospect embodies our Des tiny. a destiny of ineffable glory. Of this the Scriptures speak with utmost clarity and confidence. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
resurrection and derive their validity as well as vitality from that fact. These are not only evidences that Christ rose from the dead,- but also that He lives on today in the power of an endless life. This fact spells Victory, a triumph ant victory. He died with a great pur pose. He said He would rise. The Scrip tures said He would. He did. The pur pose for which He died must have been achieved. He “once suffered for sins, the just for'the unjust, that he might bring us to God’M l Pet. 3:18). Surely He has. A missionary in India, having re lated the gospel story, 'was approached by a Mohaihmedan who said: “You must admit we have one thing you have not, and* it is better than any thing you have.” The speaker believed the statement to be irrefutable.
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April 1943
S t a r at (A Pantomime) By HELEN FRAZEE-BOWER
small children. She seats herself up on the garden bench and opens her Bible; while they cluster about her.) Reader: The Garden of Eden story as_ told in Genesis 2:8-17 and Genesis 3:l/-8. Music: Group of Primary children singing in t h e distance, “Jesus Loves the Little Chil dren.” (Musical setting of this scene may be varied to include several numbers by Primary children if so de sired.)
SCENE I. The Garden of Innocence. A garden setting which may be used for the two follow ing scenes, with slight varia tion. (Preferably a man should read these lines and the introductory lines to the following scenes.) Reader; In the shadow of earth’s cool evening— That day when the world was new— God walked in the garden with Adam, As loving companions do;
But the sweetness of that communion Held nothing of permanence: It vanished the day sin entered The Garden of Innocence. Now scarcely the heart remembers 'The beauty of that far day, Except when the eye envisions The innocent child at play. For lost is the world’s bright Eden, And he, who would be restored, Must come with the faith of childhood 4To walk and talk with the.Lord. (Enter the Mother with a group of
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SCENE II. The Garden of Suffering. Same garden with the flow ers removed, possibly, and a mbre somber setting. Header: Yes, lost is the world’s bright Eden— But, God who remembers still, Came once again to a garden That night on Olive’s hill; And there, by His friends forsaken, In the place of Gethsemane, God prayed alone ,in a garden And went to His Calvary. The depth of the thing-He suffered No human can understand— That night He turned from the garden And went to the cross He planned; There was never a grief like His grief, There was never such pain, and yet, God loans us an hour of anguish That we may not forget: For scarcely the heart remembers That agony lone and brief; Except when the shades of darkness Are drawn on its own stark grief, And all who would follow Jesus, And close to His presence cling, W ill find that their steps must enter The Garden of Suffering. Music: “ I Come to the Garden Alone.” This should be sung by a woman’s voice as the ' Mother enters the garden and seats, herself. When the song is finished she opens : her Bible. Reader: The ’ Gethsemane story as told in Mark 14:32-42. Music: A woman’s voice - singing: “ It Was Alone the Saviour Prayed in Dark Gethsemane.” „ (Enter a messenger who hands her a letter from her soldier son. She opens if.) Reader: Dear Mom: We’re shipping off—I don’t know where: There is so very little one can say. I only know that Jesus w ill be there Because He has been with me, all the way; I only know that nothing can erase (However far my feet may have to roam) The changeless beauty of His quiet face, Nor all the well-loved faces left at home. It will be Easter in the Garden soon . . Go pick a lily for me: Let it be The silent .pledge that, morning, night and noon, My love goes with you all. We cannot see Into the morrow, but—“His w ill be done.”
There’s a gold star in the window of her home, As she waifc for one who nevermore w ill come; , . But, beyond the present gloom, She beholds the empty tomb— There’s a gold star in the window of her home. There’s a gold star in the window of -her heart, And its brilliance rends the darkness wide apart; As, by faith, she sees afar Jesus Christ, the Morning Star—^ There’s a .gold star in the window of her heart. (Mother seats herself and opens her Bible.) Reader: The Easter story as told in Mark 16:1-7. (When the reader has finished, the Mother takes a letter from her bosom, opens it, and scans the page.) Reader: We want to tell you- what it meant to know Your son, through all the trials of these days. There was no journey that he had to go For which he could not sound the note of praise; He always had a hand that we could hold In our uncertain moments: So'we came To share our hearts’ need with him, and he told Our lijtle griefs to God, in Jesus’ name. We’re just rough fellows, ma’am. We cannot see A ll that he saw, nor why he sac rificed ; So much for us; but still, we want to be True to the thing he taught: “Not I,.but Christ.” We want to share, some day, the heavenly joys That he shares now. God bless you; ma’am. THE BOYS. (She folds the letter and replaces it.) Reader: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resur rection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and be lieveth in me shall never die. Believ- est thou this?” (John 11:25, 26). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condem nation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
God bless and k e e p you—as He keeps YOUR SON. Music: A woman’s voice-singing: “I Need Thee Every Hour.” ★ SCENE III. The Garden of Victory. Same garden with a pro- „ fusion of lilies, and a gold star in evidence in the win dow in the background. Reader: In the hush of the early morning, Still wet with the night-wind’s breath, God walked again in a garden— He, who had been with death; And % sweet was the Easter message, To hearts that were wounded sore, That He spake that day to Mary: “ Go tell them I go before.” Oh, lost is the world’s bright Eden; But brighter than Eden—far— Are the sunlit heights of promise Where all believers are; And they, who will follow Jesus, Right up to the end, will see That the grave is the gate that leads to The Garden of Victory. Music: An unseen choir singing: “Lo, in the Grave He Lay.” (Enter the Mother. She plucks a lily and goes and stands for a moment before the gold star in her window.) Reader: There’s a gold star in the window of the world, For the hope of all the ages has been furled: Christ, the Son of God, has died— But. the tomb is open wide! • There’s a gold star in the window at the world.
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Music: An unseen male soloist sing ing: “I Know That My Re deemer Liveth.” (Mother closes her Bible and bows Prayer for Other Mothers What do they do, O Lord—the lonely ones Who have not Thee through all their hours of'pain— The countless mothers who have lost their sons her head in prayer.) Reader (a woman):
Without the hope of seeing them again? How do they fill the long, lone empty years, Of which each day is but a bitter part? How do t h e y quench the ceaseless flow of tears * That finds its fountain in a broken heart? O God, for other mothers I beseech The peace which makes my heart a quiet place;
Move on their wounded spirits, Lord, and teach Each one the precious meaning of Thy grace . ; . And give them, for the sons they mourn this day,, The Son of God who w ill not go away. (Repeat last stanza softly if desired.) Instrumental Number: “Sweet Peace, the Gift of God’s Love." Benediction.
This ONE Thing This EDITOR’S NOTE: To a number of ministers, letters were sent contain ing this question: “What one truth in particular will you stress this coming Easter?” The following are some of the answers that were received. The writers are, in every case, men to whom, the Lord has given large re sponsibility and who nu'mber thou sands of listeners in their audiences. It is heartening to know that these lis teners—and may it please God, many others also-r-will find the Easter .mes sage this year centered in “Christ and him crucified,” the all-sufficient One. •
Biblical philosophy of life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ. Un less the Christian hope of life after death is dominant in the minds of the multitude, sorrow w ill fall like a blighting frost ugon our people. Bereavement can very easily be turned to bitterness. Bitterness breeds discontent, and discontent fathers world-revolution. The bereaved must have a Sure faith to tide them over their sorrow and loss. As God gives me opportunity, I want to give them a true Biblical hope. WILLIAM WARD AYER, Pastor Calvary Baptist Church New York, N. Y. My Message Is: j “ T H E U P W A R D P U L L ” } Of the fact of the resurrection of Christ, there cannot be a shadow of a doubt. It is one of the indubitable certainties. But the power of a fact is to be distinguished from the fact it self. The power is the influence it ex ercises upon the individual. Thus Paul’s ambition was to know Christ
“ and the power of his resurrection.” It is this “ upward pull” that I shall emphasize this Easter season. Oncè when climbing a mountain by a rugged pathway, I came to a place which was perilous to negotiate. What a joy and relief it was t<5 me to hear a voice just above me saying, “ Give me your hand!” The thought that Christ was grip ping him, from the upper security of the heavenly places, turned the apos tle into a daring climber on the steeps that lead to God. Christ was above him—He was risen. He was stooping down to lift the climber up. Paul felt the urge of the true mountaineer which lies in seeking the things which are above. In union with Him, there was an upward pull. Paul turned his back upon thé lower things. Because Christ was risen, and above him, he must gain in Christ the heights of holy living. Was that, perhaps, not the dominant thought in his mind when he Wrote “the power of his resur rection” ? W. M. ROBERTSON, Pastor i Metropolitan Tabernacle Vancouver, B. C., Can. [Continued on Page 132]
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My Message Is: 1 “PERSONAL IMMORTALITY” I It is my plan to streSs the clear, Biblical teaching of personal immor tality this •Eastertime. I shall do this for two reasons. First, there are mul titudes in oùr church and radio audi ences who have been and are being bereaved through war casualties. In thè second place, now, as in the last war, the charlatans of Spiritism and other delusive evils are busy leading desperately bereaved and ignorant souls away from the truth as it is in Jesus the Son of God, who alone has immortality and who alone brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Our country in the last decade has turned to gross materialism and has lost, in large measure, its sense “of God and eternity. But now that death is claiming so many of our young men in the mid-morning of their exist ence, our country is awaking to the fact that, for those who are left be hind, earthly life cannot be complete. The church must give to a deluded world the stabilizing, comforting,
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