THE KING’S BUSINESS We can persuade a hundred men of the truth where we cannot knock it into the head qf one. Every Chris- tian worker should learn and never forget the immeas urable superiority of gentle and patient persuasiveness
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Persuasiveness vs. Pugnaciousness.
to contentious and dictatorial argumentativeness. The wife of one of the great est religious leaders that America ever knew once said of him to the writer, “He is the most yielding man I ever knew, but he always has his way.” They certainly should. That is what Christ has called Ought Christians us to be, soldiers (2 Tim. 2 :3). But what war should to Go to l War ? they go to ? Ah ! that is the question. The war against Satan (Eph. 6:12, 13); the war against sin and unbelief and error in all its countless forms. We should fight the good fight of faith (2 Tim. 4:7). Oh, that Christians, in these days of courageous, merciless war, would be as courageous in the warfare to which God has called us as the armies of the world are at the present time in defense of national interests and ambitions. Oh, that we might be as merciless in dealing with sin and error and unbelief as the armies of the world are in dealing with their fellowmen to whom they are opposed in battle. If there is any fact that Christians in the présent day need to be impressed with it is the fact that they aré in this world as soldiers, soldiers of Jesus Christ. We are not here for a picnic or a frolic, we are here to fight. It is a hard battle that we have on hand. In order to win in this battle we need to take unto us the whole armor of God, and having put the armor on we need to stand, withstand and fight. We are not to be “carried to the skies -on flowery beds of ease,” we must fight to gain the-prize, and it may be sail through bloody seas. We should rejoicé that we are called to be soldiers. I do not believe much in man fighting his fellowmen, but I do believe in fighting the devil and sin and unbelief, and I do not believe in com promise or arbitration in this war. x In these days the thoughts of most men are more occu- Entangled. , pied with soldiers and war than with any other subject. Paul says, “No man that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Cor. 2:4). The thought is, if we are to be efficient soldiers for Jesus Christ we should keep free from everything that would entangle us and impede us in our warfare. This, of course, does not mean that a Christian soldier should withdraw himself entirely from secular life or pursuits. Paul himself wrought as a tent maker while preaching the gospel. But it does mean to avoid all business, social, or domestic entanglements that will interfere with our successful warfare as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, and so render it impos sible for us to please Him who enrolled us as soldiers. How many a Christian allows himself to get entangled, to the great hindrance of his warfare for Christ. Before entering upon any business, social, or domestic enterprise we should first ask ourselves very honestly and prayerfully, will this be an entanglement, will it in any way interfere with the consecration of my every power and every moment to Christ and His holy war, will it interfere with my moving out where He may lead at a moment’s call? It is a blessed thing to be thoroughly disentangled and ready to move out at a moment’s call, to the great Captain’s call.
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