THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S of th is situation. Here are men who had heen given power to cast ou t devils and to do good and yet they are help less in th e presence of th e bleeding h ea rt of a fath e r who is crying for th eir help in the behalf of his perishing hoy. Jesu s intended th a t they should under stand His g rea t teachings in order th a t they m ight go out and teach th e world and yet they were so blinded by th eir own selfishness and th eir selfish ambi tions th a t they could not understand even the simplest statem ents regarding the fundam ental things of the Kingdom of Heaven and yet they are disputing among themselves as to “who is g reat est.” The simple obvious and bald fact is th a t n on e of them were g reat a t th a t time. They were all poor m iserable fellows who were to tally failing in th e th ing th a t they were intended to he and do. Hence, when they are brought into th e presence of Jesus Christ and they see th e littleness and the meanness of the th ing th a t they were talk ing about and realizing something of th e ir help lessness and stup id ity they are dumb— they have nothing to say, and th a t is in a large m easure th e place in which many a Christian and th e church as a whole stand today. In th is aw ful crisis in which th e world is being baptized w ith a new baptism of fire and blood we are beginning to realize th a t we were disputing as to real greatness and questioning as to p rio rity and recogni tion while we were absolutely helpless in the presence of th e evil unclean sp irits of lust, covetousness and greed that, were tearing our youth to pieces and have driven us now to th e place where we have to sacrifice our hoys by th e million. W hatever our final con clusions may he regard ing th e a ttitu d e and responsibility of th e church there is no use in our try ing to evade th e appalling, ugly, obvious fact th a t we did not cast the demons out. Not only th a t b u t we are face to face in a very real way w ith the fact th a t we have not understood the g reat message of Jesus
17 Christ concerning His cross and its meaning in the redemption of the world. We had though t th a t th e world could be redeemed w ithou t blood but God in th e bloody fields of F rance and F land ers and on the burning desert of Mesopotamia is teaching us today th a t redemption and victory come through bloody sacrifice. So Jesus took a little child and set him in the m idst of th e disciples and then took him in his arm s and began to teach them the simple fact th a t the final te st of greatness is vital service. He literally said to them— you have heen trying tQ find out as to who is g reatest among you— I will tell you. The g reatest man among you is the man who is serving most faithfully. The man who has done most, to help the life of a little child like this. You could not help th a t little hoy in yonder valley because you lack the vital ele m ent of greatness th a t makes possible a service th a t frees children from the things th a t destroy and prostitute. G reatness is determ ined by th e meas ure of real service rendered. So God in these days is trying to teach the church th a t greatness does not consist in historic associations and profundity of creeds or elaborateness of ritu a l or am ount of noise in song and shout bu t in real service. God is showing to us th a t th e world is beginning to realize th a t no Christian or Church is great who has not got the hill top of a sacri ficial and redemptive service. So the final te st of th e individual Christian life or th e church in th e m a tte r of greatness is to be found no t in a super abundance of historic lore or m aterial goods or in elaborate creeds and ritu als bu t in th e measure of v ital service rendered.- The g reat church is the church th a t is rend ering a g reat service, and whatever may he its historic con nections it need have no question as to its apostolic succession if it is doing the kind of th ing th a t Jesus Christ ta u g h t th e disciples to do..
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker