THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S potent th an the voice of the Christian conscience of those who profess the name of Jesus Christ. It may be tru e th a t it is necessary th a t th e church should be salted w ith fire, th e fire of suffering before it u tte rs the g reat voice of God in th e world as God intended it to. If th a t is the case, while we sh rink from th e suffering yet we ought to welcome the cu tting off of the rig h t hand or th e rig h t foot; the plucking out of th e rig h t eye in order th a t we may be salted so th a t we become a conserv ing power in th e life of th e world. Then again salt creates a th irst in life, and I believe th a t God intended these people to be creators of th irst in hum an society. T hat th e ir very life in society should be such as created a th irst in men and women around them for the kind of a life th a t they were living and for th e kind of a God th a t they were serving. I th in k th a t both these elements in th e mission of the church a re very suggestively illu strated in w hat is being done in th e Y. M. C. A. hu ts in th e g reat m ilitary camps of our country and o ther nations a t th e present time. I have watched these boys come in and I have heard th e ir language and I have noticed how in a few days afte r they came into the cantonm ents the ideals for which th e Y. M. C. A. stood seemed to have an influence upon them and a number of things th a t they were doing and saying were quietly dropped. I also noticed how in th e lives of those boys some of them Jews, some of them Roman Catholics, some of the men who had grown up to manhood and had never .known of Jesus Christ and His redeem ing love th e re was created a desire to know th e life and th e God th a t these Y. M. C. A. boys were living and serving in th e ir midst. I was ta lk ing to one medical man, an officer, who told me th a t before he came down to the camp he though t th e Y. M. C. A. work was all a hoax——th e re was no th ing in it— bu t a fte r he had been in
21 the cantonm ent a little while and had visited th e Y. M. C. A. several times he began to see th a t it was a trem endous reality and he also began to appreciate th a t these men who were try ing to serve as secretaries had something in th e ir lives th a t he did not have and th a t he needed very much, and afte r a few talk s w ith some of th e men he w rote home to his wife and to his sis te r th a t they were going to have a new husband and a new b ro th er if he would be perm itted to re tu rn home afte r the war. He associated in th a t atmosphere un til th e re was created in him a th irst for God and a desire to know God and /th a t desire gave th e opportunity a t last to lead him to Christ and to a definite decision to serve Him. T h at is w hat th e church ought to be in th is g reat world with" its seething sorrow and conflict and crushing bu r dens. It ought to conserve th e highest ideals, the ideals of Jesus Christ— the purpose of His kingdom. Because He is our Lord and He is our K ing and His law is th e supreme law for us and in the conserving of these things the very life th a t we live ought to create a th irst for God and realities th a t shall lead men to seek afte r the th ing which alone can save th e life of the world. This is th e church’s supreme opportun ity bu t it can not be used un til it first is salted. God will sa lt it w ith the fire of th e Holy Spirit b u t if men refus^ to receive th a t fire in th e sp irit of love God will sa lt w ith the fire of judgm ent and suffering and it will either be puri fied or consumed, for, if we fail to serve God’s g reat purpose He will throw us aside and seek members for H is body from o th er nations and from other peo ples th a t will be responsive to His will th a t He may speedily establish His own kingdom upon th e earth . May God g ra n t th a t th is salting day shall be the salvation of th e church and the hastening of the coming of Him whose rig h t it is to reign.
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