has to be set aside. Have you heard about the elderly woman from the country who had never been on a train before ? She decided to treat herself by taking the trip from her town to an adjoining city, a distance of about fifty miles. She revelled in the thought of the wonderful views she would enjoy all along the way. The day arrived and excitedly she boarded the coach. You can imagine her eager anticipation. She had made lavish preparations for the journey, taking along everything she thought she might possibly need. There wa8 the large lunch basket, a com forter, umbrella, a stack of reading materials in case there was some delay, plus a few other odd parcels. By the time she had gathered them all in place and. gotten the window shade properly adjusted, she took a deep breath and settled down to enjoy the rapidly-pass ing scenery. It was only a moment, however, when she heard the voice of the conductor calling out her stop. It was already time to get off. She had taken along so many things which needed attention that she missed the view. She was heard to remark, “If I’d only known my stop would be here so soon, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time fussing.” This is quite a picture of many of our lives, with so much spent on non- essentials. The wheels of time are fly ing. The last station is soon at hand. Our minds must be fixed on that which is not transitory, but rather perman ent. Live as you would wish you had lived when the Conductor calls out the last station. Be done vnth fussing. As Paul said, “Quit you like men; be strong.” Attend to the Lord’s business without equivocation or slothfulness. * The world has forgotten, in its concern with left and right, that there is also an above and a below. * * * ATLANTIC "GHOST" SHIP Many are the fascinating stories coming out of maritime history in the North Atlantic. The captain of a whal ing vessel one night found himself sur rounded by icebergs. Not knowing at what moment his ship might be dashed to pieces, he cast his sea anchor to wait out the perilous and anxious mo * *
ments. As the light finally dawned for a new day, he scanned the horizon, sighting another vessel not too far away. An unwritten law of whalers is to help each other. He ordered a boat lowered and headed toward the ob viously drifting craft. When they were close enough he shouted out, “Ahoy, therel” No answer was heard. Upon closer inspection, the explanation was made apparent in a gruesome manner. It was a “ghost ship.” In a strange quirk of fate, each member of the crew, from captain to cook, had been frozen to death. The last entry in the log book indicated that the floating sepulcher had drifted in frozen wastes of the Arctic Sea for some IS years. This is unbelievable but authenticated tragedy. It reminds us of the sad picture of millions and millions of human souls who have drifted to destruction on the sea of life because they refused God’s gift of eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Such men and women are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. The Bible teaches us that it is possible to reach a point when God’s Holy Spirit no longer will strive with you. It is our earnest prayer that if you are outside of Christ, such a perilous situation will not overtake you. Our Saviour graciously invites us, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. . . . Him that cometh to me,. I will in no wise cast out.” * * * If you want your neighbor to see what Christ can do for him, let him see what He has done for you. * * * WORD FOR OBEDIENCE A faithful Bible translator on Ma nus Island near New Guinea had been vainly searching for a word for “obedi ence.” The thing which complicated his problem was that natives don’t seem to practice this virtue. It was just one word, but a vitally needed link to ex plain the Gospel story. One day, return ing from a trek into the interiors, the missionary looked for his dog which had momentarily disappeared. After much whistling and calling the faith ful pet came running to its master. An elderly native who had watched the ac tions smilingly comm en ted, “Dog 23
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