THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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MONDAY, May 9. Jo h n 6:1-14. The Need of Co-operation. There should be no division in the body of Christ. The members should be united by th e strong bonds of Chris tia n love. In the n a tu ra l body th e pain of one member affects and afflicts the whole. If one member of the sp iritual body suffer, all th e other m em b ers'su f fer w ith it. W hat the circulation of th e blood is to the- hum an body, the Holy Spirit is to the church. By v irtue of th e life-blood each p a rt of th e body holds fellowship w ith every other p art. Nothing bu t death can b reak th e fel lowship. The in teg rity of society de pends on m u tu al m inistry. The mil lionaire needs th e mechanic and vice versa. The tree needs th e soil and the soil needs the tree. If we have fellow ship w ith the F ath e r and His Son, Jesus Christ, we must have fellowship with eyery one who believes on Him. There must not . only be co-operation among th e various members of the body of Christ bu t co-ordination to th e Risen Head. “As he is so are we in this world.” TUESDAY, May 10. 1 Cor. 12:1-12. The Blessing of Diversity. The Divine plan is to have unity in diversity. No one is to disparage or discredit ano th er because of supposedly inferior gifts. While gifts may differ they are not to be classified as superior and inferior. There is no room for the displacement of any in th e church. All are necessary and th e least one is to be respected. Unity is obligatory. Uni form ity is impossible. The Scriptures teach th a t variety of talen t, difference in tem peram ent and all kinds of per sonal characteristics may be utilized in th e work of. th e .c h u rc h . The w riters of the New Testam ent are dbm inated and directed by th e same Holy Spirit. Nevertheless th ere is a P auline and a P etrin e style, a Johannean and a Ja cobean vocabulary. Variety is no t only th e spice of life. I t is one charm of Heaven. Uniform ity would mean mon otony and stagnation. WEDNESDAY, May 11. 1 Sam. 30:21- 25. Share and Share Alike. David touched a funda,mental prin ciple in th e distribution of labor, th e recognition of service rendered and the bestowal of rewards. Its ju stice ; was adm itted., and it became a sta tu te of
Israel for all time. The stokers of a b attle ship who feed th e ro aring fires down below are. as necessary and their service as worthy of recognition as th a t of th e men who sight and shoot th e guns above. In th e recent w ar those who toiled in th e shipyards and the ammunition factories or those who tilled th e soil were as p atrio tic and devoted as those who w ent over seas and fought in th e trenches. The church needs th e various gifts o f all its mem-, bers. The consecrated believer who by self-denial and economy supports a mis sionary on th e foreign field will surely sh are in th e God-given rew ard for the converts equally w ith th e one who brought them into life eternal. P aul plants and Apollos w aters bu t God gives th e increase. THURSDAY, May 12. Isaiah 41:1-9. The C arpenter Helps th e Goldsmith. Here is co-operation w ithout compe tition. There may be diversity w ithout division. Competition promotes un friendliness and rivalry and is destruc tive in its tendencies. Christ is not the au tho r of confusion or distraction. We usually dwell upon the duty of the higher to help th e lower: It is ju st as possible for the lower to encourage th e higher. The artisan can help the artist. No one is independent. All are interdependent. This brings dignity and responsibility to th e hum blest and lowliest service. I t is an incentive to fidelity. The pew can help th e pulpit. To encourage and enable another to do his work as it ought to be done, is to make a distinct contribution to the glory of God and tlfe well-being of hu manity. FRIDAY, May 13. Jam es 5:13-20. The Conversion of a Sinner. Form erly th e labor of one man pro duced a single result. Now th e same work is divided and d istribu ted among a score of men. This makes for effici ency and a vastly increased productive ness while it narrow s and represses the individuality of th e worker. If one man makes a whole pin himself, he can only make a small number* each day! If a dozen men make a pin, each one doing a certain p art only, they can make many thousands more th an one. The salvation of a soul is a complex and difficult process. It has many -antece- d en ts; and accompaniments. Perhaps all these things are not often accom-
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