July 1925
THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
304
copal, some Presbyterian, some Baptist form of worship? Do we not know that nevertheless all are founded on the vital truths of salvation and laboring for the salvation of men? When a church has publicly departed from the true faith, then we have reason to stand aloof and affiliate with another church loyal to God’s Word. But surely we would not take down all lighthouses because some careless mar iners through wrong observation have run their ships aground. The Baptist Reporter once printed this challenge to pro fessing' C h ristian s^ I;; But You Don’t You can worship God in your home Sunday-—But you don’t! You can worship God in the woods and in the field— But you don’t! You can worship God on the lakes and on the rivers— But you don’t! You can worship God on the road in the auto or in the buggy— But you don’t! You can worship God in a different church each Sunday morning—rBut you don’t! You can worship God in your lodge and neglect the church-—But you don’t! You can worship God by sending the children to Sunday school and staying at home-^But you don’t! You can worship God by going to church and taking the children with you— But you don’t!
sities of character and condition in life are essential to the idea of a family, and we would not think of disowning the family because every member was not exactly like ourselves. The ties of nature would draw us together and we would seek to dwell together in love, knowing the benefits of fam ily life. We would not go abroad publishing the faults of our brothers and sisters and advising others to break up their families and start out independently. The church is an assembly of born-again people, organ ized to foster the spiritual life of the family of God, admin istering the divine ordinances and providing spiritual food and shelter for all who desire to come into it. Shall we 'hold aloof from it because there are some in it who do not measure up to our particular standard? Shall we advertise the faults of weak brothers and sisters and by expressing our lack of confidence in the church, influence many unsaved people to remain away from the house of God? Then it need not be thought strange if other believers look upon you as not belonging to the family of God at all, but to the world without, which takes the same skeptical atti tude to the church. Divisions in Christendom Many consider the church a mistake because of the divis ions that have arisen. The fact that all Christians are not agreed as to the form of worship is not fatal nor inex plicable. Such divisions are in every sphere of life. We do not condemn medical science because there are various schools of medical practice. What though some prefer Epis
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Salvaged Wade C. Smith
This beautiful little illustration of the wonderful love of God which gave Jesus to die for sinners, was sent to us by Mr. Smith, with permission to reprint, it having first appeared in the Sunday School Times, to which Mr. Smith is a regular contributor. We are sure it w ill be greatly appreciated by our readers. H 71 HEARD her mother tell her at the door,, “Dear |j child, don’t you know your father will not allow that?” but straight back to my study she came, si carrying in her arms ever so tenderly about the developed that some soap and warm water in a pan, a scrub brush and towel, had figured in a regenerating process, leaving kitty almost transparent, in spite of a liberal infus ion of sweet milk and softened bread. But the sore eyes Seemed past remedy.
most miserable specimen of a little cat I ever saw. There she stood in the doorway with an appealing look in her eyes, while I scrutinized the kitty with a loathing undisguised. Where she had picked it up I do not know, but it had been in the slime and the filth, and it was so near starved that its bones almost stuck through the skin. Its eyes were sore,H$| very sore; and its face was smudged with dirt. Now I don’t like cats, at best. - I never could abide them. And a sore-eyed, dirty, starved kitten is the limit. But the tender pity of a little girl made me relent enough to say, “Take it to the back porch and feed it, but, my dear, we simply cannot keep it.” Mentally I proceeded to arrange some merciful way to get rid of it. The little girl would be going to school next morning. In her absence kitty could be placed in a bag, the bag placed in a car^ a short run out to the country in the fresh morning air; the bag untied and laid beside the road near some hospitable looking farm-house. Of course some food would be left with the bag. Against a little girl’s return from school next afternoon there would be a new dolly to help her forget kitty. That seemed to be a very good way out. I was absorbed in some work in the study all afternoon, but now and then was half conscious of unusual sounds on the back porch, mingled with “meows.” Afterwards it
Late that night, the last one up, I went back to the kitchen to get a drink of water. A weak little “meow” in the corner said, “Look at me,” and I turned to see a situa tion de luxe. The little benefactress had risked my dis pleasure by bringing kitty into the kitchen for the night, and oh, how she had fixed it up! Some comfy things from her dolly’s own bed had been brought downstairs and tucked close in the corner. Hard by was a saucer with some refreshments gleaned from a little girl’s own supper plate, and next to that, the top of a baking powder can with a bit of fresh water—-all against kitty’s hunger and thirst in the night watches. Gladly she would have taken it up to her own bed, or even remained to sleep with it, but she was too wise to attempt either. I stood stock still and gazed at the sigjit. At first it seemed a presumptuous thing— a piece of insubordination. My child was not ip. the habit of overriding my wishes in such a manner as this. Then suddenly I experienced a com plete change of feeling. I caught a vision of the beauty and tenderness of what she had done— out of love for a poor little sore-eyed cat. Kitty had looked up at me and “meowed,” and had half crawled, half tumbled, off the little bed to come toward me. I softly picked it up and put it back to bed. Then I went out and closed the door, and went
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