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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
February, 1937
NOTES on Christian Endeavor By M A R Y G . G O O D N E R
MARCH 7, 1937 ANSWERING “ FOLLOW ME” TODAY M atthew 4:18-22; L uke 14:25-33 Meditation on the Lesson As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, the Lord Jesus saw two brothers, Andrew and Peter, who were fishing. Desiring them for His service, He called them, saying: “ Fol low me, and I will make you fishers of men”—an invitation to an elevated sphere of fishing. There seems to have been no hesitation in their response, for “ they straightway left their nets, and followed him.” Likewise James and John, whom He saw a little farther down the shore, imme diately left their occupation and their father and followed Jesus. “ ‘Come,’ ” said Spurgeon, “ is the motto word of the gospel.” This call to these fisherfolk was a crisis in their lives, as it is in the life of every individual who hears the Master’s summons. Prompt obedience to Him results in blessedness, as the disciples repeatedly testified in their experiences. “T o be ‘straightway Christians’ at every step of the way, through grace, is to find the secret of the Lord.” Today Jesus Christ is still calling in tender tones, “ Follow me.” Let us obey immediately as did Peter, An drew, James, and John. What does it mean to “ follow” ? Web ster’s explanation is: “ To go or come after; pursue; accompany; imitate or conform to; watch closely.” All this and even more Jesus meant when He said, “ Follow me.” In our second text, Luke 14:25-33, we have a concretely illustrated definition of following. This is Christ’s condition for discipleship: “ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” “Hate” is used here in a comparative sense—Christ “ asserts His own claims to supreme affec tion.” If family ties are hindering one from love for Christ, they must be broken if Christ is to receive a preeminence of devo tion. And many times, for Christians in the homelands and for missionaries and native believers in foreign fields, the temporary loss of fellowship with loved one issues in eternal blessing as others, too, eventually find in Christ their sufficiency. “ Cross-bearing” is the second demand laid upon disciples. “ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” “ In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Only the Son of God could bear the cross that atoned for sin. The cross which He imposes in the lives of His followers re quires their submission, but it is equipped with overcoming power and unmeasured potential joy and blessing. The third demand is for separation from all things. “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not aU that be hath, he cannot be
my disciple.” The fishermen had to forsake their nets before they could be commissioned by Jesus. Thus to “ follow” Him means su preme love for Him, suffering for His sake, and separation unto Him. What will He do in return? He has said: “ I will make you fishers of men.” Oh, marvelous grace of our Master Fisherman, who permits us to let down His nets and draw in the souls of men! “Thou, Lord, e’en now art calling me; I will leave all, and follow Thee.” That is a meaningful remark which a convert in Africa made as reported by a missionary. “The trail is hard and tangled,” he said, “but there is a Man ahead of us.” Yes, there is a Man ahead. Jesus always goes before; He is ever in front. He never asks us to tread a path which has not been trodden by His own feet. Yet He does bid us follow. Do we obey?— Christian Index. II. A W illing A nswer A government clerk received an unex pected raise in salary. At the close of his day’s work, he rushed to the telegraph office and sent this question to the girl of his choice: “W ill you marry me?” He pre paid the return fee, which permitted ten words, which were: “ Yes, gladly, willingly, joyfully, delightedly, gratefully, lovingly, yes, yes, yes.” What would happen to your life and community should you respond to the heavenly vision in the ten words of this telegram?— Moody Monthly. III. A S ervant ’ s T itle Baron Von Welz, who renounced his title and estates and went as a missionary to Dutch Guiana, where he filled a lonely grave, said as he gave up his title, “What to me is the title ‘well born’ when I am ‘born again’ in Christ? What to me is the title ‘lord’ when I desire to be a servant of Christ? What is it to me to be called ‘Your Grace’ when I have need of God’s grace, help, and succor? All these vanities I will away with, and all else I will lay at the feet of Jesus, my Lord, that I may have no hindrance in serving Him aright.”— Onward. Helps for the Leader I. “ C hrist G oeth B efore ”
enlarges upon this great doctrine in Ephe sians and Colossians, but the startling figure is here introduced. Christ used varied sym bols to express His intimate relationship to the church. The illustrations of the shep herd and the sheep and of the vine and the branches are expressive of the unity which exists between Christ and believers in Him. However, none is so daring in its conception of complete identification as is this wonder ful metaphor of the “ body” of Christ. The analogy is perfect in its detail. Just as the human body is controlled by the head, so Christ “ is the head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18). Thus He is ascribed preemi nence in all things. In the human body, the same life which is in the head flows through all the rest of the members. Christ is the Source of the life o f the church, for He is the Life. Obedience to the Head of the body is necessary for a well-coordinated organism. This observation applies, in greater intensity, to the church. In our passage Paul not only reveals to the Corinthians the marvelous union of Christ with His church, but he also stresses the equality and the internal relationship of the members. Having been baptized by one Spirit into one body, individual members of the invisible or true church now have equal standing before God. God has set the members of the body in particular places as it has pleased Him. What a comforting truth that is! God has appointed our place of operation and service. Just as the eye cannot say, “ I want to be an ear,” and the ear cannot say, “ I want to be a foot/’ even so, each member of the body of Christ should remember that his function in the divine body has been ordained of God. A true apprehension of this gracious fact would cure envy, malice, self-aggrandize ment, pride, and other kindred sins which too often beset Christians and create dis order in the body of Christ on earth. Each one of us can say with joy, if we belong to the body of Christ and have yielded our lives for His guidance, “ I am just where God wants me to be; therefore, I shall fulfill this that He has given me to do.” The realization of the church’s being the body of Christ produces unity, sympa thy, and loving-kindness among the mem bers. We need to understand more fully God’s plan: “ That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:25, 26). As members of the body of Christ, we should earnestly desire to bring honor and glory to our worthy Head, Jesus Christ, by humbly doing the task appointed us. As inseparable from Him, we should reveal by life and character the nature of our loving Redeemer. He makes this pos sible by His divine life which He imparts to each member of His own body.
MARCH 14, 1937 MEMBERSHIP IN THE WORLD’S GREATEST FELLOWSHIP 1 C orinthians 12:12-27 Meditation on the Lesson
This unique passage in Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians is the first extended record in the Scriptures of the great truth concern ing the church as the body of Christ. Paul
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