coming to the Church, invited home to tea by every mother with eligible daughters, and welcomed into the membership of the Chu r c h . This young man is like that. He has kept the details of the law from his youth. Yet Jesus is not satisfied. He says to him: “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and f o l l o w me” (Mark 10 : 21 ). Three men have come, offering to follow Him. Luke describes what hap pened: “A certain man said unto him [Jesus], Lord, I will f o l l o w thee withersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And an other also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:57-62). Not one of these was keen enough to please Jesus. You see the boy with his playfel lows, engrossed in some game. He forgets about food and the claims of home. He is lost in his play. This is the spirit Jesus seeks in His fol lowers. It has to be all or nothing. The reason is not far to seek; the' whole law, according to Jesus is: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all . . . thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mark 12:30-31). Ungrudging Service Jesus wanted His own to be out and out in their service for Him. One chief criticism which Jesus made was, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). His symbol of service was the cross. “He shewed unto them his hands and his side . . . Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:20-21). At the begin ning of World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the British people to “sweat and blood and tears.” Jesus does no less. There is to be no reservation on the part of His fol lowers. We feel instinctively that the finest servants of God have been people like Brainard, missionary to the American Indians, Mary S l e s s o r of Calabar, Carey of India, Lincoln of America, Shaftesbury of England, Schweitzer (Continued on Page H)
"I hate men who are hall and half" (Psa. 119:113 Moffat Trans). T HE Aristotelian maxim for life enthusiastic. They were to keep to the middle of the road. There can be little doubt that this made for balance, and obviated strife, but it was the essence of compromise. From a social point of view, how ever, this theory brings about stagna tion. Advance has always been due to minds which have been ahead of the “mean” : not so far removed to be beyond contact and influence; but far advanced enough to stir up, and to beckon on. Such minds have desires which are beyond the “status quo.” They criticise it, and lead forward a step or two. From a religious point of view, this view is not in keeping with the spirit, the outlook and the teaching of Jesus. His note was t h a t of enthusiasm rather than of the happy mean. He desires followers who are “out and out,” not those who are “half and half.” The evidence for this conten tion is to be found in the New Testa ment, the teaching of which lays emphasis upon wholeheartedness in conviction and conduct.
Complete Devotion Jesus wanted His children to be out and out in their devotion to Him. Nothing is more staggering than the statements which characterized those who followed Jesus. There are those who deride Christianity and the Chris tian church because they c l a i m, they are “an escape” for the weak and the fearful. How does this idea square with the following challenges made by Jesus to those who would follow Him: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24): “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). Few ministers treat inquirers as Jesus did. It is true that “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smok ing flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory” (Matt. 12:20), but his demands were unequivocal and uncompromising. Let us visit one or two of His inquirers’ classes. A fine young man has come to see Jesus, and to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Dr. Alex ander Whyte d e s c r i b e d one of Bunyan’s characters as a young man
was b a s e d upon the happy mean.” Men were not to go to extremes. They were not to be over-
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