tion of any great desire, zeal or activity for the winning of the souls of men is not much in evidence throughout the professed Church of God. Profession is one thing, passion and practice quite another. A°T>ny of soul, on the part of believers, over the condition of those who are unsaved; intense, prevailing prayer for the careless and in- different are manifestations seldom seen or heard, at least, m the place of public prayer; earnest devotion to the business of presenting the message of salvation and. the invitation to be reconciled to bod, while not a lost art by any means, is, however, the exception and not the rule among believers. . „„ A steeple-climber under the influence of liquor a few months ago filled the streets of Los Angeles with a wondering, gaping crowd as he like a fly climbed from window to window and from basement to roof on the exterior wall of office buildings; from dizzy heights the climber performed foolish antics and gave out maudlin expressions from perilous places; citizens and public officials alike regarded the whole performance in the light of a passing entertainment until the poor fellow fell at last and was gathered up a mangled, broken mass, dving in agony a few hours later. At the scene with its sequel, many fainted while the blood of the coldest men was stirred to give ex- pression deploring the foolish act and waste of life. Our hearts need to be stirred by the vision of the peril of lost men sinking to eternal suffering and sorrow with perhaps but one opportunity—the oppor- . t u n } t y of this present moment—to present to them the claims of our V Lbrd and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2. The Presence of the Lost. Jno. 4:35; Luke 10:2. Fverywhere about us are teeming multitudes of men without Christ God, salvation or hope (Eph. 2:12). When our Lord was on earth He found men in the place of worship and out of it, at wedding feasts and at funerals, on the streets, on the highways, at the dead of night and even at the last moment on the cross; He seized the oppor- tunities that thrust themselves upon Him. Your opportunity may ap- pear today in the person of the grocery-clerk, the peddler, the mail- carrier or the collector who may stop at your door—it may be his last opportunity (Gal. 6:10). 3. The Preciousness of the Soul. Mark 8:36. Though the wealth, of the world be placed in a glittering heap great and" high as a mountain-top piercing the very clouds; the value of a soul for whom Christ died and rose again, is of infinitely greater value. . The world's wealth is elusive, hard to gain and hard to retain; here, however, is an opportunity for the humblest of God's children to gain an enduring, eternal enrichment.. (Dan. 12:3.)
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