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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
he asked: “W hat do you th ink of it? ” “ It is a masterpiece of invective,” was the reply. “You fairly flay him alive. W hat have you decided to call it? ” “ I have not though t of a title. Can you suggest one?” “Well,” came th e response, “how would it do to call it, ‘Go to th e Devil’ by th e au tho r of ‘Come to Jesu s’?” Imagine P aul w riting such a le tte r about Timothy, or, Gaius w riting such a le tte r to or about Trophimus. K nighted F riendship Christian friendship in its sincerity and pu rity is chivalrous. When St, Remy was preaching before King Clovis of F rance, telling w ith passionate pathos th e story of Christ’s suffering and death, th e monarch suddenly sprang from his throne, and grasping his spear, cried, “Had I been th ere w ith my brave F ranks, I would have avenged his w rongs.” Christian friend ship seldom uses carnal weapons—- Christ told P eter to pu t up his sword—- b u t it knows no fear in its devotion, a devotion th a t will die and yet lives. P aul had risked his life for those Ephesian Christians. “ Some years ago I went to see a little girl, seven years of age, who, I was told, was dying. While sittin g by her bed, I said, ‘W hat do you want, d arling ?’ ‘I w ant to see you before I die.’ ‘Why,’ said I, ‘are you dying?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Would you not like to get- well ag a in ?’ ‘I hope no t sir.’ ‘Why n o t?’ ‘Why, sir,’ said she ‘ever since I became a Christian, I have been trying to bring fath er to the hall, and he won’t come; and I th ink if I die, you will bury me, won’t you?’ I said, ‘Yes, darling.’ ‘Well, I’ve been thinking, if I die, fath er m ust go to the funeral, then you will be able to preach the gospel to him ; and I would be willing to die six times over for him to hear th e gospel once.’ Paul had this love for th e lost.”
Golden Text Illu stration s It is said th a t a leopard does not chase its prey as o th er animals, bu t pursues it by leaping; if w ith th ree or four jumps, it cannot capture its prey, it gives up th e chase in indignation. How like some Christians, and es pecially Christian workers. Christopher Columbus, th e discover er of America, used to w rite in his log book in the evening of a day when they had failed to sight th e land they were in quest of, th e date, and th e n under i t he added th e words: “ Sailed on !” How appropriate, Christian, to close each day in th e will of God w ith t h e ' words, “ I ’ve sailed on to today.” How P a u l’s F riend s Showed Their Love. Acts 20:36-38; 21:1-6. Memory Verse.—A friend loveth at all times. Prov. 17:17. Approach. Earl, w hat is th is I hold in my hand? A . letter. Was th ere something in our story last week about a letter? Yes, a le tte r w ritten by Paul to some of his BEGINNERS friends. W hat kind AND PRIMARY of a le tte r was it? Mabel L. M errill A very beautiful and wonderful let te r w ritten about some of the things we will do if we have th e love of Jesus in our hearts. And best of all, th a t wonderful le tte r has been kept fo r us rig h t fn our Bible. We learned how real tru e love does; today we are to have ano ther very in teresting story about how P au l’s friends showed th eir love. L et us bow our heads and be very quiet while we th a n k God for His love to us. Lesson Story.—We all like to be w ith th e friends we. love and th a t love us, do we not? Now Paul had stayed a long while w ith his friends in the City of Ephesus, bu t th e tim e had come when he must go on to other places to preach Jesus. When Paul told them
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