September 1925
TH E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
393
OS
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F IN E G O LD OR THE P E A R L OF G R E A T P R I C E JO SEPH IN E HOPE W E ST ER V E L T £ 1 1
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(Continued from last month) CHAPTER 9 THE GIFT OF THE GLOWING HEART
“But always there were a few who urged and plead w ith them to carry the news to all the valley folk, so th a t they m ight hasten the tim e and then the K ing’s son would re tu rn to tak e them all to the H ill Country. These com rades of the glowing fiea rt worked almost night and day to hasten the time, and to let others know about th e wonderful gift so free to all. Some to th e ir lasting sorrow, refused to carry the news, to lands far away, bu t those who spent th e ir lives in carrying the news had a joy no life could know. “Way off in the Hill Country, the King, his son and his servants watched and waited for the faith fu l ones to accom plish the work. They could tell them afar off, for in th eir h earts there glowed a lum inous ligh t possessed only by
in th e long ago, little boy, th ere lived a king far-away Hill Country. His estate was beauti- beyond compare. He used often to look out n the valley folk and feel sorry for them , for
th e ir lives were so meager, and mean and useless. And so he wanted to h e lp , them to live b etter and more useful lives, and to find some way finally to bring them to live w ith him, if they wanted to come. So one day he and his only son talked the m a tte r over and it was decided th a t the
.son should go to the valley and tell the valley folk about th e K ing’s son. But when he told them who he was, they refused to believe .it. When he told them of the wonderful gift he had brought them and offered it freely to any one who would accept, only one now and then accepted it and rejoiced in its possession. The gift was a wondrous gift, a gift of a glowing heart, and could be possessed only by those who were w illing to fulfill certain conditions. Even these conditions the K ing’s son wanted to make possible, but the m ajority preferred to live th e ir own selfish lives, in th e ir own selfish way, and
those who had accepted the free gift. “ ‘Will they ever accomplish th e ta sk ? ’ asked the servants. “ ‘Indeed they w ill,’ assured th e King. ‘Give them time, and they will. But why are they so slow?*;?;’ “Over each addition to th e num ber of comrades th ere was a rejoicing among the Hill folk, a rejoicing such as we cannot understand. “Then one glad day, when the tim e was fulfilled, and in a moment, in a tw inkling of an eye the son appeared above them and the comrades of th e glowing h eart heard a glad shout, and were w ith him.
The most precious gift in all the world is the gift of a new heart. When Jesus died on the Cross He purchased this gift for all man kind, and whosoever will may come and re ceive the glowing heart.
despised the son. By and by wicked men grew to hate him, and planned to take his life, so he called tog eth er his followers and told them he must leave them , bu t th a t the work he had come to do he would finish by his death and th a t they m ust carry on th a t which was left for them. “His friends and followers, whom he called comrades of the glowing h eart, were sorely grieved th a t he m ust leave them , when th e tim e came and they were left alone, w ith only his prom ise th a t he would re tu rn for them to rem ind them of his life among them ; they were inexpressibly sad, un til one day they recalled th a t they were possessors of th e- wonderful gift, and remembered the words of th e K ing’s son th a t they were to tell others about him, about this won derful gift and about his coming again to ta k e those who possessed it to dwell w ith him and the King in the far coun try. When the time, which was known only to the King, was fulfilled, he would come. Then how quickly and how willingly they worked to carry th e news to everybody, hop ing th a t speedily they m ight win all to accept th e gift offered so freely by the King and his son. But only here and there, only now and then one and another came gladly forward and accepted th e gift, and sped on th eir mission of telling others. “But the K ing’s son did not retu rn , and by and by some of th e messengers began to complain and say he never would come again, forgetting it was dependent upon them and others to help hasten th e time, and so thy grew careless.
And oh! how happy they were to see him, and to have his assurances th a t they were never to be separated from him again, and were henceforth to dwell w ith him in th e Hill Country w ith th e King. “And those who were left behind? Some b itterly wept to th ink they had missed th e glorious opportunity, others scoffed, bu t such suffering and m isery swept upon them as they had never known before, and too late they began to realize what ii: had m eant to have the glow ing-hearted peo ple among them . A few, a very few, were won during those terrib le times, and went to dwell in th e H ill Country, bu t th e suffering was intense un til th e son, w ith all his followers, retu rn ed to th e valley to ru le in righteousness and peace a thousand years. At th e end of th a t time there was another sifting out of those who were living in the val ley, and only those who loved th e son, who had accepted his gift through all the long ages, were taken w ith him to the beautiful city. The others were sent to dwell together in a place where they had been warned again and again they would have to go if they did not accept the gift, and go to th e Hill Country. It was not a happy place.” W illiam read page afte r page of the m anuscript w ithout glancing up un til he had reached th is place. Then looking up he saw Jack H armon’s eyes fastened upon him in g reat tenderness. Looking down, he tu rn ed the pages, and began to read th a t which remained: L ittle Boy: “Who was th e K ing?”
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