1079
THE . KING’S BUSINESS
in the Roman Stadiurh. He forgets the things that are behind; he doesn’t stop to look around to see how close his rival is. He knows he has not yet reached the judges’ stand. “Brethren, I count not myself,” etc. He aims in front of him— “Reaching forth unto those things,” etc. He concentrates—“This one thing I do.” His money may not be drawing good inter est; his house may be on fire; but now is not the time to be distracted. He sees only one thing: the track before him and the goal gleaming in the distance. “He presses toward the mark for the prize.” He fights his way; he doesn’t expect somebody to present him with seven-league boots for to carry him over the course, upborne by .fairy’s wings. Through thick and thin, he presses. The following story is told of Professor Hall and his son Will. Profes sor Hall was very much interested in Greek, while his son was not much of a student. Will would get excused from class and go out and run. Father didn’t take much stock in-Will’s ability for run ning. Finally, the day of the meet came and Professor Hall went out to see his son Will start out well—to his surprise, holding his own—now gaining on the leader—now two or three from the f r o n t- now in the lead. The boy’s practice was telling. He finally found himself yelling, “Go it, Will,” and Will won. Then Pro fessor Hall said to those around him, “That’s my boy1.” There may be those of us who haven’t anybody to yell, “Go it, Will.” We are not overwhelmed with rosebuds or deafened by the hurrah’s we hear. We sometimes think the people in the grandstand don’t care whether we win or lose, and some times (wicked thought) we wish we’d lose. But we take heart when we remember that Paul won, and Jesus of Nazareth won, without very much applause. So we dog gedly keep at it, and if we fall one'of these days a long ways from goal, the kindly soul that picks us up off the dusty track will hear us say, “Anyhow, we pressed toward the mark for the prize.”
_ he did: tried to stamp out the new heresy and became a famous prosecutor. When he found. Christ and Christ found him, this one thing he did : became a loyal servant of his new Master, giving up all for His sake. Paul was an intense man. As we say today, he threw his whole soul into what he did. That’s the trouble with these Mogul men—get them started and they’ll pull the whole load of light-weight box cars with them, either, up or down hill, whichever way they are faced and started. Sir James Scarlett, when asked the secret _of his success as an advocate, replied that he took care to press home the one prin cipal point of the case without paying much regard to the others. Famous De Witt, one of the busiest statesmen, when asked how he could despatch so many affairs, said that the whole art consisted in doing “one thing at a time.” Hastings, when a boy of seven years, formed the resolution that he would do one thing; he would become Hastings of Daylesford, and recover the ancestral estate. And boy dreaming beside the river and man ruling. So will Asiatics beneath tropical sun never forget the aim through seventy years, and live to , see fulfillment of it. It is said Confucius’ son once came to his father and asked him - why he didn’t, advance better, since he applied himself eagerly to all subjects.^Con fucius answered, “Omit some of your pur suits and you will get on better.” “This one thing I do” might almost be called the motto of the twentieth century. It is1 a Day of Specialists. We want a man who can set type, sell insurance, advertise a firnn preach a sermon better than the , average. The man who can say, “I don’t pretend to be a walking cyclopedia; don’t know anything about somethings ;y don’t know much about many things; but I do know everything about one thing" —you’re the man. “This one thing, I do.” V. A Strenuous Race. “I press toward the mark for the prize.” The figure of the text is that of a runner
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