YOUR GOD IS STILL LIVING
We have heard much of the encroach ment of government upon the affairs of private individuals. In spite of this, we may thank God that there is still a large measure of individual liberty, of freedom of the press, of free speech, of freedom to gather ourselves together for whatever lawful purpose may unite us. So long as there remains even a residue of Christian influence in the very structure of our governmental in stitutions, we owe thanksgiving to God for the degree of liberty we enjoy. “ Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17). I am thankful that so far we have been saved from the curse that follows upon the persecution of God’s ancient people. In a world in which there is a growing tide of anti-Semitism, I count it as one of the major blessings that we have been saved from persecution of those people, and that we have per mitted thousands of them entrance to these shores when they have been per secuted elsewhere. I shall always feel that God still has a measure of mercy for our shortcomings as long as this iniquitous thing does not happen to us. I am thankful that I have lived to see the day of the re-establishment of Israel when the promised return of the Jewish people from exile to the land of their fathers has begun, and that even though that return does not yet signify a reconciliation of Jehovah and His people, it is one of the steps that precedes it. I am glad that many of God’s ancient people are beginning to understand that the fall of Jerusalem and the age-long scattering of the He brew people was somehow connected with their failure to recognize Messiah when He came. “ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psa 122:6). I am thankful that after centuries of neglect and misunderstanding and mis use, the Word of God today is more thoroughly understood by those who love Him than ever in the past. In spite of a spreading apostasy, there is a greater knowledge of the Bible by the redeemed, a greater understanding of its message, especially the prophetic message, and a greater corroboration of its authority. For a century the papyri, the stone in scriptions, the clay tablets have all es tablished the historicity and indirectly the validity of the Word of God. When the church of Christ was silent, even the stones have cried out. We live in a day when the love of many has waxed cold, when wickedness has increased, when men have denied the Lord who bought them, even those who have been ordained to preach the gospel. But these very things have by contrast to those who are wise made even more clear the righteousness of God and the value of the salvation which we have received through Christ. “ Bless the Lord, O my soul: and for get not all his benefits” (Psa. 103:2). Page Eight
By Carol Terry
Ramabai Mukti Mis sion, Kedgaon, Poona District, India
A heart-moving glimpse of India’s need
I N the darkness the people sat, hun dreds of them, all over Mukti’s front yard, all over the road, all over every available place, while their eyes never turned from the gospel pictures before "them. The only interruptions were when bullocks came up from time to time bringing cartloads of Indians from other villages, but quietly and quickly thq people found their places in the throng, looking at and listening to the gospel. Our speaker, the Rev. Fred Schlander, had brought with him moving pictures and stereopticon slides to portray to the Indians the story from Bethlehem to the Cross, but there was no electricity in Mukti. Seven miles away is the big shrine of Narayan, a leper who had called him self a god. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the country had come to wor ship him. A big temple, dining hall, and other buildings were erected, elaborate lighting fixtures were installed, and the fame of the shrine spread all over In dia. But the leper Narayan died. The people stopped coming. The elaborate temple and other buildings became de serted, and the whole place stands va cant and empty, a testimony to the fact that the god is dead. We went to ask if we might borrow their electric dynamo, unused since Narayan died three years ago. The Brahman trustee, who made possible our borrowing it, said, “ Yes, you may use it. We have no need for
the dynamo, for the god is dead. Your God is still living. That is the difference between your religion and ours.” As we watched that dynamo giving the power to portray the message of life and salvation to our Indian people, we could not help but think of the tes timony of that engine, for every “ thump, thump” of the dynamo told all who came that the Hindu temple was empty, while the church of Christ was filled to overflowing; it told all who came that the temple courtyards were deserted, while our Lord’s courtyards at Mukti were thronged; it told all who came that the ashes of the Hindu god in the temple offered no comfort and therefore pilgrims no longer went there, while Christ arose again and is the key of life and death; it told all who came that all the big shrine had left was the shadow of a dead god, while a living Christ was giving eternal life and joy to all who sought Him. When we returned the dynamo to the deserted shrine, the priests talked long with us. They showed us the footprints of their god, while we showed them the prints of the cross; they told us of Hindu philosophy, and we told them of sin and salvation by the blood of Christ. For hours we talked, and when we left, the priest said, “ Come again and talk twenty-four hours. Some day we may come to you, but it will not be to teach, it will be to learn.” T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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