troy. Today, in a world of bitterness and hate, in contradistinction, the Christian stands as a symbol of love. This is that same love which brought our Lord Jesus Christ from the courts of glory to suffer an ignomimious death on Calvary’s cross. It is the love which Christ alone can implant in the hearts of all those who by faith have received Him as Saviour. This love should con strain ms to win others to a saving knowledge of His redeeming grace. A t this time of the year while we especial ly think of our Lord’s burial and res urrection, we see the truth of Scrip ture which reminds us of Christ that while He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we, through His poverty, might be rich. TRUE SACRIFICE Today, as we think about the supreme sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to ask ourselves what does His death on Calvary’s cross mean to us? It needs to be translated into everyday experience. You recall when South A fr i can riots flared among the population, a frenzied mob seized the 17-year-old daughter of a widow, Mrs. J. J. Ver meulen. Mercilessly, they hacked her body to pieces. A neighbor boy tried to rescue the girl. He met with the same tragic fate. The nearby Bantu Dutch Reformed Church was burned to the ground. When interviewed by report ers, Mrs. Vermeulen admitted that, hu manly speaking, revenge was appeal ing. Some had, encouraged her to hate. Yet, she discovered it was impossible to sleep at night with such feelings burning in her heart. When she learned that the Bantus were trying to rebuild their church, she made a generous con tribution as a memorial to her beloved daughter. Her humble comment, “I did it so that others might know of my love. More than this, I want people to know that God has taken away my hate.” Remember the words of our Lord as they nailed Him to Calvary’s cross? “Father, forgive them, for they know Let God fill up your emptiness and at the same time empty your fullness.
tion. Particularly is it difficult to see children retarded at birth through no fault of their own. Science knows of a disease called PKU, or Phenylketonuria, its medical term. Otherwise normal babies are handicapped for life as a result of it. I f the disease is discovered early and the infant placed on a special diet, a cure is possible. A simple blood test will reveal the problem. Unfor tunately, most babies aren’t given this exa/mination which actually costs only a few dollars. Some feel that a univer sal check for PKU is not necessary since the disease occurs only once in every 10 to 12 thousand babies. The controversy continues to rage as a solu tion is sought. Another, even more severe affliction, affects all mankind, not only children Ilfs a fact that the plight of wickedness is universal. The Bible clearly states that all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. The test is not man’s changing moral standards but rather inerrant, infalli ble Scripture. The only known remedy for forgiveness is contained herein. The Bible declares, “He that belicveth on him [Christ] is not condemned, but he' that believeth not is condemned al ready, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God” ( John 3:18); “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salva tion?” (Heb. 2:3). SYMBOL OF LOVE It was 23 years ago that the city of Hiroshima, Japan, and ultimately the entire world, was rocked with the news of atomic destruction. In the area where the bomb landed, a special Peace Me morial Museum has been constructed. There you will see a wrist watch on display with charred hands pointing to the fateful hour of 8:15. That was the exact moment when the fury of the bomb was unleashed there in Hiro shima. No doubt people will long de bate whether the action taken was right or wrong. Certainly it represents a graphic symbol of man’s ability to des- 28 A great command of language enable* one to simply keep still.
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