244
May 1929
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
kindness to bewilder us with descriptions of that which is beyond our present abil ity to understand. We are to follow our leader as Garibaldi’s men followed him.” If you ever visit the city of Rome, you will see a little church not far from the city walls. It is called the C h u r c h Domine, quo vadis? These Latin words mean, “Lord, whither goest Thou?” The story runs thus:—-St. Peter was about to be put to death at Rome for the cause of Christ, in the year 65 A. D. As the last and fatal hour approached, he was somewhat fearful, and, managing to es cape the vigilance of his guards, he tried to run away from Rome. On the spot outside the city where the little church now stands, the fugitive apostle met Christ Himself. He recognized the sa cred face which he had seen so often during the forty days Christ was on earth after His resurrection. Amazed and awe-stricken at the vision, he asked, “Domine, quo vadis?" ( “Lord, whither goest thou?”). The sad voice of the Sav iour answered, “Peter, I go to Rome to die instead of you.” The martyr’s cour age flamed up at once in the apostle’s penitent heart. He returned to Rome. The hands of others girded him to the cruel cross, and the ardent, loving soul passed, amid the agony and torture, into the eternal presence of His Lord.— Canon Teignmouth Shore’s “St. George for Eng land." Jesus, says the story, arrived one eve ning at the gates of a certain city, and He sent His disciples forward to prepare supper, while He Himself, intent on do ing good, walked through the streets into the market-place. He saw at the corner of the market some people gathered to gether, looking at an object on the ground; He drew near to see what it might be. It was a dead dog, with a halter round its neck, by which it ap peared to have been dragged through the dirt; and a viler, a more abject, a more unclean thing, never met the eyes of man. And those' who stood by looked on with abhorrence. “Faugh 1” said one, stopping his nose, “it pollutes the air.” “How long,” said another, “shall this foul beast offend our sight?” “Look at his torn hide,” said a third; “one could not even cut a shoe out of it.” “And his ears,” said a fourth, “all draggled and bleed ing!” “No doubt,” said a fifth, “he hath been hanged for thieving!” And Jesus heard them, and looking down compas sionately on the dead creature, He said, “Pearls are not equal to the whiteness of his teeth!” Then the people turned to wards Him with amazement, and said among themselves, “Who is this? This must be Jesus of Nazareth, for only He could find something to pity and approve even in a dead dog” ; and, being ashamed, they bowed their heads before Him, and went each on his way.— Mrs. Jameson. May 26, 1929 How Have M issionaries Been Effective Leaders? Matt. 4 :12-25. D aily S cripture R eadings May 20. Leaders in Teaching. Matt. 28: 18-20. May 21. In Daily Work. 2 Thess. 3 :7-13. May 22. In Healing. Acts 14:8-18. — o —
May 23. In Travel. 2 Cor. 11:26-28. May 24. In Godliness. Gal. 5 :16, 22-26. May 25. In Service. Acts 20:17-21. C hoice N uggets Every impulse and stroke of missionary power on earth is from the heart of Christ. He sows, and there is a harvest. He touches nations, and there arises a brotherhood, not only civilized by His light, but sanctified by His love. The isles of the ocean wait for Him. He spreads His net and gathers of every kind, and lo! the burden of the sea is not only fishes, but fishermen, who go and gather and cotiie again. If there is activity, free giving, ready going, a full treasury, able men who say, “Here am I, send me,” it is because through all the organization Christ lives, and His personal Spirit works. There is no other possible spring for that enthusiasm.— Bishop Huntington. “The bells in Christian towers and the lights in Christian chapels are almost within sight and hearing of each other around the whole globe, and this has been made possible because the lives of con secrated missionaries were laid on God’s altar, and noble and devoted souls lived for Christ instead of self.” “In 1852, a young Hollander, Guido Verbeck, emigrated to America, hoping to make his fortune in the land of promise. After some months he was taken serious ly ill. For six weeks he suffered great pain and when he recovered he was al most a skeleton. His capital was exhaust ed in paying doctors and nurses. But the illness was the turning-point in his life. He promised God that if restored to health, die would consecrate his life to service in the mission field. The vow was kept. When the way opened, he re-en tered school, and graduated from Auburn Seminary in 1859. A few months later he _was in Japan, beginning the labor which made such a wonderful impression on the political, social, and religious de velopment of the Island Kingdom.” George Atley was a young English man, with the instincts, and heart of a hero. He was engaged in the Central African Mission. The story came of his being attacked by a oarty of natives. He had with him a Winchester repeating rifle, with ten chambers loaded; he Had the party completely at his mercy. Calm ly and coolly he summed up the situation, and finally concluded that if he killed them he would do more harm to the mission than were he to let them take his own life. So as a lamb to the slaughter he was led. and when his dead body was found in the stream, his rifle was also found, its ten chambers untouched.— Dr. M. J. McLeod. “Kennedy, a student volunteer of Col orado, testifying as to his reason for go ing to the foreign field, said: ‘I found in fighting forest fires effectively that you’ve got to go where the fire is hottest. The foreign field is where the fires are hottest.’ ” “At a class reunion at one of the great eastern universities, one graduate asked of another concerning a third: ‘How do you account for Manley’s going as a mis sionary? I had picked him out for a great career in law or medicine or poli tics. He was the most intellectual and brilliant man in our class. Now it has been years since I have heard from him. Poor fellow! A great career lost! Wasted his talents on some low-down
heathen.’ The speaker was the head of a great corporation and had spent all his time since graduation in making money. His companion, a distinguished journal ist, replied: ‘I have a letter here from Manley. He wants to be remembered to the class, and he encloses a little circular telling about his work. It includes the biggest hospital for surgical cases in all China; a preaching circle of fourteen sta tions and outstations; a publishing house that ranks first in the East ; a boys’train ing school that requires an outlay of $25,- 000 a year, with an attendance of 500 stu dents ; he has twenty-seven assistant work ers in various departments.’ The business man did the manly thing. ‘I apologize to Manley,’ he said. ‘¡I did not know what a great career a modern missionary has. By the side of it I am willing to say my own is small. I envy him his great career.’” “James Chalmers was called by Robert Louis Stevenson ‘the Great Heart of New Guinea.’ He was the son of a Scot tish stone-mason. As a boy of fifteen he prayed God to make him a missionary. His prayer was granted, and he spent ten faithful years in the Cook Islands. In 1877, however, the heroic missionary ob tained a transference to a more difficult and, therefore, more congenial field. He was alone with his noble wife among the desperate and cruel cannibals of New Guinea, where he had a thousand es capes from poisoning and other forms of assassination as well as from the fever. He won great influence over the ,natives, and accomplished much for civilization by his bold explorations. In 1901, after a wonderful life, ‘Tamate,’ as the natives called him, was murdered by a tribe whom he was newly approaching on his Christlike errand.” “Dr. Thomas Coke was a great organ izer of Methodist missions, and on most of his nine journeys to America he spent much time among the West Indies Is lands, encouraging and directing the mis sionaries. He was often in p e r s o n a 1 danger, while his missionaries were im prisoned and the negro slaves were severely punished for attending the Gos pel meetings. It was the law on one island that a slave should be whipped every time he was found praying. Amid all these discouragements Dr. Coke continued zeal ously in the work, raising money, sending out new missionaries, and in every way promoting the great cause of missions.” “John Williams taught the natives of Raiatea, in the Society Islands, how to build houses, make chairs, tables, sofas, and build boats without nails. He also showed them how to get a building-plas ter out of the coral. But he taught them something better—how to build Christ like lives.” June 2, 1929 C h aracter a G row th, Not a G ift 2 Pet. 1 :5-8. (Consecration meeting.) D aily S cripture R eadings May 27. Grow in Grace. Eph. 4:15. May 28. Comrades and Character. 1 Cor. 15:33. May 29. Building Character. 1 Pet. 5 :l-5. May 3Q. Growth through the Word. 1 Pet. 2:1-3. May 31. Growth by Study. 2 Cor. 3:18. June 1. Growth by Habit. Ps. 1:l-6.
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker