him from all other forms of life, the God-given quality which is eternal. Man is capable of knowing, appreciating and worshiping God through his spirit. He is able to please or offend God according to his obedience or insubordination. No other creature of God is so endowed. Man alone is able to lift his head and look into the face of his Creator. God made him thus.—in His own image. The spirit of man is eternal. It is part of God, imparted to man by God, and must return to God at the moment of death. Man’s spirit is destined to exist forever. Then what uttter folly it is for man to forget that he is a creature of God’s hand! What madness for man to seek earthly wisdom only, leaving God out of his thinking! What a misuse of intelligence to study the mysteries of the opera tion of the human body and neglect the reason for which the body and spirit were created! What criminal blindness to look at all the delightful mysteries of our environment and fail to see in them the Divine intelligence and aim! These facts demand a recognition of God in our living and thinking. We must acknowledge that God has a transcendent purpose in the world, and desire above all things to learn His will. This is the reason for all of life. With one notable exception, all men must die. This fact is obvious. There are too many cemeteries, funeral homes and published obituaries to deny it. In the midst of life, death is on every hand. We sojourn on this earth at the longest for our “ threescore years and ten” and then we die. Despite the commendable advances in modern science in conquering the ravages of disease, the length of man’s life does not increase. The organs of the body wear out; the eye dims; the joints grow stiff; the hearing dulls, and, at the appointed time, life terminates. At last men must stand personally before God. Life is full of inequalities. The thief cleverly conceals his ill-gotten gains and spends them in “ riotous living.” The im moral scoundrel seduces the innocent girl and vanishes, leav ing her to a life of shame. The murderer.commits the “per fect crime” and with diabolical cunning eludes the arm of the law. But is there to be no retribution? Will a just and right eous God allow such crimes to go unpunished forever? Will men and women who have sinned and gone free in this life also evade the justice of God? No, every man must give an account to God. This conception is held universally. The ignorant Hottentot in the jungle knows that a time of judgment is approaching. The befurred Eskimos of the Arctic are aware that all deeds must be accounted for. The legends of ancient peoples invaria bly show their belief that this life is not the end, but that all men must some day stand before the bench of the Supreme Being of the universe. Deep within the consciousness of every living person today is that unalterable conviction that in the future God and he must encounter one another. Life is too complex to be finished in seventy years. God has expended too much on man, his environment and his re demption, that he should die as a dog expires. Within the body of man dwells an undying spirit, which came from God and which will go to Him. God has endowed man with intelligence above the rest of creation. The primary motive of _jman’s intellect is to recog nize God’s place in the universe—to be assured that all things which our hands hold and all things which our eyes behold are the handiwork of God. and subsequently to reason that since God created the world and all that is therein, He had a purpose in it. -Then, man should follow the plan of God in his individual life. This is the highest purpose of bestowed intelligence, and God will require it of all men. Man has been equipped to do things. His varied talents are all God-given. His tongue is formed to speak, his throat to sing. His feet are created to run, his eves to see. His hands can fashion, his mind can organize. These abilities present opportunities for lasting service for God. Some day God will solemnly judge every man as to his use or abuse of these capacities. Page Si* God Holds Men Responsible! (Fact No. 3)
God Has Written A Book! (Fact No. 4)
It is not strange that God should write a Book. In what better way could God communicate His will to man who is His creature? Woven into the intricate structure of His Book is the oft-repeated, insistent claim that God alone is its Author. Surrounding the Book is abundant evidence that the internal claims are completely substantiated. Look at the marvel of its structure: The theme of the Book is one even though nearly forty men collaborated in its production, which took over 1600 years. Its languages vary, customs differ, and occupations are diverse among its human authorship. Everything argues against its unity, but from Genesis to Revelation there is complete unity of purpose, coherence of logic and progression of thought. Contradictions there are none, though, humanly speaking, there is every reason for them. Nothing essential to man’s spiritual well being is omitted, and no question in life is unanswered. The Bible, on one hand, is the oldest Book in the world and yet the most up-to-date. Its teachings are unique. Full infor mation is furnished on such mysteries as angels, Satan, de mons, heaven, hell and eternity. No book has teachings of such high morality. Sin is revealed in its true heinousness. Righteousness is seen to exalt both men and nations. Trans parent honesty of authorship is exhibited as the writers freely tell of the faults of its heroes. Nor does the Bible fail to look into the future. With minute ness of detail, it schedules future events, not in the gen eralities of some pseudo-prophet. With boldness it challenges history to prove it correct in its predictions. Truly it is the Book of books! Evil men of all ages have sought the complete extermina tion of the Book. Kings have declared against it; nations have attempted to stamp it out. But in spite of all the devil’s effort, the presses of today’s world cannot supply the demand for it. Good men and true have ever been on the side of the Book. Noble men have proclaimed its message. Thousands have died rather than deny its truth. Men deep in sin and degradation who have opened their hearts to the good news of the Book have had their lives transformed into lives of beauty and purity by God’s power. No other book can do this. Many other proofs of the Bible’s genuineness could be added. Its historical data are accurate. When it deals with science, it makes no errors even though it was not written by scientists, but rather by those who lived far in advance of modern scientific research. It is strictly an Oriental Book, yet it meets the needs of Occidentals completely. It is superb literature, containing incomparable teaching. Its truth is inexhaustible, its influence immeasurable. There are counterfeits—many of them. Other books, the works of men’s hands, purport to set forth the will of God. But when they are compared with the Bible, men will be soon convinced that the Bible is majestically alone the Book of God. God Gave His Son! (Fact No. 5) A magnificent star over Bethlehem announced the gift. To a world that was dark with ignorance, hatred and fear, God sent light and hope in the birth of the Babe to a virgin mother. This was the mystery of the ages, God clothing with human flesh the Son whom He had given. The course of the world has been different from that day; forgiveness, new life and immortality are available to the sons of men. Many wonders surrounded the life of this Son of God. The words which fell from His lips were those that no other ever spoke, filled with the wisdom of the third heaven, words of divine comfort, of deathless hope and of eternal righteous ness. His words will exist when our civilizations have crum bled into dust, for they were words of life. But He was a Doer of deeds as well. With compassion He ministered to the needs of the multitudes. Tenderly His hands were laid on the sick. Without fear He cleansed the leprous. With ringing authority He cast out the demons and com manded the raging storm to be still. He even called back the dead from the gates of death. These were the deeds of the Son .of God. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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