17:25). The Lord Jesus knew God most thoroughly, whether He had led the world to know Him or not. Blessed is that work, however it may appear to the public, that makes us know God. Practicing Submission Another element which God is seeking in His child is yieldedness to Him. First, the worker must learn submis sion to thé will of God. This perhaps is a greater acquisition than the mere ap preciation of God. It is blessed to have the mighty God bend to aid us in our ac tivity; but if He shall will that we suf fer rather than that we achieve, we must be very closely attached to Him if we say with sweet submission, “ Not my will, but Thine be done.” This apparent-
ly was the finishing touch in the career of Jesus when He bowed in Gethsemane and uttered this supreme submissive petition. Often in the exigencies of our work, we are brought into the holy hush of submission. Second, the worker is to learn submis sion to the whole purpose of God. This yieldedness is to be not so much passive as active. The will of God is often far beyond what we ask or think, and we must be led to comply with His desires rather than with our choices. “He pur poses larger than we plan.” Christ has constantly something a- gainst His church, because she does not accept the fullness of His salvation. We, His children, frequently stop with some partial, local, temporary phase of bless ing instead of reaching out to the com plete and final prize of the upward call ing of God in Christ Jesus. How many are putting their best energies on super ficial “ reform” rather than grasping the will of God concerning holy, immortal ized humanity as revealed in the Scrip tures and illustrated in the career of Jesus! Paul, in speaking of his desire that mortality might be swallowed up of life—that is, that he might be trans figured while living—says, “He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God.” This is God’s purpose concerning humanity. But how few individuals sub mit their wills to God’s will in this re spect ! Are not the failures of works of .re form and of various other endeavors of man’s devising meant to teach mankind that they must finally submit to and ac cept God’s wonderful salvation? Would we ever really learn God’s purposes un less we were driven to them by the ex igencies of our work? Was not the futile attempt of Moses to deliver Israel by his own might when forty years of age, and his consequent sojourn in Midian, an ex perience that prepared the way for the sublime deliverance that God ultimately wrought through him? The final Moses was infinitely superior to the incipient Moses, by reason of the work and the consequent acquaintance with God that lay between. Oh, may God cause us to cease going about to establish our own righteousness “and lead us to submit to the righteousness of God by faith! Third, the worker is to learn submis sion to the person of God. Not only must we appreciate God, and submit to His will passively and actively, but we must also surrender ourselves to Him. Very intimate is the relation into which God finally brings His chosen ones. It is not only that of Master and servant, or merely that of Teacher and disciple, but it is also that of Bridegroom and bride, where the very self is surrendered in the closest and holiest of ties, so that they become one. Now this blessed cli max is never reached if the thought is ever centered in the outward world, or things done in the present state of hu man society. But if “work,” as such, is found to be hollow and unsatisfying, so that the soul cries out for God, it (Continued on Page 21) T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
THE W O RKER MOR E THAN THE W O R K (Continued from Page 8) desire that the bystanders should learn to recognize God as the source of the power about to be so signally displayed. If our work gives us a vivid appre hension of God and brings us into com munion with Him, it largely accomplish es its purpose, whether it seems to be “ successful” in the eyes of the world or hot. The high-priestly prayer of Jesus just as He was being rejected by the world illustrates this point. “ O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me . . . ” (John
Students, Women’s Bible Institute, Pyongyang, Korea. At right, the street called Straight, Damascus, Syria, looking toward St. Paul’s gate.
Miss Ahn E. Sook, Korean near-martyr because she would not bow before the State Shinto Shrines.
2 J 0 t t £ f r î f a t
C m * * - ”
Condensed from “ B IBL ICAL M ISSIONS”
Rev. 12:1 1 .
A t the time of the Japanese per- secutions, one of the most faithful of those devoted Korean martyrs who gave their lives rather than deny Christ at the State Shinto Shrines was Choi Pong Suk (Choi Moksa, Pastor Choi), “ of whom the world was not worthy.” A missionary friend writes of him: “ On my way up town in Pyengyang, Korea, one forenoon, I heard someone singing with a pow erful voice, ‘Nal sa-rang ha sim’ (Jesus loves me). A few moments o f silence. Then a huge shout, ‘Yay Soo!’ (Jesus)! “ Soon afterward he came into view— a man of seventy, with very severe, wrinkled face. He was walk
ing right down the middle of the wide city street, Bible under arm. He gave out tracts to curious people, and quoted John 3:16 to them. Then he sang: ‘Jesus loves me.’ As I ap proached, his sternness vanished in an astonishing way. He bowed to me politely, and gave me the sweet- est smile, such as only a godly saint can give. I was astonished at its pure beauty, and the clear, reassuring expression. My heart went out to him, and I loved him, then and there1” Later feeling that his arrest by Japanese police was near, he travelled on foot, warning the people against the wicked idolatry o f Shintoism. His own fam ily, did not know his whereabouts. But even as the police hounded him over the province, he won seventy new believers to Christ. Eventually arrested and cruelly mistreated, he died four years later in prison. That strong voice, silenced in death, will again shout "Yay-Soo!” on the resurrection morning.
In these end'times of apostasy and spiritual declension, the Board holds aloft a faithful testimony to the integrity of the holy Scrip' tures. Will you fellowship with us as the Lord may lead? For full information address the General Secretary.
f o r P R E S B Y T E R I A N F O R E I G N M I S S I O N S
Philadelphia 44, Pa., U.S.A.
Page Fourteen
Made with FlippingBook Annual report