April, 1936
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
148
Ethiopian and the Caucasian; from the black man and the yellow man; yes, from the Jew and the Greek and many another “ foreigner” who is neighbor to the Anglo- Saxon ( Phil. 2:4, S ).—R ichardson . II. “W ho I s M y N eighbor ?” 1. A man’s obligation to the other man is measured by the need of the other man. —B irney . 2 . The term “neighbor” embraces every man, regardless of racial barriers. The meaning o f the parable o f the Good Samaritan is this: Brotherly kindness is not confined to those of the same race or to those o f the same religion. It embraces all men. You have a duty as neighbor to every one who needs your help and whom you can help ( Lk. 10:25-37 ). —W. E. W ilson . III. D ifficulties in I nternational G ood W ill These are days in which even those who believe that peace could be achieved apart from the personal return o f Christ are placing more emphasis upon the difficulties in man’s peace programs. An example of this trend is found in an editorial published in the New York World-Telegram: “We begin to realize that we overesti mated the world’s progress toward civi lization. Its promise to go straight was only a sick man’s resolve. Now that its wounds have healed a little, it is as mean as ever. “As optimists we are confident that some day law and order will reign in the world community o f nations just as it does now in our best unarmed communities of in dividuals; but as realists we know that time is not yet.” MAY 24, 1936 THE STORY OF THE CRIM INAL: HOW HE IS MADE P roverbs 1 :10-19 Meditation on the Lesson The Book of Proverbs is the practical book of the Bible. Most of the sayings deal directly with our conduct. There are thirty-one chapters in the book, a morn ing reading for each day in the month. I believe that any “ Christian Endeavorer” who faithfully will read these portions of God’s Word will be drawn closer to Him, because they teach the necessity of de pendence upon Him, for life itself, for the avoidance of wrongdoing, and for the de velopment of the highest character. “Man’s goings are of the Lord” (Prov. 20:24). “ Boast not thyself of tomorrow” (Prov. 27:1). “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart ; and lean not unto thine own under standing. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:5, 6). “The fear o f the Lord is the be ginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). In our passage for today we have the most succinct and comprehensive instruc tion about the path of crime and concern ing the way not to become a criminal. Solomon gives three important impera tives, which, if followed in the strength of Christ, will prove an absolute safeguard. “ Consent . . . not." "Walk not . . . with them.” "Refrain . . . from their path.” Learn to say “ No.” “I f sinners entice thee, consent thou not." “Entice” is a most apt word, for thé devil knows how to make
MAY 17, 1936 NATIONALISM AND INTER- NATIONAL GOOD WILL P hilippians 2 : 4 , 5; A cts 17:26 Meditation on the Lesson Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour never requires anything of His followers that He does not do or has not done Him self. Besides being our Redeemer, He is our perfect Pattern. In Philippians 2, God has set a high standard for the Christian’s relationship to those about him. “ Look not every man on his own things.” "Look . . . on the things o f others.” “Let this mind be in you.” Three short, sharp, staccato im peratives from the Holy Spirit bring in struction which we would do well to heed. The three commands are really one in ef fect. If the last one, “ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” is obeyed faithfully, we will not be inter ested in our own affairs but in the welfare o f others. Christ “came not to be min istered unto, but to minister” (Matt. 20: 28). He was never too tired or too busy to be kind. He was never thinking o f His own pleasure, for the apostle, in exhorting the believers at Rome, reminds us: “ Even Christ pleased not himself.” The Lord Jesus alone could say : “I do always those things that please him [the Father].” “ I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will o f him that sent me.” But what is the relation between Christ’s example and our attitude toward people o f differing national backgrounds? The Christian who has yielded his mind to the Holy Spirit’s control cannot be bound to a slogan of “my country, right or wrong.” He will remember that the Word of God teaches that all men have a common par entage, through God’s creation o f Adam and Eve (cf. Acts 17 :24, 26, R. V .: “ God . . . made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” ). The international good will that can stand the strain of misunderstanding, o f propa ganda, and o f conflicting national inter ests, is the positive, overflowing love which God creates in the hearts o f those who are “the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus'’ (Gal. 3:26). H earing the C ry of U nconscious N eed “ Come over . . . and help us.” A nation that is weaker and more backward from a social or a religious standpoint may not realize its shortcomings. The call of the “man of Macedonia” (Acts 16:9) was not a cry of conscious need on the part of the people. As Phillips Brooks has pointed out, “ So far as we can know, there was not one man in Macedonia who wanted Paul—not one who met him at the ship and said, ‘Come, we have waited for y ou ; we sent for you; we want your help.” ’ It was God’s recognition o f the need, and it was made real to Paul in the vision o f a person. Alas for us if God helped us only when we knew we needed Him 1“Alas for us if every need which we know not, had not a voice for Him and did not call Him to us I Did the world want the Saviour? Was it not into a blindness so dark that it did not know that it was blind, that the Saviour came ? Think what the world would be if men were like God in this respect.” Today, there is a cry of an unconscious need going up from the Helps for the Leader I.
THE BOLIVIAN INDIAN MISSION, Inc U.S.A. Headquarters: 113 Fulton St.,N.Y. 55 Missionaries Working IN THE ANDES O R G A N I Z E D 1 9 0 7 28 Years in HIS Keeping H. E. V ROM AN , S ec.-T rea s. L o s A n g e le s , C a lif. C o u n cil 7161/a N o rth A r d m o r e A v e n u e "B O L IV IA N IN D IA N " Our Magazine ■ ■ ■ ■ b b b b h h b b o h Introducing Higley’s 1936 Sunday School Lesson Commentary Regular Price $1.00 Introductory [| )n Price Now uUu Cloth, 288 pages, 6x9 matter, true to the fundamentals, presented in the Spirit and Power of the Gospel. The pro found truths of the Bible in the spirit and language of the common people. Gives both a textual and a topical treatment, with the views of the best commentators skillfully arranged. A valuable and pleasing addition to your sup ply of helps, presenting the lessons from new angles. Regular Price $1.00, NOW 50c so long as they last. Guaranteed satisfactory or money refunded. Address Dept. K.B. THE HIGLEY PRINTING CO., Butler, Ind. rr:q Has doubled its sales every year for three years. Gives an abundance of in teresting, helpful, inspiring
B E T H E L JUNIOR COLLEGE
O ffering two years of a c credited college w ork in an environment conducive to the development o f sound Christian th in k in g , inspira tion to Missionary service, and faith in the W ord.
For information address:
REUBEN E. NELSON Educational Secretary 1480 North Snelling Avenue St. Paul, Minn.
A B I B L E 7 5 c ! ! ! ! King James Authorized Version
FOR B IB L E CLASSES, STUDENTS A N D CHURCHES Easily read, large black type. Study Aids, Colored Illustrations and Maps— Head Band, Marker—Beautiful Bed Edges, Flexible Keratol Binding—Cellophane Jacket- Slip Case—Handy Size, 4% ins. x 7% ins.—Postpaid. The Largest Old Book Store In America N I N T H S T R E E T below M A R KET , PH ILA., PA. "IUU Te rs hi uio u L E A R Y ’ S Write for our free illustrated booklet— >*100 Years in the Old Book Business/'
Made with FlippingBook HTML5