fices fo r the cause o f the Gospel mes sage ? Two wealthy Christian businessmen had join ed each oth er on a round- the-world tour. In K orea, they no ticed a boy pulling a crude wooden plow, while his a g e d g rand fath er guided him through a muddy rice paddy. While one o f the Americans took pictures, the oth er spoke to their m issionary guide, "I suppose the fam ily is very poor.” The m issionary nod ded, “Yes, they are. But things were b etter b efo re they helped to build the church. You see, they w ere eag er to sh are in the construction costs, so they sold their only ox and gave the money to the Lord. They decided it was worth the sacrifice, and so take turns pulling the plow themselves. It is not easy.” The one shooting pic tures finished and in jected, “That must have been a real sacrifice, in deed.” Whereupon the m i s s i o n a r y sm iled and replied, “Well, actually they didn’t call it that. They rath er fe lt fortun ate that they had an ox to sell and give to the L ord.” How many o f us have an ox we could sell so that we could give the money to the Lord? It may mean that we ourselves are going to have to pull the plow, how ever, the L ord xoill give the increase and reward, as well as the strength. “I f ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the righ t hand o f God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” * * * The difference between gossip and news depends upon whether you tell it or hear it. * * * A NATION'S FORCE Did you knoio that last year Am eri cans had to pay fifteen billion dollars fo r crime? That equals approximately $120 fo r every man, woman and child in the en tire country. Now listed in Washington, D.C., are over 3,500,000 criminals. J . E dg ar Hoover, o f the Department o f Ju stice, declares that we have 5,000,000 criminals in the making. Actually, records show that
teenagers comm itted m ore than a million and a h alf m ajor crim es last year. How strategic then the program o f the church and the Sunday school taking a child at the “plastic” period o f his life. Billy Sunday used to say that only one person out o f every thousand is converted a fte r the ag e o f twenty. Only one person out o f fo rty thou sand is converted a fte r the ag e o f forty . Yet statistics reveal that sixty thousand churches last y ear h ere in Am erica didn’t have a single convert. In addition, nine thousand churches had to close their doors, and o f course the Sunday schools w ere dropped. No doubt many o f you may be teachers or helpers in this valued arm o f the church’s m inistry. N ever fo rg et, al though you may have disappointments and fe e l like quitting, the Sunday school produces Christians. F rom its 371/2 m illion -pupils come the Christian fa th ers and mothers who have given us our country’s h eritag e and who have kept Am erica strong. No wonder Daniel W ebster said in the halls o f Congress, “The B ible is our only sa fe guide. So long as we take it as our instructor fo r conduct and character, we will go on prospering in the fu tu re as in the past. But the moment we relegate it from our lives a catastro phe will come to us such as we have never known b efore.” * Dignity is difficult to preserve in alcohol. A little g irl teas viewing some o f the new skyscrapers being built in New York City on a v isit there w ith h er fa th er. Looking up at one o f them, she said, “Daddy, what are those lit tle men doing up on top o f that new building?” The fa th e r squeezed her hand and replied, “Dear, those aren ’t little men. They’re the sam e size as I am. I t ’s ju st that they’re up so high.” A fter' a few moments o f pensive thinking, the little g irl again respond ed by saying, “Well, then, I guess the closer one gets to heaven, the smaller he becomes.” 22 * * * * CLOSER TO HEAVEN *
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