May, 1942
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
163
Around the King's Table LOUIS T. TALBOT, Editor-In-Chief
Finally, band instruments require living players. Trumpets, even silver ones, are useless unless living lips are behind them. How ridiculous it would be for a bandmaster to try to get musicr from instruments that had no players! And yet, in the spiritual realm, we are guilty of this very folly. We try to live and labor without the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Self- produced and self-directed activities are always fruitless. How slow we are to learn that without the living Lord we are nothing! » On Memorial Day and on other occasions, the music of a band will stir human emotions. May God grant that the parallel spiritual lessons also may grip hearts and strengthen lives.
snatched,from him. “I lost sixty-five of my best lambs last night,” he said: “Wolves got in.” The sympathetic pastor expressed his own grief over this great loss of his friend’s. “And how many sheep did they kill besides?” he asked. The shepherd looked surprised. “Don’t you know,” he answered, “that a wolf never will take an old sheep so long as he can get a Iamb?" The “lambs” are feeing c r u e l l y ruined by the enfemy of souls today. •Who is there with the shepherd heart to weep over this loss, to set about to bring to the lambs and the sheep the protection that is to be found only in Christ? Lessons from the Band There is something inspiring about martial music. Weary marches are robbed of much.of their drabness if the soldiers can move forward to the beat of swinging music. Have you ever thought of the lessons that can be learned from a band? First of all, a band is made up of many different instruments. The bass drum is not all the band, although it may be large enough to hold within itself a dozen 'smaller instruments. Our difficulty is that we are not con tent to play our small part. Diotrephes (3 John 9) who loved to have pre eminence among his brethren, had no room for other “players” ; he wanted to be everything! Alas, there are oth ers like him. Then, too,, there must be unison. The word “band” means “bond,” and carries with it the thought of binding together. Harmony results when there is oneness of purpose among the players, and when every one does his part. At Pentecost, the disciples were in one place and were of one mind— and we know the glorious results that followed. If your “instrument” is silent when it should be heard, the music of united testimony for Christ cannot sound forth in perfect cadence as it should. Furthermore, a band must be con- ' trolled by one master. It is fascinat ing to watch the bandmaster’s move ments and to observe the players as they follow his directions. Utter con fusion would result if two men were attempting to lead the" same band at the same time. Alas, as Christians we are wretched “players,” when we fail • to wait on the Master! We refuse’His leadership and thus bring discord into the music.
"Christian” America According to Life magazine, in one ■ defense boom town there aré 308 night clubs and not even one Protes tant church. The condition in the nation as a whole, while happily it does not re flect the same proporñoo, as that which has been cited, is still far from encouraging. It is reported that tljere are 210,000 churches in the United States as a g a i n s t 430,000 places licensed to sell alcoholic drinks—in a land that still has the boldness to label itself “Christian.” America needs a mighty awakening, a turning to God in genuine repent ance. And unless this beloved nation witnesses such a change as this very soon, it is impossible to estimate how . desperate and far-reaching will be the effects of evil influences on the prom- ising youth of today. “Christian” America need Christ. >
An Appeal for Logic These days, even in journals that do not purport to be religious, solemn words are being written that stress the nation’s spiritual need. The writ ers are not, by any means, all staid evangelicals. For example, in Red- book for April, A. J. Cronin, in offer ing a “Prescription for War Time,” declares (bold face type ours): “ We shall not, we cannot win this war, without the maximum of Sacrifice, the merciless annihil ation, by each of us, of self. We cannot buy our way ,to victory. Masses of men, preponderance of planes, weijght of steel alone will not bring us to the clear horizon - of a happy peace. This is a war ofsthe spirit. . . - “It is not given to all of us to lead the van in* battle. At least we can- pray for those who do. Alas! the mention of the word is dangerous. Prayer has become the target of the cynic, the scoffer, the smart sophisticate who would sooner stand upon his head in a crowded street than kneel, in sol itude, before the altar of his God. That is but another symptom of our moral lethargy. . . Even if we are without faith, let us be logi cal: If we fight to preserve the Christian ethic, the least that we can do is to give it a chance in our own lives." \ - . - [ Continued on Page 198]
Taking the Lambs In a sense, every issue of THE KING’S BUSINESS is a Youth Number. The imperative need for winning young people and boys and girls for I Christ is stressed in these pages con.- tinually—as it should be. But once a year a special number is planned, like the present one, which centers attention particularly on this vital and often-neglected mipistry. The importance of emphasis upon youth was pointed out strikingly by that veteran pastor and teacher, W. B. Riley, as he spoke recently in the Church of the Open Door. Dr. Riley told of spending a brief vacation years ago on the premises of a Scotch ;heep herder. His host had met him .■ourteously at the station, but in the long drive to the ranch had seemed strangely disinclined to talk. There had seemed to be a heavy burden on his heart. Pressed for the reason for l\is silence, the old shepherd had wept as though his own children had been
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