December 1932
■534 I have no room where to bestow my fruits ? . . . This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Not a thought o f God or his fellow man 1 The personal pronoun “my” loomed large. He spoke o f “my fruits,” “my goods,” “my soul,” “my barns”—all for self, nothing for God. But death came, and he left all be hind. Doubtless, the papers, if there were any, had much to say in praise of this dead man. He had been a huge business suc cess, so naturally he became an admired figure in his community, in spite o f his selfishness. However, the Saviour had one word to say to him and about h im : “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required o f thee.” Then followed these solemn w ords: “ So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” What a warn ing! Christ is endeavoring in this impres sive way to teach us the danger of “living just for things.” Illustration The Christian world seems agreed that, since the days of Paul, no more Christlike man has lived than David Livingstone. This belief we cannot but share when we think o f his humility, his patience, his purity, his magnanimity, his heroism, his love, his utter self-sacrifice. The secret of this character o f Christlike beauty and power is unveiled to us in a certain reso lution made by Livingstone, a resolution that shaped his whole life, and which, if made by any reader o f these pages, will lift his or her life also into splendid beauty and power. That resolution was, “I will place no value on anything I have or may possess, save in its relation to the kingdom of love and truth and righteousness.” — S m it h . Discussion Material I. H is C all I heard Him call, “ Come follow”—that was all. My gold grew dim, My heart went after Him. I rose and followed—that was all. II. Six T h in g s to R emem ber A bout R ich es 1. Don’t think riches mean life (Lk. 12: IS). 2. Don’t covetously desire them (1 Tim. 6:9, 10). 3. Don’t lay up treasure on earth (Lk. 12: 21; Matt. 6:19). 4. Don’t live in indulgence with no thought for the poor (Lk. 16:19-31). 5. Riches are deceitful (Matt. 13:22). 6. Rich men hardly enter the kingdom (Lk. 18:24). III. W h a t Y ou M a k e I t Dug from the mountain side, washed in the glen, Servant am I or the master o f men; Steal me, I curse you, Earn me, I bless y o u ; Grasp me, and hoard me, a fiend shall possess y ou ; Lie for me, die for m e; Covet me, take me, Angel or devil, I am what you make me. — S elected . Who would not follow If he heard Him call? — S elected .
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Illustrations I. R eflection , a P roof of L igh t
IY. How M u ch A re Y ou W o r th ? “A man’s life consisteth not in the abun dance of the things which he possesseth.” So the Saviour affirms—but the world, and to a sad extent the church, holds another view. Every day we hear the question, “How much is So-and-So worth?” Does that mean, how much o f honor, courage, unselfishness does he possess? O f course not. It means, how much money has he? Human worth expressed in terms o f the penny!— S m it h . JANUARY 29, 1933 W H A T GOOD IS OUR CHURCH DOING? M a tt h e w 5:13-16 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn— “Let the Lower Lights Be Burn- ing.” Hymn—“ Rescue the Perishing.” Scripture Reading from Memory by an Endeavorer—Matt. 5 :13-16. Hymn—“ Is Your Life a Channel o f Blessing?” Prayer by Three Members. Instrumental Solo—Piano or Marimba- phone. Leader’s Message. Reports from the Missionaries Support ed by Your Church or Society. Quiet Hour— Prayer for the home and foreign mission work o f your church. Benediction—Matthew 28 :19, 20. Meditation on the Lesson “Ye are the salt of the earth.” These searching words are found in the matchless “ Sermon on the Mount,” and they constitute a clear and powerful call to duty. Christ had just concluded the re markable list o f “blessed’s” and He did not want His disciples to sit comfortably back, congratulating themselves that they were better than other men. He intended them to exercise a purifying, seasoning, saving influence in the world. If Sodom had had ten righteous men in it, God would have spared the city. Salt seasons food and preserves it from corrup tion so that it can give life to men. Salt cleanses and sweetens and gives whole some flavor to human existence. It de stroys the germs which produce decay. Marvelous is the parallel spiritually. Christians, real, true, Spirit-filled Chris tians, are antiseptic to the unrighteousness which is the great destroyer o f individuals and nations. Also, they are the salt o f the earth, because they spread the truth o f the gospel by proclaiming Jesus Christ to all the world. Salt in a barrel is o f no use to anybody; it must be brought into contact with objects which it is to preserve and to purify. “But if the salt have lost his savour,” its saltiness, that which gives it its preserving power, it becomes worthless, useless. What a sad thing it is to see Christians who have lost their “flavor” 1 It is small wonder that Paul said, “ I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Paul knew that his salvation was secure, for Christ had given him eternal life, but he feared he might lose his “ savour” and be “disapproved” as useless in service. Dr. Van Dyke once said that God has condensed “The Whole Duty o f Man” (a large volume considered indispensable to a clergyman in the last century) into one word—salt.
In the British Art Exhibit at the Colum bian Exposition, there was a remarkable picture o f a blacksmith’s shop. All the homely details—the smoky walls and raf ters, the lurking shadows, the forms and faces o f the men, showing in the half lights—were portrayed with singular fidel ity. But the greatest artistic triumph ap peared in a marvelous reflection, upon a boy’s face, o f light from an unseen forge. The ruddy glow, illuminating the sturdy figure and honest features o f the rugged fellow, busy with his work, was simply wonderful. No need to picture the red flames o f the forge beyond ; their existence was distinctly evident. The bright reflec tion proved their presence and their power. So it is always. A vivid reflection is in vincible proof o f light somewhere. Should not the children of light give this testimony daily?— J o h n so n . II. F in d in g G od There came to the door o f a missionary in Japan a young Japanese college grad uate, twenty-three years old. He was a pil grim, as his dress and hat showed. He had completed on foot the weary circuit o f the eighty-eight shrines and was only thirty- five miles from his home. But he realized that he had not found God. Hearing that there was a missionary in the town, as a last resort, he came to his door and knock ed. When the missionary opened the door, the young man said, “I am looking for God ; can you show Him to me?” Said thè missionary, “ I think I can. Come in.” For two hours, they studied together the gospel o f Matthew. The young man found lodging in the village and gave himself to the study o f Christianity, aided by the missionary. At the end o f three weeks, he said, “ Teacher, I have found Him and I am going home.” Said the missionary, “ If you have found Him, tell Him so and thank Him.” The young man dropped his head on his arm and said, “ O Thou, whom my ancestors groped about in their darkness for generations to find, for whose discovery I came to this island, blindly looking—at last, I have found Thee; I thank Thee. Amen.” He took the missionary by the hand, with a new light on his face, and his last words were, “ Good-by, I have found Him, I have found Him, I have found Him.” — S m it h . Discussion Material I. T hou W ho A rt L ig h t Thou who art Light, shine on each' soul 1 Thou who art Truth, each mind control! Open our eyes and make us see The path which leads to heaven and Thee. — H a y . II. O ur D uty to L et O ur L ig h t S h in e “ To give light and save life,” the inscrip tion on the Eddystone lighthouse reads. This might well be the motto o f every Christian. He cannot avoid responsibility for he is the world’s Bible. “Men are con-
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