King's Business - 1919-03

216

T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S

mother and six children in two beds, and th e m other says “all down w ith the flues.” She tells you “ th e ole man ain t doin’ very good—w ent out in his bare feet to feed th e hog yesterday and got a setback.” The m issionary stands be­ w ildered. W hat shall he do? He fixes up th e fire, gets some fresh w ater, then inquires as to when they had th e ir last meal, only to find th a t some neighbors a day ago had come in and fried some “ ta te rs.” There has been nothing but doctor’s medicine since. Everywhere in th e h u t th ere is filth and disorder— dishes, pans, etc., all unwashed. Out­ side of a sack of corn meal th e re is nothing in the place to eat. A fter giv­ ing sundry instructions as to keeping in bed and keeping warm , you go in search of something for them to eat and someone to look afte r them once in a while. A t the next house, th e re sits, old “A unt L iddy” w ith a pipe the color of a stovepipe between her teethless gums. All around her on the floor is influenza spitum . You notice th e fever flush on her cheeks and th e w atery eyes, and you ask if she has had a doctor. “Naw ,” she replies, “ the old man don’t believe in ’em. He sent for one once and he never corned, and he got b etter, and a in t had no use fo r. ’em since.” You do w hat you can for her and pass on to th e next house. Here you find five in bed, th ree w ith pneumonia, having refused to take any medicine. On your way to th e next house, you meet a man staggering along by the aid of a cane. You stare a t the app aren t apparition, for only five days ago you k n elt a t his bedside as he tossed in th e pneumonia delirium and the doctor said he could not live the n igh t through. You remember how, as they lowered the casket containing th e rem ains of his wife, th e bystanders said, you would have to conduct his funeral in a few days. And th e re he is, trying to navigate on a chilly day. You give

The statem en t of the apostle Paul, “X am made all things to all men th a t by all means I m ight save some,” is won­ derfully illu strate d in th e experience of H erb ert J. Scott, a B. I. stud en t, 1918, who is now located a t W hitesburg, Ky., among th e m ountain whites. W riting to studen ts of th e Bible In stitu te, he gives them an idea of how he and his wife spend th e ir tim e for th e Lord Jesus among these forsaken people. May it stir our readers to redouble th e ir dili­ gence in service to those in- need who are all about, th a t “ by all means they m ight save some.” He says: “ In your stud en t days did you ever have visions of pastoral calls in a com­ m unity of b righ t and cozy homes, whose occupants m et you w ith a cheery smile and a word of welcome and gave you a pressing inv itation to call again? But suppose th a t in the divine providence you were called into a field rig h t th e reverse to your stud en t vision! As you sta rt out on your pasto ral calls, you come to a mountain h u t th a t from all outside appearances is deserted. When you knock, th e re is a feeble response, “ Come in ,” and as you open th e door, you sta re into sem i-darkness in a win- dowless room, in which-there is a fever­ ish stench. Then you will remember the words of the Master, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of th e least of these, my b reth ren , ye have done it unto me.” You advance over a floor carpeted thick w ith d irt, wondering how many m illion disease germs are peering a t you th rough the cracks in th e wall. The crying of a sick baby, or th e m ut­ tering of a delirious person, rem ind you th a t th e re are hum an beings about, and as your eyes are becoming accustomed to the gloom, you see beds w ith— one, two, three, four— eigh t all told, father,

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