October 1926
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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to do that and He put the power for its realization at our disposal in His redeeming action. Second, he said, “ I would suggest that you must practice your religion without adulterating or toning it down.” One of the greatest curses in our Christian life in America is that we are actually adulterating and toning down the Christian religion, thinking that in that way we will win the world, but instead the world is conquering the church. We have no right to tone down the Christian religion in fact we cannot tone it down. Christianity is Jesus Christ made real in the liveB of men through His redeeming action and we cannot tone Jesus Christ down. Third, he said, "I would suggebt that you must put your emphasis on love, for love is the center and soul of Chris tianity.” Anybody that knows Gandhi knows that he didn’t mean by love a mere sentiment but love as a working force, and Jesus said, “ By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one for another.” In the fourth place, he said, "I would suggest that you study the non-Christian religions and culture more sym pathetically in order to find the g 90 d that is in them so that men might have a more sympathetic approach to the people.” In other words try to understand the people you a,re approaching. Follow the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who came into the world and became like unto us in order that He might not only understand us but die for us. When Dr. Jones mentioned these four things to the Chief Justice of the high court in north India this Christian Brit isher exclaimed, “ He could not have put his finger on four more important things.” It took spiritual genius and in sight to do that. We sometimes wonder if we are honest enough to look at our own lives and the life of the church of Jesus Christ in the light of God as steadily and honestly as this Hindu looked upon it. Jesus counsels us that we buy eyesalve that we may see. May God help us to escape the tragedy of optical illusion which was the tragedy of the church of Laodicea.
Christ in the light of what He is? At the close of an address by a missionary in India, one of the native judges who hap pened to be the chairman of the meeting said, “ You have heard tonight what it means to be a Christian. If to be like Christ is what it means, I hope you will all be Christians in your lives.” Then he turned to thé Christians who hap pened to be on the platform and said, “ I have on© word to speak to you. If you Christians had lived more like Jesus Christ this process o j conversion would have gone on much more rapidly.” How do we stand when we are brought to the test of life as it is made possible in Jesus Christ? In the third place, he looked out. He was not in a posi tion to look out and see things as they really were until first he looked up and looked in. When he looked out he found that he was dwelling among men of unclean life and speech. They were called by the name of God but they were not realizing the life of God. Is not this the vision that is forced upon us when we look upon the church in the light -of the throne of God? It is because of this fact of a lack of the realization of the life of Christ in our church life that we are so powerless in the presence of the world. Dr. E. Stanley Jones in that Challenging little book "The Christ of the Indian Road” tells us that he asked Mahatma Gandhi what he would suggest to make possible the winning of India to Jesus Christ so that it would no longer be a foreign thing identified with foreign people but a part of the national life of India, contributing its power to India’s uplift and redemption,. This remarkable man suggested four things that ought to help us.to bring the life of the church and our own lives as Christians to the test of the vision of God. First, he said, “ I would suggest that all of you Christians — missionaries and all— must begin to live more like Jesus Christ.” Are we Christians— missionaries and all— here iù America living like Jesus Christ? He told us that we are
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Ut sM the Untouchables “ I must tell of one Indian Christian who had walked from his village 30 miles away to be in the meetings. He was once one of the regular workers on a very small salary, and because of shortness of funds was discontinued. He went to his village to make his liv ing, and while he had a hurt feeling in his heart he never gave up his trust in Christ. He came all this distance to be refreshed in spiritual things, and after two days he got up in the meet ing to tell olt the blessing that had come to him. The hurt had all gone and he resolved to return to his home and give from his daily work one hour every day to telling others of Christ. He said there were four Christian fam ilies in his village and every day they met together as one to read the Bible and pray. He was quite confident that a revival of interest would begin in that group. We all joined in prayer for him to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and then started him back on his 30 mile journey, trusting God to use him for. His glory. “ I attended an interesting meet ing under the great outstretched trees where more than a hundred boys and
in India girls were gathered with their Chris tian teachers. These sweet-faced chil dren arq from the lowest of the lowly in India and called by their own peo ple ‘the untouchables.’ How silly it is, for they are as bright and pretty as any children you have ever seen. I venture that through them many of the proud, high caste, aloof Hindus and Mohammedans will get the mes sage of Christ. India will some day Bit at the feet of these people who have in simple faith received Him who is their only hope. “ This is the district in which the far famed chicken industry was started a few years ago. Many at home will recall that Wm. H. Ridgway sent a consignment of chickens to I n d i a . They arrived safely with the following caption nicely printed over their cabin, ‘To the Captain—We are missionaries in feathers bound for India. We only ask that you be kind to us and give us water.’ The growth and reputation of this Industry has m a d e its way throughout this entire section. Many of these poor Christians are now see ing that Christ can by His Spirit help them to make an independent living.”
Touching B jjgHE following excerpts from a M l letter to The King’s Business H by Rev. James B. Ely,— for Hj many years in charge of the Open Air Evangelistic Cam paign in Philadelphia— are most in spiring, proving that the signs of a great revival and ingathering of souls is evident, even in far-off India. Mr. Ely says: “ We reached Kasganj, a part of the district 6 f Etah, at midnight. The next morning, Sabbath, we started in w i t h the tent meetings, having as helpers the Christians from outlying districts. They had, by prayer and very hard work, made full preparation, and their expectation was very great. It was not difficult to speak to them, for they listened with eagerness, as hungry boys would take food. Every night the attendance increased and the interest deepened. Soon almost every moment was taken up in talks with Inquiring souls. It was a happy four days’ campaign, and I was truly Borry we could not stay longer on acount of the engagement at Etah, the very cen ter of the district of over 800,000 people.
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