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man. You cannot serve God and riches. You must choose between them. You may commence by thinking you will make riches serve you, but you will end by being a slave to mammon. If you choose God, rec ognizing all you have belongs to Him, ad ministering all things wisely and faithfully for the benefit of those for whom Jesus died, you will have the highest possible en comium, “Well done good and faithful ser vant,” from the lips of the Master and a hearty welcome at the hands of those to whom you have lovingly ministered for His sake. Lesson VII—May 17, 1914 G olden T ext . —Proverbs 21:13. "Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, hut shall not be heard.” In the lesson for today there is an apt illustration of the golden text. Here is a man whose cry cannot be answered. What a contrast does eternity present! The rich man is the beggar and he de sires to be ministered to by Lazarus. He recognizes him. He probably knew him to be a kind-hearted beggar. He is in tor ment. He wants the commonest mercy- water. He is the same selfish man. He is occupied with himself. He has no con fession of sin, expresses no regret or sor row for his treatment of Lazarus—nothing but a relief from his burning thirst. He is reminded of the past and he must face the fact. Memory is awakened. He had his good things—he never divided them with others. He never recognized them as be longing to God. He usurped authority and selfishly claimed all as his own. He had made his bed and now must lie in it. His destiny is fixed. An impassable gulf stretches itself between the poor rich man and the rich poor man. Memory is at work. He thinks of his brethren. He had never set them a good example—had never been interested in their eternal welfare'. Laz arus is a torment to him. He is reminded now that he might have used his riches (Concluded on page 219)
his heart. The Father loves and draws with His matchless love, and this three-fold work is the combination which results in the restoration of the wandering children of God. Lesson VI—May 10, 1914 G olden T ext .— -Luke 16:10. “He that ts faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much." “He that is faithful.” Here lies the text. The unjust steward was an unfaithful stew ard. The inference in the text is that he commenced by being unfaithful in trivial matters. To the faithful man there is no difference between great and small duties. It is easier to be faithful in great matters than in small ones, but being faithful in small affairs wall insure faithfulness in large things. God has shown His regard for them in His care of the sparrows, in the colorings of the flowers, in the count ing of the hairs of our head. We cannot measure the power of passing events. A word, a circumstance, a meeting—one day, one hour, one moment—may determine the future good or ill of many people. Faith fulness is a prime virtue. Its meaning is full of faith. Without faith we cannot please God and neither can we without faithfulness. The man of faith will be a faithful man. The use men make of goods of small value committed to them evidences the use they would make of goods of greater value. Character is manifested in the small things of life. To apply to our own use the small est things committed to us for others would constitute a breach of trust. To a faithful man there can be no distinction in duties. The obligation is equally imperative whether they be large or small. The parable turns on the important state ment in the twelfth verse. If ye have not been faithful in the handling of God’s funds here where you are only a steward, how can He give you real, true riches there to possess for yourself? We can see what an eternal loss will come to the unfaithful
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