III
March, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR . . . By M ary G. G oodner
Q i o i e s o n
V. M eeting E nmity with L ove It is hard for us not to meet hate with hate and scorn with scorn. It is hard for us to keep the narrow line that separates legitimate pain and sorrow at an enemy’s enmity from nonlegitimate enmity and wrath. We are apt to give back to the world, and to men around us, the face with which they look upon us. But Jesus Christ has bidden us—and there is no wriggling out of the duty, hard as it may be—to meet enmity with love, and wrong with patient endurance, and to answer the spurt o f the fires o f hatred with the gush of the extin guishing water of love. That is our duty. W e forget; we formulate reasons against it. But for the individual and the nation, Christ’s pattern has to be followed and Christ’s principles have to be obeyed. We must remember that “ force is not remedy,” but that hatred is not remedy either. An enemy crushed is tenfold an enemy; an enemy won is a hundredfold a friend. There is the law for us. . !—A lexander M aclaren . VI. S entence S ermons I will permit no enemy to degrade my soul to the level of hatred. —B ooker T. W ashington ! The logic o f Christian petitions and Christian expectation starts with God as the premise and thence argues the possi bility of the impossible. —A lexander M aclaren . “Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest” (Lk. 6;35). “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Prov. 15:1). APR IL 9, 1933 W H A T DECIDING FOR CHRIST MEANS M atthew 16:24, 25 Suggestions for the Meeting Chorus—Sung or read in unison: “ Following Jesus ever day by day, Nothing can harm me, if He leads the way; Sunshine or shadow, whate’er befall, Jesus, my Saviour, is my all in all.” Hymn—“Where He Leads Me, I will Follow.” Prayer—Chairman o f Prayer Meeting Committee. Scripture—Read in Unison. Solo—“I Come to the Garden Alone.” Leader’s Message. Testimonies. Quiet Hour—Closing with “The Old Rugged Cross.” Benediction—Psalm 19:14. This lesson topic gives a splendid back ground for a real evangelistic service. Some Christian Endeavor Societies give an altar call every Sunday evening, with blessed results. This is the meeting before Easter. Get your pastor, or some other worker with a passion for souls, to give a rousing call to leave all and follow Christ.
APR IL 2, 1933 CAN AN D SHOULD W E LOVE A L L MEN , EVEN OUR ENEMIES? M atthew 5 :43-48 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross,” ! Hymn—“Living for Jesus.” Scripture Lesson, Prayer. Quartet—“More Like the Master.” Leader’s Message. Testimonies. Hymn—“More Love to Thee, O Christ.” Benediction—Jude 24. Meditation on the Lesson The principle found in today’s portion is at once sublime and most difficult—impos sible for mere human nature. Only the re deemed person in Christ Jesus is able to love his enemies. However, as children of God, we can and should love all men, even our enemies.. Christ never gives any com mand without giving the strength and power to obey it; hence, we know that when He tells us to love* He will give us the capacity to love, if we desire Him. “ Thou shalt love thy neighbour” is a precept given by Moses in Leviticus 19:18. “ Neighbour” originally meant Israelites, and obedience to this command helped to keep them distinct from other nations. But the Pharisees, to increase the distance be tween Jews and Gentiles, added the con verse precept, “and hate thine enemy,” meaning by enemy the Gentiles. It is small wonder that the Romans charged the Jews with hatred of the human race. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Jesus Christ’s own bright example is the best commentary on these marvelous coun sels. “But though such precepts were never before expressed—perhaps, not even con ceived—with such breadth, precision, and sharpness as here, our Lord is here only the incomparable Interpreter of a law in force from the beginning; and this is the only Satisfactory view o f the entire strain of the discourse” (J. F. & B. Commentary). We are listening to One “who spake as never man spake.” According to President Hopkins, in “Law o f Love and Love as Law,’’ there are three elements in love: (1) desire for, awakened by a perception o f worth as dis tinguished from worthiness, (2) attraction toward, delight in the object of love, (3) a rational choice to do him good and seek his welfare, so strong That we are willing to make sacrifices for him. In loving ene mies, the emphasis is on the latter element. We cannot always delight in the character o f our enemy, but we can choose to do him good, and delight to do it. It is the same love with which God loves sinners, even the worst, of them. It is interesting to note the various modes of expressing this love, as Jesus de scribed them for u s:
1. By feeling—“ love.” 2. In words—“bless.” 3. In acts—-“do good to them.” 4. In prayer—“pray for them.”
Why doesjesus give us this difficult com mand to obey? He gives it that we may be the children of our Father which is in heaven. Loving our enemies does not make us God’s children—only His saving grace does that—but loving our enemies proves the relationship by showing the resem blance to our Father. “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children” (Eph. 5 :1 ).. : The reward o f loving our enemies will be a spiritual reflex action on our own hearts. We will grow in love and in knowledge of God, for “God is love.” “ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” ! “God shall make divinely real The highest forms o f thy ideal.” Discussion Material I. B ible E xamples of L oving E nemies David (1 Sam. 24:47). Joseph (Gen. 45:5-15). Moses (Num. 12:1-13). Stephen (Acts 7:60).*' ’ Paul (2 Tim. 4:16). Jesus Christ (Lk. 23:34). II. T hings that P rompt F orgiveness 1. That we may be forgiven (Mk. 11:25; Lk. 6:37). . 2. Because God has forgiven us (Eph. 4:32). III. T hings that A ccompany F orgiveness 1. Forbearance (Col. 3:13). 2. Kindness (Rom. 12:20). 3. Blessing and prayer (Matt. 5:44). IV. J esus N ever R esented an I njury There was not a moment in all our Lord’s life when there was the slightest bitter ness of feeling in His breast. No resent ment ever found an instant’s lodgment in the heart. His answer to all the unkindness, the enmity, the plottings, the denials, the treason, and to all the cruelty, accusation, and wrong inflicted upon Him was love. Thus it is that we should bear all that is unjust, unkind, and wrong in the treat ment that we receive from others. W e are to keep love in our hearts through it all. One .has often heard of that spring, as sweet as any that ever gushed from a sunny hillside, which a traveler once found by the sea when the tide had ebbed away. Then the sea rolled in and poured its bitter floods over the little spring, hiding it out of sight for hours, wrapping it in a shroud o f brackish waters. But when the tide ebbed away again, the spring was still pouring up its sweet stream with no taste of the sea’s bitterness in it. Such a spring should the love in our hearts be. Though floods o f unkindness and o f wrong pour over us, however cruelly we may be treated by the world, whatever injustice we may have to endure from others, the well o f love in our bosom should never retain a trace of the bitterness. —S unday S chool T imes .
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