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THE KING’S BUSINESS
cooks? Or do we catch a vision of them as so many priceless, immortal souls? How are we regarding men? Are we on the outlook for souls as we rub up against them and come into contact with them in a hundred ways? Are we watch ing for souls? Does it bum in on us that the mass of humanity is going the wrong way? Do we have any sleepless nights? Are we really watchers? The awful Titanic catastrophe is still fresh in our minds. We remember how it all came about through lack of watching. Whether we place the blame at the hands of the captain, or the agent of the line, or the selfish company, or no mat ter where, we know the fact—that thou sands of precious souls were lost through the neglect of some precaution; that 1,650 souls were swept into eternity because of the lack of watching. Over against that, I think of an incident that occurred on the Pacific. The steamer that came next to the one I was crossing on was the great Mongolian, a splendid ship, fully passengered. As she was passing around the coast of Japan one day the passengers on deck heard the telegraph ring from the bridge, and they felt the pulsating of the engines stopping. They looked over the rail in this direction and that, but saw nothing. Up on the bridge they saw the officer on watch, with a telescope rivited to his eye, looking into the distance. For a time they could see nothing to attract his attention, but message after message followed, and the engine room respond ed. Soon they saw in the distance a little object on the water, and as they came nearer and nearer they saw two helpless victims, the only survivors of the crew, clinging to a Japanese jupk. A boat was lowered from the great Mon golian and these two refugees were lifted on board, and cared for. Why? Because some one was watching for them; be cause the man on the bridge was at the post of duty. They could not be seen with the naked eye. They were like these souls in heathen lands who are absent from our daily vision. We have got to put our eye to the telescope of faith and love, and see souls that are perishing at a distance, as well as souls that are close around us. God help us to see those who are heathen by neces sity, because no man has cared for their souls. We might classify this responsibility under three heads: First, For the heathen’s sake. Be
cause in the Gospel we have something fitted to meet the social and physical needs of those eastern races, and, above all, fitted for the salvation of their souls. Second, For Jesus Christ’s sake. Be cause He enjoined it, ajnd three times gave the post-resurrection command, “Go, dis ciple all nations.” The last recorded sentence that fell from the lips of our Lord was “Unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” That same Jesus sits in heaven today expecting us to carry out His last command. Third, For our own sake. Because our highest spiritual welfare depends upon it. The law of propagation is the law of the spiritual life. A living organism must either grow or die. Life depends upon propagation, and the so-called church today is not worth keeping alive if it is not doing something outside itself. These texts apply just as literally to you and me as they did to the apostles, and they express a pressing obligation. As we read the times in the light of Scripture, as we see the signs of the age in which we live, as we see things ripen ing for the Lord’s return, and yet see millions without an opportunity of :sal vation, does not this obligation *press upon you? As we see conditions chang ing in eastern lands, and means of ac cess and communication multiplying so as to make missionary effort far more easy and effective, and the accomplish ments of results greater than ever be fore in the history of the Church, does not the obligation become enhanced to us? If ever men had a pressing obliga tion to take Jesus Christ to the world, surely we have. May this thing grip us. May it grip our heads to think; may it grip our hearts to feel; may it grip our hands to give; may it grip us to go, until every nation shall have heard of Christ the Lord. GAIN AND LOSS But all through life I see a cross Where sons of God yield up their breath; There is no gain except by loss, There is no life except by death. There is no vision but by faith, Nor glory but by bearing shame, Nor justice but by taking blame; And that Eternal Passion saith, Be emptied of glory and right and name.
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