King's Business - 1920-04

T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S ing on, and they knew what the rule of the school was. I put the ruler into the hand of the offending pupil; I ex­ tended my hand and told him to strike. The instant the boy saw my extended hand and heard my command to strike I saw a struggle begin in his face. A new light sprung up in his counten­ ance, a new set of shuttles seemed to be weaving a new nature within him. I kept my hand extended and the school was in tears. The boy struck once and he himself burst into tears. I constant­ ly watched his face and he seemed in a bath of fire which was giving him a new nature. He had a different mood toward the school and toward the vio­ lated law. The boy seemed trans­ formed by the idea that I should take chastisement in place of his punish­ ment. He went back to his seat and ever after was one of the most docile of the pupils in that school, though he had been at first one of the rudest.” Something like that, only infinitely more, Jesus did for us. He took our place, and by the keynote of His own sacrificing love brought the justice of God into harmony with His mercy, while at the same time He awakens in our souls the music of gratitude and makes the discord of sin give way to the harmony of righteousness. “ God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self-control, diligence, strength of will, content, and a hundred virtues that the idle will never know.— Charles Kingsley« Kg) SMfi & gfc> THANK GOD FOB WORK

3 52 friend his friend, or patriot his country? Again, ought one person to receive benefit from the suffering of another? Shall the child refuse to be benefited by the mother’s suffering? Shall the country refuse to be benefited by the suffering of its patriot soldiers? To adopt the claim of Theosophy that one should not receive benefit from the suf­ ferings of another is to turn mankind, sooner or later, into leeches and hyenas; for, if I should not be bene­ fited by the sufferings of another, I, of course, should not suffer for another. My business, then, is to look after my­ self, and all the sweet ministries of loving sacrifice for others give place to greedy self-seeking. The spirit of self-sacrificing love, as seen in Christ on the Cross, if univer­ sally incarnate, would make earth a paradise of peace and joy. War would then cease; for if men loved well enough to die for one another, they certainly would not kill one another. It would close every divorce court; for if hus­ band and wife loved well enough to die for each other, such a thing as un­ faithfulness or even unkindness would be impossible. It-would solve the prob­ lem of labor and capital; for if the la­ borer and capitalist loved well enough to die for each other, they certainly would not oppress or make unreason­ able demands. It would run every busi­ ness enterprise according to the Golden Rule; for if all men loved well enough to die for one another there would be no lying or cheating to make money. Herein is the philosophy of the atone­ ment. Faith in Christ and Him cruci­ fied ennobles and transfigures charac­ ter. Bronson Alcott governed his school in Boston on this principle. “ One day,” says Mr. Alcott, “ I called before me a pupil 8 or 10 years of age who had violated an important regulation of the school. All the pupils were look-

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