SUNDAY COLUMN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 22, 5 November 1938, Page 3

SUNDAY COLUMN

NEWS OF THE CHURCHES. ) (Conducted by the Ashburton Ministers’ Association). UNABLE TO GIVE. “Penniless .... >' a while 5 Without food 3 1 can live; i But it breaks my heart 3 to know 3 _ I cannot give.’’ *• —lvagaiva: “Songs from the Slums/' DRAWING A CROSS. i , “In the later days of the war, when 1 America had only just come into the conflict, there were grave difficulties bf .transport. Only a limited number of i American troops could cross the Atlantic. There was a ceirtain company from wliich a draft was to be taken. Every man in the company was keen to go, but only a few could be taken. Who should the.few be? They decided to cast lots. A number of papers were put into a hat, just as many as there were men, and crosses were put on some of the papers, and every man who drew a cross was to go to France. Onie boy wrote to his father, a'nd this line was in the letter, ‘lf ever I prayed in my lifel prayed to-day that 1 might draw a cross.’ ” The Christian should not seek the way. of comfort or safety. Ho ought to seek the honour of his Lord and Master, and this necessitates drawing a cross. OPPONENTS OF THE CHURCH. Here is “an incident in'the life of the Norwegian, poet Bjornson. Someone asked the poet to name an incident which stood out most clearly in the recollections of his public life.’He replied that the most memorable event took place after a meeting of the Storthing (Parliament) in which lie had expressed his opinions firmly in opposition to a. section of the members. That night his opponents made an attack on his hduse and broke with stones most of the windows. They departed finally, singing tiie Norwegian National An--1 them. ‘Yes, We Love This Land of Ours.’ .Bjornson smiled to himself as be heard them go because lie wrote that song. ‘Let them break my windows,’ he said, ‘if only they will sing the song I taught them.’ The Church of Christ will allow the world to break her windows if it will sing her songs.’’ FOR THE QUIET HOUR. A PRAYER, “Almighty God to whom all things belong, whose is light and darkness, whose is good and evil, Master of all things, Lord of all; Who hast so ordered it, that life from the beginning shall be a struggle throughout, the course, and even to the end; so guide and order that struggle within us, that at last what is good in us may conquer, and all evil be overcome, that all things may be brought into harmony, and God may be all in all. So do Thou guide and govern us. that every day whatsoever betide us, some gain to better things, some more blessed joy in higher things may be ours, that so we, though but weaklings, may yet, God-guided, go from strength to strength, until at last, delivered from that burden of the flesh, through which) comes so. much struggling, we may enter into the land of harmony and of eternal peace. Hear us, of Thy mercy ; through. Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.' ’ —George Dawson. “STICKING IT.’’ “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when,he hath been approved, be shall receive tine crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love Him.” —James 1: 12 (R.V.). I, The Need For Endurance. This subject is interesting and important bectufie of ibe need for endurance, How common and widespread is the- call for it. “Endureth” means “romaineth steadfast under,” not merely “'experiences,” temptation or trial. • Here are some of the occasions in the lives of us all when there is opportunity for showing am enduring spirit. , There is the hardness of life, that brings the temptation to hopelessness, to bitterness, or to faithlessness. There ( is the hardness of Christian disciple- ( ship, exterior persecution or interior ( temptation. There is the hardness of | daily work or Christian service, -with ’ the temptation to slack, to become weary in- well-doing. 11. The Reward of Endurance. The word “approved” in this R.Y. ' rendering refers to the testing of coins * and metals. When a man has been subjected to trial and has stood the 1 test, lie is blessed and shall receive the 1 crown of life. He is blessed, fortunate, 1 benefitted, to bo imitated. “He shall 1 (receive the crown, of life, which the 1 Lord promised to them that love s Him.” The reference here is probably i to the crown of victory given to the l victor in an athletic contest. The man who holds out in the good fight of fjlith will receive as his crown a richer life, what is called eternal life, “begun here and to- be continued hereafter.” . ,

Our Lord also laid 1 stress on the duty of endurance in such a. statement as this, “he that enduroth to the end shall he' saved.” He also said, “In your patience (equal to endurance) ye shall win your souls.” Jesus was under no illusions. He warned His followers about the. hardness they would experience. Through endurance we win our way to fuller life in the soul. ill. The Secret of Endurance. (1) EXAMPLE: Especially helpful is the example of our Lord. His stoutheartedness is an. inspiration. We are strengthened as we behold all He endured in launching and carrying through His great mission.

(2) FAITH: This secnet of endurance Jesus indicated in the parable of the sower. He tells of the seed which fell in stony places, and the plant withered because it had no root. Tf wo 'would endure to the end, our lives must he hid with Christ in God. The secret springs of strong patience and buoyant endurance are in Christian faith.

(3) LOVE: Many a parent knows that love for a child has hepn a help towards endurance. Men in the Front Lino at the Great War “stuck it,” partly because they loved one another.. If we would endure we must love God and man, Christ and His cause.