SUNDAY COLUMN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 19, 2 November 1940, Page 3

SUNDAY COLUMN

NEWS OF THE CHURCHES.

DEVOTIONAL READING.

(Conducted by the Ashburton Ministers’ Association)

CONFESSION

“1 Rave given so much, and done so little, f have been dull of liearl and blind ol

O VOj 1 have had joy and never truly felt it, I have had happiness and passed it by. I have lived all my days so close to

beauty, I might have touched her with an out-

stretched hand; I have heard God in rain and wind and

laughter, But I was deaf, and would not under-

stand. 1 have had friends, and lost my claim

to friendship, * I have had love and let its flame grow

dim; I have had youth, and wasted half its

pleasures; I have had health and supple strength

of limb. To me has come the splendid call ol

courage, The chance to rise out of the common

rut—--1; was afraid to talce the road to Great-

ness, And waited till• adventure’s door was

shut. Can God Himself, who understands our

secrets, Forgive my life-long sin when I confess? I am not worthy to be given Heaven, For I have wasted all life’s loveliness.”

“DO WHAT YOU CAN.”

“Do what you can, being what you are ; Shine like a glow-worm, if you cannot

as a star; Work like a pulley, if you Cannot as

a crane; Be a wheel-greaser, if you cannot drive

a train. “Be the pliant oar, if you cannot be

tho sailor; Be the little needle, if you cannot be

the tailor; Be the sharpened sickle, if you cannot

bo tho reaper; Bo tho cleansing broom, if you cannot . bo tho sweeper.”

CHRIST THE INESCAPABLE. “Christ in life is inescapable. An Indian said, ‘Begin at India and her needs, and you come out at the place of Christ.’ It was Henry George who said, ‘I loved the people, and was led to Christ as their best friend’ ; and it was Cardinal Manning who replied, ‘I loved Christ, and was led to love the people for whom Christ died.’ It was a Hindu who said, ‘No one but Christ is seriously bidding for the heart of the world. There is no else in the field.’ The modern man knows he must be religious after the mind of Christ or not be religious at all.” CHRIST IN THE HOME. Dr. Campbell Morgan says that when ho took his father round his new home after ho had settled down, his father said, “Yes, it is very nice; but no one will know, walking through here, whether you belong- to God or the devil.V Tho remark went home, and he and his wife determined that every room should hear some indication 01other that they were followers of Christ.

THE NAME OF CHRIST. The Hon. Emily Ivinnaird, C.8.E., after a long ..visit to India, said that during her travels she once chanced to drop from a parcel a copy of Dr. Stalker’s “Life of Christ.” A young Hindu stepped forward, picked up the hook and said, as he returned it, “A ‘Life of Christ’—ah, how we love that Name.” ‘

A CONVERSION. An Indian missionary, who is now a sincere Christian and a fearless witness to the saving power of Jesus Christ, was before his conversion a bad lot. He was half a policeman and half a robber—ran with the hares and hunted with the hounds. Ho was caught and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment ; hut got otf because he gave away liis companions. Ho was apparently capable of any,deed of villainy or violence. His own description of his change was: “I was a beast; now I am a man.”

CHARACTER. “If we were to use our best judgment, what would we say is the most important thing about a noble man ? Would it be tho strength of his body or tho brilliance of his intellect? Should we not place first tho beauty of his character? A naan’s body is at its prime before middle life, and his intellect probably somewhat after middle life. But it takes a whole lifetime to build the character of a noble man. Tho exercise and discipline of youth; tho struggles and failures and successes, the pains and pleasures of maturity, the loneliness and tranquility of age, these make up the fire through which ho must pass to bring out the pu,ro gold of his soul.”

‘THE MAN TO WHOM S OWE MOST’ “After one of his foreign tours, Mr Gandhi was received by a tremendous mooting of people in Calcutta. Ho was the popular hero of the day, and the place was crowded with, I think, 15,000 Bengalis come to welcome him For

three hours the orators of Bengal spoke in praise of themselves and-'Mr Gandhi and then came the great moment, when Mr Gandhi rose, and all this vast assembly settled themselves on their haunches, waiting for their great orator to speak. His speech, consisted of one sentence, and one sentence only: ‘The Man to whom 1 owe most, and to whom all India owes most, is a Man who nevipr set His foot in India—and that is Christ.’ “And then he sat^down.” .—Dean of Bristol.