Along the Road

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19765, 21 December 1935, Page 15 (Supplement)

Along the Road

CHRISTMAS is casting its light ahead. People are looking forward to the season with renewed joy, and we ■shall have, once again, many signs of goodwill and friendly feelings. And I suppose it is the same in nearly every part of the world, and it amazes me. Perhaps •people delight to have a season when they can give vent to all that is generous in thought and action. Certainly they make the most of it. Just why they should do so is strange, and many a time I have thought about it. There was that Christmas Day when I was sitting In front of the roadman’s hut that I then occupied, and a big motor-car drew up, with the brakes suddenly-applied. A man and a woman got out, came over to the hut, and gave me among other things a cigar, some fruit and dates, wished me a happy Christmas, accepted my thanks with a smile, got into their car and drove away. Now why did they do that? They would not have thought about it on any other day of the year But This Was Christmas Day. Now please do not think that this is an easy matter to explain. I find it really difficult. The birth of a child in Nazareth.altered the history of the Whole'world.' That event really cut history into two sections. The Nazarene’s public work occupied only three short years, and things have never tieen the same since. Recall the conditions. The land was not free. The pSople were a subject race, and their kings but puppets. The conquerors were still in possession of the country, and doubtless despised the datives of the place, for the Homans were proud- Then there came this serene soul, Jesus of Nazareth, and he walked the dusty roads of Galilee. He talked with the ordinary people by the way, .passed in and 'out among them- He accumulated nothing, for His only possession was a robe such as men wore in those days; had no friends in high plaoes, and had to face the fanaticism of his own race. Just quietly look at those faots and ponder them. In the great crisis of His life He had no one ready to stand by Him. He suffered the death of common malefaotors and was buried in another man’s tomb. What is there there to divide history? And yet, the fact is that the world has never been able to_ escape from that Teacher. Not many years were to pass before, a, proud emperor, as he fell back dying on his couch, exclaimed “ Oh, Galilean, Thou hast conquered.” Now that is hard to explain. The Galilean is hard to explain, but far harder is the task of trying to explain Him away. There He stands the greatest figure in world history. Of course, down the centuries men have themselves, by their ©whi ardour, made it difficult for us to see

An Occasional Column.

(By the Swagger.)

all that we should like to see, but at this time of the year we can think quietly about One who was born, Into such humble sutroundings. I may be wrong, and I have admitted often before that my views are not orthodox, but somehow I feel that in the years to come we shall hear ihore of how I-Ie lived, rather than of how He died. That was The Greatest Life Ever Lived. It set up standards that are the standards to-day and will be for all time. And try as I may to grasp the differing views about His teachings I am always forced back to the conclusion that, after all, they taught a w’ay of living. As a great theologian, Dean Inge, I fancy, once put it, “Christianity is not a belief that must be accepted in spite of doubt; it is a life that must be lived in spite of the consequences.” That was akin to my own line of thought, and the older I get the more certain it appears. Well/1 could chat on, per pen, for the whole evening about'this great theme. .Many and many a time 1 have conversed for hours; always searching for truth, for that seems to he my fate. And whenever I am sorely puzzled I always apply the most severe test. .You will find that those who do live this life have a beauty of character that surpasses everything else. The most beautiful characters that I have ever met, men and women, had a simple almost childlike faith in the Man of Nazareth, and character, you know, Is the test. To be quite honest I have often envied them that serenity; that freedom from the baffling thoughts tliat have always flooded Into my own mind. I cannot help that, of course, and we must be honest with ourselves, hut I have long realised that this beauty comes from* a belief that is rich and wonderful. As you go about during the coming week just, sometimes, give a thought to the Wonderful Wealth of Kindness that abounds everywhere at this season; this general desire that there should be happiness in home and country. And then remember that it is all because a life was lived in what we call Palestine, covering only three years of public ministry, and that from that day to this the world has been changed. And if you do not feci some amazement then I am sorry for you, bccause.it is amazingPerhaps the best line of approach would he to enter with zest into the work of ■spreading happiness. Serve the happiness of others, do some little tiling to make Ifie ■old world a bit brighter, life a little easier, memory'more pleasing- Not what we give or what we do, but the spirit of the gift and of the act is what matters, and perhaps you may agree with me that by entering into the days in that spirit we may stand nearer to the Nazarejije'thajt' ever before.