Miscellaneous Selections
Ingratitude
Napoleon is reported to have said, "It is not the loss of the throne that makes existence unendurable; my military career suffices for the glory of a single man. Do you know what is more difficult to bear than the reverses of fortune? It is the baseness, the horrible ingratitude of men. Before such acts of cowardice, before the shamelessness of their egotism, I have turned away my head in disgust, and have come to regard my life with horror. Death is rest."
Ingratitude, seen by him and by all others, has been a shameful spot on the biography of man throughout all of his existence. No more than a hurried reading of the Bible will show how common was this sin during the ages past, and it is all too prevalent now.
In Luke 17 is an account of ten lepers who cried out unto the Lord for healing. They were possessed of the loathsome disease that was then incurable, and that made them social outcasts and lonely sufferers. All ten of these prayed diligently; all ten accepted the Lord's word with compete confidence; all ten obeyed the command as it was given; all ten were blessed with the very thing that they so earnestly sought. One returned to thank the Lord for his unspeakable gift. Impressing the lesson upon those who heard, Jesus said. "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."
It is still true that not all who pray will praise, not all who believe will bless, not all who obey will acclaim; and not all who are rewarded will repay. These prayed, none more sincerely; they believed, none reaching nearer the Lord; they obeyed, with a promptness that is cause for marveling; and they were rewarded, none more bountifully. Yet, of the ten, nine were ingrates. This, it seems, would have been the least they could have done, but they did not do it. It may have been thoughtlessness, but who could think so? It may have been pride, but this is doubted too. Whatever the reason for their refusal to return with thanksgiving unto the Lord, their behavior is inexcusable. It rests upon the pages of God's Book as a memorial to man's ingratitude — the sin of all sins that has made countless millions mourn. — L. L. Gieger.
Parable For Mothers
The young mother set her foot in the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked.
And her guide said, "Yes. And the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in clear streams; and the sun shown on them, and life was good, and the young mother said, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
The night came, and storm, the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and Mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Oh, Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near and no harm can come." The mother said, "This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught them courage."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary, but at times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed and when they reached the top, they said, "We could not have done it without, Mother," and the mother, when she lay down that night, said: "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardiness" Yesterday I gave them courage . . . .today I gave them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds — clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, the mother said, "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." The children looked and saw above the clouds an Everlasting Glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. "This is the best day of all for I have shown my children God," said the mother.
And the days went on, and years, and mother grew old and bent. But her children were strong and walked with courage. And when the way was hard they helped their mother; and when the way was rough they lifted her for she was light as a feather. At last they came to a hill beyond which they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.
The mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey and I know the end is better than the first, for my children can walk alone, and theirs after them."
The children said: "You will always walk with us." As they watched her go on alone and the gates closed after her it was said: "We cannot see her, but she is still with us. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence." — Selected.
The Preacher's Dream
The preacher began a new work. He dreamed that he was a horse, and the congregation had put a shiny new harness on him and hitched him to a brand new wagon. They all gathered about to admire the new outfit. Some of them stroked his mane and patted his neck, saying, "Good old horse," and they all looked pleased.
The horse was impatient to start. He tossed his head, stamped his foot and champed at the bit. Finally the start came with the elders in the driver's seat and many of the members running along beside the wagon, shouting and encouraging him. The horse did his best and they shouted with one voice. "We have a wonderful horse!" When they came to a hill, the horse easily pulled the wagon over the hill; but soon they came to another hill and then a third. Sometimes, the road was rough and rutty. Finally they came to a mud hole in the road and the wagon stuck fast. Try as he would, the horse could not pull the wagon out.
Everything was quiet. There was no one encouraging him now, and in his desperation the horse turned his head and looked back. There was the whole congregation riding. Some were asleep. And some were letting their feet drag in the mud. Then they awoke and blamed the old horse. Some of them had lost confidence in him, and others criticized him for trying to pull the whole load by himself. "He was taking too much authority," they said. Even though there was plenty of room for all to take hold and push the wagon out of the mud; it was much easier to stand back and gloomily blame the old horse for the mess they were in. Where upon they all cried, "All we need is a new horse!"
(SIGNS OF THE TIMES. Some months ago, I noticed the above article — author unknown — in the bulletin of a congregation "down south." Shortly afterward, the preacher became convinced that it is not scriptural for a thousand congregations to do their work through one congregation. When the elders of the congregation learned of his convictions, they said, "What we need is a new horse." They now have one.) — Bill Humble.
The Book Never Out-Dated
From listeners to my radio program and readers of my column ("Washington Merry-Go-Round") I get a lot of requests to mention new books — so many that in fairness I almost never refer to any of the fine books published every day. However there is one book no publisher has ever asked me to boost, but which I am going to mention. It's a book you can borrow from any library or buy at any bookstand. It's the book-of-the-month for every month of the year — the best seller for all time.
This book is perennially modern; it will never be outdated. At any price it's priceless. For it brings solace to the sick, spiritual strength to the strong; it has given hope to the poor, humility to the proud. It has touched the heart of king and commoner. It was written for all nations and is banned by only one nation.
Too many of us make a Bible of the WALL STREET JOURNAL or the DAILY RACING FORM, while the greatest investment guide of all time points the way to spiritual wealth that never can be taxed, and to eternal dividends that never will be passed.
This book is our legacy from the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. If we keep our Bibles free from dust, we need worry less about keeping our weapons free from rust. And if we live by His teachings, we can not fail to make democracy live. — Drew Pearson.