Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-21
Martyrs Who Miss Their Crowns

for they know not w4.at they do" Rather
he catches the firebrands as they come,
filings them back. and gives them as
good-and as bad-as they send.
Another has undertaken life Of long
and expensive witness for Jesus among
the heather or on our frontier. He
went into it with as pure devotion. as
complete a self-sacrifce. as warm love
as ever moved martyr or patriot. When
1t was entered into the great fact of the
venture was seen. but it's myriad details
were lost in the large "heroic stature"
of the whole. Soon the business of trans
lating heroic stature into homely service
began, and by and by the little or great
privations and loEelinesses and limitations
inserted their stings and roughened life
way The devotion did not go, the alb
gorptive love did not die. but. alas, the
little fine wrinkles of worry and care
and temper, then even vocal and by-and-
by vociferous complaint, disguised the
came a witness TO theology. to truth,
to a task. but had ceased to be witness
to the large. loving, tender. triumphant
Son of God and Son of Man.
The difficult life of mother, plainly
sustained for the sake Of Jesus and in
the spirit Of Jesus. can be as true and
glorious a martyrdom as was ever wit
messed by Stephen or Paul or Huss.
Crosses and stakes and watts Of boiling oil
may call for no sturdier hero1sm and COM
ers-Christs martyrs of the home! No
human heart can fully know, no tongue
express. their heroism! Here. after all,
and not in the rarer and more spectacular
scenes of fidelity. is Christ's real power
shown and glory won. In this case. too,
there may be real devotion, sleep
less vigilance labor urtiring, unrecom-
pensed and without thought of recon-
pense the true spirit OF Him who loved
us and gave Himself up for us But,
har',
furrowed, her voice sharp, her words
tart. she ceases to have time for the
Scripture and the prayer, she Is over
loaded by her cares. Then antagonlsm
or slow alienation grows up between her
and those whom she loves, for whom she
is giving her life, for whose soul saliva
ton she would, with Paul. if need be.
barter her own-another martyr without
crown.
Not wholly. God is not unriehteous to
forget such labor Of love. Fidelity and
witness are at the center Of all real
martyrdom. That mother did witness to
love. She was faithful even unto death.
Jesus never fails to see, He never forgets
that. He knew Thomas, that despalrns
lover with torturing doubts, who saw only
death before the living Jesus, and only
death behind Him who was the Risen
One Let us also go. that We may
die with Him. Out OF C:hrist's heart
those words could never die, THOMAS
wished He might have given him was the
crown Of faith. Jesus counts it much that
we are true to Him: but He counts 1t
more that i'm our truth to Him we be-
lieve that he is true to us.
For at its base that Is where martyr
dom loses or wins this GROWING jewel.
1t was not in the case Of us Thomases,
because our devotion failed, or our de-
sire to do right, that we grew depressed
or distorted or sour: it was because we
failed to believe practically In Christ
presence and power. to realize Him daily
to our souls. to take Him at his word.
to draw on Him for hourly strength and
sweetness Never mind why we thus
failed: enough to say that We need not.
For the upward gaze. for the believing
heart, for the life that will take time
to be holy, there are still always songs
in the night, still the hymns OF Paul and
Silas prelude the shaking of the dungeon
house and the release of immor-
tai souls. Still Jesus crowns Has faith
full ones with the coronet of others bless
ed and saved. Let no man take thy
crown" believe lin God. believe also in
me-