The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-01-18

oi1iS VI LIIoSe WHO are DIT uuly > pOSI.
They had had poor luck: at the word
Of Jesus they let down their nets for
a phenomenal catch. Then he sum-
money them to leave his newfOund
plenty, and to become fishers of
men" Their former association
with Jesus had not involved the sur
render of their accustomed calling
and life; now he definitely bids them
to give up all else and to share his
career. What a choice! Little did
they dream Of what was involved in
it; little does any person even dream
Of what is involved in the choice Of
Christ.
The most important act in any per-
sons life is the decision to follow
Jesus. Often it means a complete
transformation of ones station and
character and calling. / recall a con-
versation with a Japanese in TOXIC,
who told me that as soon as he be-
came a Christian he wanted to do
something for his country. The re-
suit was the invention of a process of
making wood shayings, which are
widely used for artistic and utilitarian
purposes. In that case the decision
for Christ meant j new industry TOR
a nation.
Recently there died in easel. Ill, q
woman who had been bed-ridden for
t tIne IN m ssaI5; IT, s mark spent and h fhe
proceeds of the labor of Miss Lizzie J..
Johnson. amounting to more than
$40, 600, were devoted to the mission
work of the Northern Methodist
church. Twenty native Bible women,
and four college students, were being
supported by her when h died. The
great motive which Christ puts into
the heart of his disciples, even as he
did of old redeems life from petiness
and provincialism and spirit-poverty.
A Church and Its Hypocrites.
The need for disciples and helpers
was soon apparent in the cast OF
t Jesus. He was entering upon his
year of popularity. All his time and
powers were taxed by the demands
made upon him. One pair Of hands
could not accomplish all these clam
orous tasks. If he was to do his work
effectively, he must have assistants,
and some form of organization. SO,
having summoned to his service a
little band of disciples, he began to
itinerate. There were more than two
hundred towns and cities in populous
Galilee. The presence of people then,
as always meant need. A more Or
less systematic visitation of the whole
region was undertaken by Jesus and
his band.
The point of contact between the
new message and the old life was the
synagogue. Jesus did not break with
the old until he had to do so. His
example and teaching inspired Wes-
ley's famous saying, I desire q
league, offensive and defensive, with
every servant of Jesus Christ He
stood by the synagogue, not counting
himself too good for q church whose
errors and Inconsistencies he knew
better than anybody else. There were
~hypocrites in the s~ynagogues; but
Christ went there, none the less.
Iirc$ of oil he nra2HhQH That Is
not the order that many modern souls
would follow. They advocate that
the church save the world by found
ing baptized dance halls, model lods-
ing houses. soup-kitchens and kinder
gartens. They would have good men
leave the pulpit and enter the legis-
lature and the theatrical profession.
4 reconstructed society is their goal,
and they want 'practical' means
adopted to bring it about. To all such
it needs to be said that the most
practical, direct and permanent means
of transforming society is by the
preaching Of the gospel. Our lines
need more preaching, not less. The
non-Christian world lacks the preach
ing of Christ's truth, which alone
makes men new, more than 1t lacks
the appurtenances of civilization. A
revival of preaching-direct, scrip
tural, sincere preaching-Wiu do
more to meet the untoward conditions
of the time thai any eleemosynary en-
terprise.
4 Popular Healer.
His gentle h~elpfu1ness gives Jesus
his claim to pr~e-eminence, in the eyes
of purely secular historians. He q
a passion for serving people. AS the
revealer of the mind of the Father,
we behol in him incarnate compass
sion. He called upon people to
change their minds, and to get new
thoughts about life and about God.
Then he went down among them and
laid his healing hand upon them.
Some persons sought him GU of
mere curiosity; every foreigner who
has been followed as / have, by scores
Of curious natives in remote villages
can understand this idle interest Of