The farmer and mechanic., 1912-10-15
THE, RELIGIOUS WORLD

records here-a mother pleading 1ol
her child Her great need nao gwen
her great daring.
4 Woman's Quick Wit.
Let us not get into difnruHles oreI
this passage. The answer Of Jesus
children first be filled: for II IS no,
meet TO take the children bread ana
to cast it to the dogs mat "oiu
dog" sounds harsh 10 us We kno"
that to this day Jew and Mosle1l
speak Of "Christian dogs. iHe
woman was not unused 70 ,hIs
Of the time. She expected it, as the
tolerant and cultivated Chinese take
the word "heathen" from the un-
thinking lips of Christian.
The quick Uitted woman saw that
Jesus was only testing her, and that
He spoke with a tenderness ana con
Sideration that took all the stlng OUT
Of the conventional word for instead
Of calling her by the simple rough
word dog" which would have meant
the pariahs of the street, Jesus USED
the dininutive, which meant pet
hOuse-dOg." 1t was very much as
when father said to his little boys,
wrestling about the floor in eAuber-
ance Of animal spirits. ~ on puppy
dogs There was no sting nor of
fense in the phrase. With wom
ans keen nt tuition, the Syro
PhGnician suppliant saw her oppor-
tunity and instantly rejoined, taking
advantage of tho figure of the house
dog, Yea Lord, even the dogs under
the table eat Of the children S
crumbs"
There was no resisting such hu-
nifty and persisttng faith. The
daughter was cleansed straightWay.
Thus began the foreign mission en-
terprise. at least in its medical aspect.
The Soldiers Confidence.
The second incident included in
this lesson is laid back in Capernaum.
the home city Of Jesus, and, for those
who are fond Of pursuing types, it
may represent Christian work for
foreigners in ones native land. This
time it was not suppliant alien
woman who approached Jesus, but 4
proud Roman commander, solcitous
for servant stricken with the palsy.
This man warns our heart. He is
of the type to whom ''noblesse
obliSe was a vital principle. He
humbled himself for his servants 9
sake: the welfare Of his dependents
was a fundamental concern of his
life. II all employers We're like this
Roman centurion. there would be
scant need TO write about an indus
trial problem. AS We contemplate
himself, this portrait of a perfect
gentleman, with all the qualities that
appertain thereto
As One Born to Command
The sudden delight of discovering
noble qualities where they were not
expected was given to Jesus. His
own royal heart must have leaped
as He saw this proud Roman bending
a knee in behalf of slave. AS
chivalry instantly responds to chiv-
airy, and as gentility commands gen.
t!lity. SO Jesus instantly responded,
Il will come and heal him
Still higher rises the lofty. spirit Of
the centurion. He knew what be-
longed to mastery Himself man
OF authority, accustomed to say to
this one, GO, and he goeth; and to
another come, and he cOmeth: and
TO my servant, do this and he
doeth it, the centurion replied with
the noble self n-ahasement of the
! great, II am not worthy that Thou
shouldest come under my roof: but
only Say The word and my servant
!! shall be healed 1t was greatnes:
. recognizing greater greatness. i
was q noble mind in the presence o.
a nobler.
Salvation Not a Birthrieht.
That recognition thrilled jesus
! heart Not even Israel, with all its
doctors Of the law. not even the mul-
titudes who had seen the miracles
not even His own disciples. had dis.
played the faith Of this Roman
The marvel of it all caused Jesus tC
turn to His followers and say Man,
shall come from the east and tn,
west and shall sit down with Abra
ham and Isaac and Jacob in the king
dom Of heaven, but the children O
the kingdom shall be cast forth int
the outer Darkness
Ihat utteranCe,-anG this is thu
teaching Of the incident-was a ter
rife blow to all who count on thei
descent or upon their membership i
! a certain body to insure them tn
3 good things of this world and tn
next. We cannot inherit the kline
dom of heaven through somebody
; else virtues. Personal faith is tn
only key that fits the door Of tn
kingdom OF heaven. Many who hay
fhDliphf