The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-06-27

"
eled and polished and fine,
And filled with the tears of a weak
j. ling: Oh, God! for a gourd-and
wine!
big wise Lyric Master. you who
have seen us build,
MOlding the mud with our tears and
blood into the thing we willed-
Soon shall your brooding be over,
the dream shall be ripened, and
Thunderous out OF the silence-hurl
Fl, US the Song Of Men!
John Neihardt.
! The Seeking Savior.
The greatest story in the world of
literature, that of the Prodigal Son.
was told in the period covered by
these lessons. With it went the al
lied parallels of the lost sheep and
the lost coin. Here. too. we find that
other picture parable of the Publican
and the Pharisee at prayer Also
doughty little Zacchaeus up a tree in
search of truth, and swiftly making
restitution of his ill-gotten gains, In
loyalty to truth.
Like great major theme in q great
symphony. there is constantly recorded
through these final utterances of Jesus
/ the idea that the "Son Of Man is come
to seek and to save that which is lost
That is the greatest revelation about
God. 1t is one unique trait OF Chris
t1anity. Other religions represent man
as seeking God. Christ revealed God as
seeking man. The yearning Father
heart, as represented in the Son who
/, went the limit to show Gods love,
/ looms large in these lessons. The key
OF all our recent studies is this picture
Of the patient, self-spending Son of God
seeking, seeking, seeking.
| Standing Up and Standing BY.
/ Terse Comments for June %, "Civic Re-
| forms That Endeavorers Should Pro-
! mote."-Isa. 1:1O-20.
| (BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS1
Over and over again have heard
leaders in civic reform say. 1.-THE trou-
BILE with church people Is that they can
not be counted upon. The fact that
they are religious is no guaranty that
they will vote against corruption and
for good government" The charge is
too sweeping to be entirely true; but
there is truth in it. To that extent it is
an indictment. II Christianity is not
synonymous with Righteousness, then it
is a mockery of all the teachings and
spirit of Jesus. If the saved are not
salt they are not saved! We cannot
escape the clearer demand of the Scrip
lures that all who are confessed dis
ciples of Jesus are sent into this world
to stand up for the coming kingdom
and to stand by it.
Religion that viii not stand the test
of election day will scarcely stand the
test of the judgment day.
How advanced the position Of the
church of today is upon the great moral
reforms is shown by the fact that sew
eral of the principal denominations un-
equivocably demand that their members
shall bear no part whatever in the
liquor traffic; and that even to sign a
saloonkceper's application for a license
subjects one to expulsion from church
membership. This is far CRY from the
day when eminent churchmen derived
the ir wealth from the manufacture and
sale of intoxicants. and the tide of the
times Is still setting strongly in the d.
rection of dissociating the church from
all that smacks of social or civic or
economic i'll. Thus, some churches will
not permit men to remain in their
membership who own properties used
for immoral purposes; and the day is
not far distant when a Christian will
be publicly dishonored, If not actually
unchurched. If he is allied with cor
porations which do injustice to their
employees or which have corrupt deal
ings with public officials. Even men,
bership in a political party which is
one day be impossible to the Christian.
We serve our apprenticeship to
heaven while on earth. And the more
heavenly we make our earthly sur
roundings the more worthy we are of
citizenship in the heaven beyond the
grave.
Something is lacking in the re1i-
gious life of every person who is not
making some definite contribution to
the well being of his own neighbor-
hood.
Endeavorers have been particularly
efficient in good citizenship because
they have the zeal of youth, greater
leisure than older persons, and free
dom from entangling alliances. They
also are trained in organization. It is
easier for them to canvass Il COM
munity in behalf OF a righteous cause
than for any other organization. Ev-
cry society should have a Christian
citizenship committee, with some def
mite, tangible, neighborhOOd work, no
matter how humble, upon its pro-
gram.
Patriotism must be put before par
tisanship. else partisanship will de-
stroy patriotism.
An elementary task in behalf of
good government is to get out the
voters on election day, regardless Of
how they vote. Unfortunately, it is
generally true that the persons who
need to be reminded and melted to
fulfill their sovereign duty of casting
a ballot are those commonly called
good citizens"
The adult Bible classes are circu-
lating and signing a Voters Vow"
that is fraught with large pOssibilf-
ties for good citizenship. 1t reads as
follows:
As the people look forward to an
other election, I SOlemnIy make 70 /