Evening star., 1914-04-18
End. Enemies, Efficiency.

The battles of life are won by the eau
t;ous considerate and calculating man
who weighs carefully the problems Of life,
and then with the confidence Of what
God requires him to do. throws all his
powers into the battle. knowing that II he
is conquered by death that will be VIC
tory for him, for he will then be with
His Lord. and If he wins IT VIII ..1 oIins
larger glory to his Christ The man with
out faith in the future is apt to be
coward, while the man confident OF the
ultimate outcome, like his Lord, builds
not for the day nor the hour. out TOT
eternity He has estimated the cost OF
constructing character before he entered
lipon his tax, so he Will not quit Wheli
his work is only partly completed, Tor ne
has learned that Christ does approve OF
the man who quits not his task until 1t fs
finished.
The man who has counted the cost or
war never seeks war. In the present hour
of intense feeling upon the problems near
al hand in our own nations life no stu
dent who has faced the cost OF warfare
would wish war. The members OF our
s,ragetic boards do not desire warfare
but they do not want that We snouid
ever be forced into a conflict with an
enemy unless We are prepared TO oe
fend the nations honor and the nwee o.
our countrymen Prepared for conflict -
the best guarantee of the nations saie1s
in their eyes, but there is greater Pre-
a
found IN the shelter OF the Lord
When the battle is the LORDS we oo
not have to count men or machnes o.
destruction in the navy or army. All we
never give up. for when He is with us He
will see US through. The nation, like the
individual, that does not consider tne
cost Of conflict will soon be compelled
in these modern days to send messeneers
requesting terms of peace. The battle is
no longer q question OF publicity. al
though the searchlight of the press ma
show US the causes OF eonnict Inc
factor that determines the issue o, e1eTS
conflict is in Gods power to bring things
to pass.
The professed follower OF Jesus Christ
who lacks sticktuitiveness. who falls TO
make good his profession has not count
ed the cost Of being disciple OF Jesus
Christ The salt lost its SAVIOR by over
exposure Many Christians lose power
because they expose their lives 70 con-
ditions that Jesus Christ mover desired
We allow love for the things OF this
world to enter into our hearts. with the
result that although We pretend to be
religious and followers Of the Christ
we by our worldly life have lost our
efficiency for service; The soul that
fuses to obey his Masters voice is unit
for service and must be cast into the
scrap heap.
The only thing that has enabled the
has been the presence, power and per
sistency of Christ to carry out His pro
gram to save the world. The battles OF
Christendom would have been lost long
ago by insincerity, insipidness and in
efficiency Of those who professed but
did not possess the power of the Christ
because they allowed the spirit OF this
world to dominate their lives. Christ de-
mands of us all that we consider the
conditions, costs and claims of His serv-
ice. He calls upon us to deny ourselves.
take up the cross and follow Him in
service. II we can follow, then He vel
comes US and promises to help, aid and
assist us in our efforts: but IL We count
the cost, then he warns US of the danger.
difficulties and losses, assuring US that
all we lose for Him we shall gain and
that all that We seek TO save we shall
lose. Realizing the certainty Of the
future life, the coming conquests OF
Christ, let US take up our cross and fol
low Jesus and be His disciples in word
and deed.