The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-01-03


man would be first, he shall besssss>
servant to ALL" There we have the
soundest advice upon success ever
given. That teaching works In fact.
like all the other truths he sets forth.
Jesus embodied this In his own life
before he put it into words. He
That door ID open to everybody.
There il literally nobody who cannot
serve. We may lift lame dogs over
stiles'-and get after those who lame
them. We may remove banana peels
from the sidewalk, and help keep
folks from throwing them there.
There are always the hungry OF body
and spirit to be fed. I know man
who always gives an extra penny to
the newsboy, and another who In care
full to write letters of coincidence. For
a person with q passion for service
every day il full of glorious oppor-
tunities. Never mind about srecogni-
ton: that was the mfcrObe that trou-
bled the twelve. Just to be helpful IL
to walk the way charted by Jesus. and
hallowed by His footsteps.
Do we seriously mean that Jesus
here laid down program for life
Nothing less than that. He counsels
his friends to be the servants Of all"
But surely he does not mean that we
are to serve the proud. the undeserv-
ing, and the unappreciative? God IL
kind to the evil and the unthankful.' %
What people think and say does not
affect the truth which Jesus has in
should serve and serve and serve
and die to serve. II opportunity offers.
Too Much Powder and Paint.
One who travels extensively notes
that there seems to be altogether too
much powder and paint used on
women's faces; too much dining at
restaurants and too little hospitality
tn tAA 0t -
clothes and too little to raising chill
dren; too much ''smartness'' and ''up-
to-dateness," and two little regard for
the old fashioned conventions. such as
the sanctity Of the Ten Command
ments, for instance. In a word. there
is too little of the child heart manifest
among men and women.
Even in our garish and glittering
times we perceive that the simple
hearted, unsophisticated, home-keep-
Even uttermost worldliness cannot
help paying this trouble to the child
heart. which Jesus set up as the
standard of his kingdom. For it is
not by cunning, and not by worldly
wisdom, but by childlikeness that we
inherit what Jesus left for his friends.
Sincerity and simplicity. truth and
teachableness, are the kingdom quail
ties.
The Indignation OF Holiness.
Let nobody suppose that the sim
plicity and gentleness Of the ideals Of
Jesus mark him as weaklins. In this
lesson we find that the gentle Jesus.
whose patience seemed limitless, and
who could endure neglect and even in
suits to himself, famed forth and was
moved with Indignation" when he saw
his stupid disciples turning children
away from him. Look out for the holy
wrath of a great saint. Jesus opened
the Vfo1Q nf hio int nj
poured them upon the heads Of his
laundering friends.
Then 1t was that he declared, in
deathless terms, the fundamental law
of his kingdom: Suffer the Little
Children to come unto me; forbid them
of God. Verify say unto you, Whose
ever shall not receive the kingdom Of
God as a little child, he shall in nowise
enter therein. And he took them in his
arms. and blessed them, laying his
hands upon Them
That law still runs. The child's king
dom Is coming. We can hear it still
in the echo Of the Christmas bells. The
pre-eminence Of our schools, and the
multiplicity Of laws attuned to child
welfare and the marvellous growth Of
the Sunday school. all are indications
of the present fulhllment of the words
OF Jesus. The parent and the Sunday
school teacher have a great and noble
part in working out this Christ-ideal.
They are factors in the kingdom Of
heaven and in the kingdoms of earth
for they are dealing with the stuff Of
which states are made.
The Greatest Sentence in Speech.
Terse Comments for January 4.
Twelve Great Verses. /. The Saliva
ton Verse" John 3:1s.
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIs.)
During the year 1914 the young peo-
verses Of Scripture. one each month.
And, naturally, the greatest IL put first.
an appropriate topic for the first meet
ing OF the new year. This Is John 3:16,
often called the golden text of the
Bible'-'For God so loved the world
that he gave His only beg ,tten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish. but have everlasting
life" That Is the epitome Of the Cos
pei 1t Is doubtless the greatest single
sentence in all human speech. Can the
reader think Of any other In all the
with 1t? And. furthermore, this sem
tence Is better known 20 more persons,
In a greater number Of languages. than
any other grorp Of words.
Some utterances are dependent upon
the individual mood for their value.
This one strikes down TO the root OF all
thinking and all living-for it deals
with the forever interesting theme Of
the relationship between man and God
The Oldest thought Of the human race
Is and forever has been about God
Man Is more interested in that theme
tnan IN any other. All the varied forms
Of religion. past and pres mt. are but
manifestations Of that interest. This
great utterance Of Jesus is Of tremen-
dous pertinency. for 1t reveals that
coos attitude toward man il that one
OF love. The inadequate religions that
upon the Supreme Being as a remote
power, to be propitiated. Jesus brought
the radical new teaching that God Is to
pc loved, and that he looks upon man
Kind as a father looks upon his chill