The Detroit times., 1916-07-19
in the Religious World
A GOOD MAN IN A BAD PLACE.

come on VICTORIOUS. ne cross Is
mightier than any Corinth
Enter a Man and Wife.
The Emperor Claudius had made
Rome too hot for the Jews, and they
had been scattered in exile. The
experience seemed bitter one
Among the victims OF the edict OF
exile were a high-minded tent-maker
and his wife. Aquila and Priscilla
They were driven from their estab
lished work and their house In
Rome. and finally landed in Corinth
Fate seemed cruel TO them. Sull
with the stout-hearted fortitude
which their prosecuted race has
shown in all ages, they took up life
anew in this heather city, Joining
the tentmakers' colony.
Then. az now. workers at th'
same craft formed guild. Aquila
and Priscilla belonged to the tent
makers union. One day there cam,
TO them another stranger bearing
and we should say now. a unior
card, travelling tent-maker from
Tarsus, named Paul, They hospit
ably welcomed him TO their home
the more that he was a rabbi, learn
ed In the Law OF Moses. Togethoi
the three OF them toiled at the!I
trade, Paul the while talking OF th'
Nazareth Carpenter.
This is the Gospel OF Labor,
Ring II. We bells of the Kirk,
The Lord OF love
Came down from above,
To dwell with the men who work.
There Is no fellowship like that
of a common task, common cause
n common leader and common pur
pose. This insures community OF IN
terests. Therefore farmers get to-
gether in oranges. fnanciers In
clubs. workingmen in unions. II Is
diflcult for stock-broker and a
carpenter 10 think alike: they have
not even the same lingo. Therein
lies the difficulty OF preserving the
nation from classism There must
be some common tie, some common
aXnance. some common purpose
great enough 10 comprehend all
these divisions and TO fuse them
into oneness on the real essentials
OF life. II a man is a banker or q
brakeman before he IS a patriot,
then woe 20 the country.
One great obstacle to the success
OF the church. and one seldom ais
cussed In religious conferences Is
tho fact that the average clergyman
does not speak the tent-maker's Ian
guase. His speech Is that of class
rather than OF the mass. Inc
PREACHER Is trained as a bookman
by bookmen and II he Is orains'
hook taught folk enjoy him. AZ
for the great bulk OF the people
who are toilers, ne so little knows
their life and language that ne II
no, even aware OF the gulf that sep
ara.es him from them. Sincerely
and earnestly, he desires to be close
"a the workineman: but his years oil
apartness intervene.
The Personal Factor.
This casual contact. following ex'
lie, was the making OF Aquila and
Priscilla. II wrote their names
among the immortals. They became
important fgures In New Testament
history; for. OF course. they were
early converts OF their workfellow
paul. whose daily life and skill gave
full proof OF his religion. Destiny
usually comes 10 us in the form oi
personal relationships. Opportunity
Is ordinarily a man or a woman
The friends we make make US
Every fresh contact with a person
is a serious business. Had II not
been for their association with
Paul. kauila and Priscilla would
have gone into oblivion with the
other unknown Jews OF Corinth.
The other side OF the case Is
equally significant a cause grows
nv its recruits Just as IL was great
hour FOR Christianity when Paul was
converted. so Il was also great
hour when Aquila and Priscilla &C
coptsd the cross The hope and re
ward Of every teacher lie that among
the young lives she shapes there
NAV he a Paul, an Aauila, Pris