The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-03-09
INTERNATIONAL, !.
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
BY w. T. ELLIS

going to all the entertainments he
wants to, and without price.
Some things do last-the natural
gifts of God. We do not tire of the
air and the sun and the woods and
the fields and the water and the sky.
Neither do We tire of our loved ones
or OF our homes, or of great books or
great pictures Did you ever know a
Christian who got tired of the Bible
or of the house of worship? These
are all bread that does not perish in
the using. We are wise with more
than common wisdom when we give
our best powers to those ends which
we may still pursue in the eternal life.
is not this the gist of the Savior's
great word, which is the heart of this
lesson, Labor not for the meat which
perisheth, but for that meat which
endureth unto everlasting life, which
the Son of Man shall give unto you?
Easy Asking for Great Gifts.
BABIES cry for the moon, and we
smile at them. Grown folk pray God,
quite as ignorantly and casually, for
even greater boons, and we never
sense the tragedy of it. What would
happen in the average church if God
should some day suddenly answer all
the great petitions of the preacher and
the people! They are not Intentional
~ lnslncere; merely conventional, and,
on! SO much greater than is meant.
II we analyze our own prayers for a
day we shall be in a better position
TO syTnpathize with this crowd of Pass
over pilgrims who lightly petitioned
Jesus, Lord, evermore give US this
bread Little did they know what
was involved in that supplication; for
edge.
THESE greedy ones were wrapped up
IN web of misapprehension. They
were thinking on one plane, and the
Master was trying to lead them to
another. Still engrossed in the idea
OF works and wonders, they had asked,
w hat shall we DO, that we might
work the works of God?" "Do"-that
is the old cry of man, trying to work
his way to = heaven. They expected
works; Jesus asked faith. This is the
work of God, that ye believe on him
whom he had sent To inspire their
faith Jesus had wrought mighty signs;
still they did not understand that his
great quest on earth is for faith, not
works. Really. the Master was hun
cry for faith; He wanted an incred-
ulous world to believe on Him. HIS
great question is whether, when He
comes, He shall find faith on the
earth. Ours is a day of great works:
would that our faith were equal there
to.
Something That Satisfies
Right here our study brings us
squarely up against the Great Affirm
alton of the New Testament, which is
that Jesus Christ is very God Himself
Philosophy has had many doubts on
this subject, which it has not been
slow to express. But Johns Gospel
has no such doubts. No honest mind
can accept this book and still question
that Jesus claims deity for Himself
Before one can deny this unique crown
to the Lord, He must first tear up this
l.
reader no other recourse than either
to accept the sublime affirmations of
the divine character and mission of
Jesus, or else to brand Him as con-
scious imposter, the most audacious
fraud of the centuries. There is no
middle ground left for Jesus to be a
wise teacher of beautiful character
Either He is what He claims to be, or
else He or His first disciple is totally
untrustworthy.
Clear, unequivocal, unmistakable,
is the declaration of Jesus to this mob
seeking bread:-"I am the Bread of
Life This is scarcely the place to
run thru all the Il Ans of this Cos
pei. They show the Speaker as AFRO
eating to Himself the characteristics
and qualities and rights of the SUI
preme Being. He claims identity with
the Father: Il and the Father are
one For any other than Deity to
one address alone would be prepos-
ferrous to an untIInkable degree
Buddha never said, Il am the Bread
of Life. Neither did Confucius nor
Zoroaster, nor Socrates. nor Moham-
med, nor any other of the great reli-
gious leaders of the human race. Only
Jesus claimed to be in Himself salts
faction for the deepest needs of the
human spirit These other spiritual
teachers offered systems and creeds
r. ~
Himself.
Has that amazing assumption of
Jesus been verified in the experience
of the race? All, ten thousand times
ten thousand men and women, young
men and maidens, arise with smiling
crowns on their brows, to declare that
Jesus is the very sufficiency of life
to them. He is the fairest among
ten thousand, the one altogether love-
iy." From devastated Armenia from
the prosecuted Christians of the mis-
sion field, comes the chorus, which
has sounded thru the ages, that Jesus
satisfies He alone is Life. and apart
from Him there is no adequate graft
fication for the needs of the spirit Of
man. To have the gifts of Christ is
good. but to have the Giver Himself is
His wonderful plan for all who would
have the deep hunger of their hearts
met to repletion.
just Saying So.
Terse Comments on the Uniform
Prayer Meeting Topic of the Young
Peoples Societies-Christian En-
deavor. etc for March IL:
spreading the Good News. Acts
S:14-17; John 1:3542-
An example of personal evangelism
is set for us in the first chapter of the
Gospel of John. Here we see Christ $
disciples, not content with having ac-
cepted Him as Friend and Master,
traightway setting forth to bear their
testimony and striving to gain new
apostles for the Lord. BY following
their lead in bearing witness of the
love and guiding power of Christ, we
can dc much to hasten the coming of