Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-03-04
1rIhe Sunday
School LESSON
Lesson, March If. John 6:2a-iO.
Ey Ben Newsomc

Lesson. March If. John 6:22-iO.
1t was perfectly natural that the
multitude which had been mjracu-
4 lously fed should have tried to follow
/ their benefactor. This is the first in
! stinct of man in all ages, and is one
thing he has In common with the
I brutes. Someone has cynically said
/ that the way to mans heart is thru
his stomach, but they might have
| truthfully added many may feed the
stomach without capturing the heart.
/ Many kindnesses get no farther than
a sense of gratitude, but that grati-
tude is in too many cases contingent
/ on an expectation of more faVors to
come. This was evidently the thot
! uppermost with the majority of those
/ who followed Jesus when he fled
across the lake, for he said to them;
/ Ie seek me, not because We saw the
/ miracles, but because We did eat Of
/ the loaves and were filled"
There is nothing disgraceful or sin
/ ful about the dSire to appease the
/ wants OF the appetite, for eating and
drinking is a necessary part of living:
+ but the sinfulness consists in making
the material wants of man the domi-
nant motive of action. Even swine
VIII follow the man with the slop pail,
and men with immortal souls should
rank little higher than the beasts
of the field. So that, after all. the
great lesson OF this chapter is tho
greater importance of matters of the
soul over those Of the body. There
were many good people at one age
/ of the world who thot to become more
spiritual 10y abstaining from every
material thing except bare subsist-
ence Of life. This is the error we
think we have overcome, but the idea
is still alive-that uneNpressed and
misplaced conviction that there rs
enmity between the welfare of the
body and the welfare Of the soul. God
was creator Of the human body as well
as iuspirer of the soul, and he has
nowhere given MS TO understand that
we should humiliate or punish the
one with the intent Of helping the
other He expects us to have healthy
vigorous bodies as well as healthy
vigorous souls But the error of the
time of Christ, and the one which he
sought here to correct was that OF
making the body the chief thing and
neglecting the soul.
sing the simile of food Christ told
them that the Father was the giver
of all benefits and they at once want.
ed to speak for the blessings to be
bestowed. When he spoke of bread
coming down rom heaven ana Civ
ing life unto the world they said at
once "Evermore give us this bread"
Yet, when they were further instruct
ed that belief in the Messiah was both
food and drink that precluded hunger
and thirst, they murmured among
themselves at his assumption of deity.
So 1t Is with the seeker of salvation.
Every man is eager to obtain the
blessing of salvation. Did you ever
see any person who dld not want to-
be saved? No, OF course not. But
many Of them murmur when they
find they must give as well as receive.
that possession OF eternal life means
sacrifice and service In this life. Most
OF them would prefer to 20 thru the
main part Of human existence in their
own way following their own desires
and acknowledging no obligations.
and then, just before the time comes
to render an account OF the deeds
done in the body, to receive the free
gift Of absoluuon from sin. They