The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-02-08
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
BY W. T. ELLIS

with a burden or a grief crowded to-
ward Christ.
Physically, it was impossible for
Him to minister to all who needed
Him, or to carry His message to all
the places ready for it. Then, as now,
He must go to the feet of His friends
If He would run all the errands of the
Father. He is in this our Exampler.
There is scant wisdom in trying to do
a great work alone. We must learn
to labor with people. If leaders, we
must utilize helpers and train them
to thei, highest efficiency. The re-
Sponsibility that comes to us we must
distribute Every leader should null
tiply himself by his disciples Thus,
in the purpose of Christ, His college
! of apostles became himself twelve
| times repeated.
The Possibilities OF Plain Men.
Jesus did not wait for geniuses. The
differences between a good executive
and a second rate one is that the
good executive can take the material
| in hand and utilize it effectively. The
second rate man goes about whining
over the lack of competent helpers.
We are prone to be mistaken in our
estimate of the apostles, for we see
them in the ripeness of their powers
and service. When they were called
by the Lake of Galilee they were
amazingly like you and me. All of
them were average, everyday folk,
without much social poise or polish.
| Most of them were more at home in
| a numbering, fish-odorous boat than
| in a palace or in good society,"" Let
US get hold of this great truth. Anal
we the list of the twelve and in tenn
permanent and in training they are
seen to be common folk; more com
mon than the average of delegates at
any religious convention today.
| We are prone to boast of the big
| names that adorn our churches and
religious organizations. We are proud
| of the rich and famous 1aymen who
are on our lists. The exaltaton OF
| the merely wealthy prominent to
| places in church work has reached a n
absurd length. Those who have
worked with them have come to see
| that these are not the men who make
things go. The example of Jesus rises
up to remind US that His source of
supply, the everyday folk who toll, is
still at hand. Why should our secre-
taries spend their time trying to be-
guile a reluctant hour or two from a
busy man of affairs, when there are
virile, forceful young men with I'M
occupied time in all our churches
waiting only the call of leadership:
| The amazing fact about the whole
story is what Jesus can do with an
| ordinary man. We talk much of the
self made man, but he is not to be
compared with the Christ-made man.
| The most ordinary person, plus Christ,
becomes an extraordinary person. The
| twelve untutored rustic Galileans,
about whom we study today, became
| the statesmen of the worlds greatest
empire. That group of Syrian peas
ants have changed all the history of
| the race, and are still at work in our
own time. Their achievements throw
! into the shade those of Alexander and
| the Caesars.
The High Call.
l.
| long marches, toa hunger, to privation,
to wounds, to death. His followers
1eaped in heroism to the high sum-
mons. So it is no easy allegiance that
Jesus offers to His disciples. He calls
men and women into service that is
hard it is holy. He bids them give
| themselves to the difficult task of be-
ing salt for the salvation of society.
| As salt is ever in danger of losing it's
| SAVIOR, SO Christians are subject to the
constant temptation of losing their
saltness-their uniQueness, their pow
| err to preserve-because they become
! like the lump they are meant to
| Ieaven.
| Likewise Jesus babe His disciples
to be the lights of the world. Then,
as now, the salvation of neighbor-
| hood and of a state depends upon the
righteous men. No nation can live
without the lives that are light and
that are salt. These are the hope of
our time. No city can get SO bad that
even a handful of true disciples can
not redeem it. Ten righteous men
would have saved Sodom The DAYS
need is voiced by the hymn of the
brotherhoods:
Jesus calls us, DER the tumult
! OF our life's wild restless sea:
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth
Saying, Christian, follow Me-
As of old, apostles heard it
By the Galilean lake,
| Turned from home and toll and kindred,
Leaving all for His dear sake