The Topeka state journal., 1919-03-07
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

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For March 9 is Joshua. Patriot and
| Leader-"-Joshua 1:1-9.
There Was Man"
Every one has a past. What lies
! behind is often more interesting than
what is to the fore. kiplings COM
worth while as revealing the sources
! of much of his best later works.
There the reader finds many Of the
real persons. places and incidents
and poetry This is the charm of
biography; it introduces one to the
| factors that went into the making OF
| a life. Now that new figure looms
largest on the horizon of 1sraers his,
tory as the Sunday schools are study
ing it, it is worth while to look behind
the promotion. and see Joshua in the
ma king.
| A hard boyhood, that school in
which so many great men nave oeen
trained, educated Joshua to life's ac-'
| tt alities. He had known the rigors
| of slavery in Egypt, and all the black
| ness of that pit out of which Moses
led the nation. Then. better than a
| college course, Joshua had been SER
| want and associate of Moses. He had
seen more than a little fighting: 1t
was under his leadership that Amalek
was smitten, while Moses prayed,
aaron ana HIT nOlOlnB up MS MINUS
Always Joshua appears as man OF
action, with the virtues of the doer
! and the warrior Most commonly,
tho, he is remembered as one OF the
two spies who brought back a aavor-
/ able report from the Promised Land
| His fear-bitten comrades had perished
miserably in the wilderness; here, at
| last, he was vindicating his earlier
i Judgment by himself leading the host
into the long desired Canaan.
/ a Man Who Was Somebody.
Every appearance of Joshua in his
tory suggests personality. He was a
i character. In a colorless crowd he
field The Bible honors personality
today it is seemingly discredited by
society. One mood of our day ap-
pears to be determined to wipe out
distinctive lines; to substitute the red
flag of a bogus lint ntsrnationalism'' for
the banners of patriotism; to abolish
our Individual loyalties; to dress us
all alike: house us all alike; make
US walk and talk alike, and all things
to compel us to conform to its dead
level standards. The greatest harm
done by the changing styles is that
they tend to make men and women
} as much alike as wooden figures from
! a toy Noah's ark.
There is no vital need that one
, should be in the fashion; there is
greatest need that one should be ones
self. II is eyerybody's business in the
; world to express his own individual
ity, to live his own life, to make his
own definite contribution to his tine;
in word, to be a personality. From
the thin ranks of the personalities
& God has to select all his leaders OF
men, even as he chose Joshua from
the characterless crowd of wanderers
The parents who abet the modern
| - Nd NO ni,z !,
, individuality of children, endeavorine
!. to have all conform to a conventional
: model, just as a Chinese workman
Z carves a thousand ivory figures exi
, actly, alike, are doing everything ir
their power to prevent their offspring
from ever becoming Joshuas. In
!. stead Of a socialism which would
level everybody down to one plane
the world needs noble and unself.
y ish individualisn1 which will lift III
each person to the fullest possible
, expression of hi MS ,lf.
/ The King Is Dead.
Persons who are in the habit Of
t keeping an eye on current events. ant
\ OF putting two and two together, see
1 a remarkable shifting of present-day
r leadership. A new force of men stant
: at the forefront today. Trained ir
: battle, like Joshua of old, the returned
soldiers will be the leaders of tn,
and power will go to the young mer
who now wear khaki They are tn,
men for tomorrow. Faces 'front.'" il
the divine command. Long live th'
king"-nust follow hard on the heel
of the 1.-The king is dead" TIL,
worlds business must go on; the liv
ing present sis more important thai
the dead past. There is no time t,
vi spend in vain regrets over Moses: fo
t the commands of Joshua must b.
: obeyed. The attempt to keep a deaf
: leader to the fore is foolish and futile
= even China is finding that she mus
:. shake off the dead hand.
To say that all the great are dead
: and that the former days were better
is to say that God has failed in HI
e task with humanity. Joshua was
I better leader for this new period o
t Israers life than Moses could hav
s the present days doing. Remembe
n Moses only as an inspiration; follow
v Joshua. He who fails in today's dut.
f, is recreant to the past. All who lie
IS present opportunity escape, while the.
s mourn at the grave of the dear dead
r are showing poorest honor to their de
< parted.
y AS mountain ozone fills the lungs
: summoning every cell and tissue t.
,, do its best, so q broad and exalte,
s conception of life and its relations ex
pands and quickens ones powers. T.
see the present as but part of a whole
g of which the past and the future ar
e also pieces, is to attain a position
r where symmetrical growth and effect
i've service are most possible.
: Great experiences are Christening
s In the hour of his accession to leader
s ship Joshua doubtless perceived hi
own limitations most clearly. Els
2 there would not have been need 70
Il God to hearten him repeatedly. Who
K ever undertakes a big job, or gets
O large conception of life, is bound I
IS feel chastencd and inadequate.
The Great Partnership.
journalist stands unabashed be
I fore kings, because he represents
| power mightier than any king. name
ly. public opinion. The ambassado