Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-07-09
The International Sunday School
lesson for July IL is "The Conversion
of Saul.'-Acts 9:1-19.

Turn loose a mani Better thar
all your schemes and organizations
is one s~elf-starting. eight-cylindere6
man in the midst of things. We are
trying to legislate and organize
humanity into the Better Day, where
rs what we really need to lead u.
there is personalities. with open eyes
and flaming hearts passionately de-
voted to Gods WILL"
Such was one mans response t.
an appeal to join certain of the in
Vulnerable movements" that seen
to be su~ffocating the good impulses
of u time. 1t is more than that
the world needs. rather than more
men. One converted Saul was worth
a whole sanhedrin of ordinary &C.
clesiastics.
Right now, in III own troubled
world, the call is loud for a great
leadership. Noble as has been the
feeding of hungry Europe and Ar
menia and China, I venture to sug-
gest that a far greater service of the
race at the present time would be
such a complete conversion to the
spirit and program of Jesus of a
few of the worlds foremost states
men as transformed the famous jew
ish zealot on the Damascus high
way, at noon of a historic day.
If Statesmen Should "Get Religion!"
1t would be indiscreet to men,
ton names but each of us can check
off on the fingers of n hand the
world figures who, If they were sud-
denly to experience the same sort of
conversion as overwhelmed the Tar
u scholar. %aristocrat and ecclesias-
l Asaol ~-1-. rr@,1I .,.-I-I @,s-~. Nl.A
tide of human affairs. Suppose these
men whose names are almost daily
in the newspapers were TO forego all
partisan and selfish and sordid and
nationalistic ambitions. and became
glowing apostles of the ideals of
Jesus; what an effect the act would
have upon human history!
Converted men in high places
would transform the world. Ten
personalities - five personalities -
resolved to do. at all costs, only
what would please Christ, would
make such questions as disarmament,
world cooperation and universal
peace merely incidental, because in
evitable.
Some of us who give our days and
nights to a consideration of world
affairs are old fashioned enough to
believe that the one way out of the
existing mess and muddle and mis-
cry of mankind is by some startling
conversions to the gospel and spirit
and Saviourhood of Jesus Christ.
"Impractical?" Not a bit of it.
The most practical thing that hap
pened in the whole Roman Empire
for many a long day vas the sensa-
tional change of mind and heart that
came to the bigoted, narrow, intol-
Grant. Christian prosecuting Pharisee
Saul of Tarsus, when he was struck
blind on the road to Damascus. tina
he might see the Light. There was
more of history bound up in that
one event than in the DEGREES and
deaths of a dozen caesars; or in the
movements and fightings of all the
armies of Rome.
Education BY Conversion
No mathematical formula can
measure the consequences of a great
souls becoming acquainted with
Christ.
Any large look at history reveals
hat the really great things have
come to pass by the Subway. Car
lyle's Heroes and Hero-Worship" is
merely a commentary upon the truth
that God changes events by changing
IlltIs IL VIC hICW Choo5h W ~ oot
we should build our great monu-
ments upon the spots where new
ideas and new purposes came to
individual souls. When a guide first
took me over Damascus he natural
ly showed me the traditional spot in
the road where Saul was converted:
no mar knows the true site; but it's
memorial is conterminous with
Christianity.
Tens of thousands of graduates Of
higher schools of learning have
gone out into the world" during
the past month, confident that their
education has equipped them for
principle which we may call "edu-
or needed the sound psychological
principle which W. may call 'edu-
cation by conversion" They need
to know that a great life purpose
a master passion, such as Christ
grants and Saul got on the way to
of the years.
Given such an impulse and con-
viction one finds all the tools of
learning useful; lacking it, none of
the teachings of the books a avail
to make one a master workman in
ones world. Power comes not from
complex equipment, but from a SUI
preme and simple determinations
"singie eyes" as the old phrase has
it. To be Christ's man, keen on
carrying out His will is better than
to be an alunnus of the greatest
university.
AS if the Lord laughs at logic. we
tind Him frequently upsettinS the
expected order Of things. Thus.
the master-mind of the world;
Saul, the university-trained scholar;
Saul. the philosopher, the loeician.
the metaphysician, was converted
to the new Way. not a philosoph-
ical presentation of the claims of
Christianity, but by q vision Of
by an emotional experience.
time religion with its empha-
sis upon sound conversion. is net sc
much in vogue nowadays; yet it was
by conVerSion,-a sort Of earth
luaking, camp-meeting conversion
at that; a personal experience de-
Did nf al argumentation-that the
Christian Church got its greatest
apostle.
One of the Great Journeys
1t is less than a days ride by rail,
from Jerusalem to Da-
llascus-and the temptation is
to digress into a description
Of the journey rs l made it recently
but for Saul it was a matter of
approximately a week. He rode
we'll equipped and attended, as be-
a wealthy, ar~istocratic and
distinguished emissary of the Jew
High Court, of which he himself
nay have been a member. Still, de-
'pite the haste Of his hot spirit,
travelling was, as it yet is a leisure
y affair in the Orient. Upon his
low ride, with it's noon-tide halts
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