The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1922-10-19
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

can by Rev. U. >. WRIGHT ~ u
SUNDAY, OCTOBER %.
Jesus TEMPTED-Luke 4:1-3O.
In that he himself hath suffered be
ing tempted, he is able to succor
them that are tempted.-Hebrews
2:1S.
THE BATTLE GROUND
There had come a wonderful eXper'
fence to Jesus at the jordan where
He had listened to John and had been
baptized by him. But the touch of
water was nothing to the stir OF splr-
it in which the very heavens seemed
to open as His soul leaped upward and
He heard His Fathers voice declaring
to the depths of His being the con-
scious relationship of Son.John caught
the evident coming of the Spirit upon
Him and witnessed to the fact but the
other was His alone. 1t was from
such an experience that He turned to-
ward the wilderness, "le1 of the
Spirit" to find the meaning of it in
His life activities. The Spirit is not
Gods if the leading is not to a battle
ground. Out of his own experience
Sam. Hadley wrote, 81 believe a
crisis comes in every redeemed mans
life inside the first twenty-four
hours" Out of the atmosphere of the
Upper Room and the converse of the
18th chapter of John Peter walked to
his denial with curses on his lips.
Jesus is blood-brother to us all. 1t is
a real man who, in surroundings
familiar to other men struggling as
did He among the beasts and angels,
lives upon the pages of the Gospels.
He was and is divine but He scorned
to use any power that does not belong
to ordinary men everywhere. That is
the reason the experience holds 50
much significance for me: if it had
been God battling with Che devil with
the certainty of victory in the very
nature of the case it would be a fine
sight but meaningless in my own hour.
In A Singular Life Bayard looks at
Dragon, in which the shield is unden-
ted, the robes unsullied, and the cover
ing undistu1bed, in mute protest at
the contrast with his own case in
which every nerve was aching and the
whole man wounded. There was moth
ing there for his need. Christ threw
away every shred Of difference and I
see, in every line, my own soul in
death grapple with evil and behold
the way of mastery over it. That is
the thrilling thing in this whole scene;
it is my battle and my victory. And
it wa sreal. He suffered, being temp
ted even as you and I. He might
have fallen but did not; therefore I
need not. How did Re do it? That
becomes the appealing thing to each
of US and far more fascinating than
the reasons for Waterloo or the
Marine.
THE CHOICE OF ENDS
Have you ever been N the grip Of
a story and failed to hear the CLOCK
strike? Or because of some question
that held the mind have you passed
all unconsciously your meal hour?
Then YOU can judge the intensity Of
the mental absol btior of this Man
who for forty days forgot that He
was hungry. What pale shadows Of
men are We beside this towering One!
But He saw life and the world while
we look at little things only. He had
fought the way thru to some conclus-
ion, parts of which were included in
the intense mental conflict of the DAYS
Of which He later talked to His dis
ciples. All doubt was dead and He
was ready to advance but toward
what end? Weak from fasting, with
every nerve crying out for something
to eat, able to satisfy that wolf hun
ger, the struggle and its ending show
something of the direction of His
thinking thru all the days What
should He do with His power? He
could serve Himself or He could put
others first in His thinking For
could not make bread cut of stones
and if the fight was to mean anything
to me then He must go thru it as I
must make my way. For the sake Of
my need would He hunger or would
He feed Himself. One can see whole
ball game thru a tiny knot hole
what marvellous life appears thru
this bit Of a chink He carried the
need of others as the deciding factor
to the extreme limits of His living
and determined that the only end of
the power should be service for them
and not for Himself. The victory
should be won upon their field and
not upon His. The guide in the think
ing thru to such an end was that
Bible in which His whole mind was
STEPPED. For man or nation or group
to take it would settle the most vex-
ing problems the world holds. Had
! I