Evening star., 1924-04-27

| istry, ne had a very practical request
! to make of Him. a request that con-
cerned his own domestic affairs. The
response of Jesus was immediate and
generous. He would come directly
| to answer in person the summons.
Declining the generous tender of
personal visit the soldier aroused
! the admiration of Christ to such an
| found so great faith, no not in
| Israel His answer given to the
soldier was, LAS thou hast believed.
| so be it done unto thee" Note that
| the only demand He made was be-
lief in His power. The measure of
| faith should determine the measure
| of His exercised power What the
soldier believed concerning Him
should determine the efficacy and ef-
ficiency of His response.
Canst Thou Believe.
This marked all His methods in
dealing with men and women; il was
always: "Canst thou believe" When
a sick woman pressed through the
| crowd to touch the border of His
robe even though the throng surged
| round about Him, He knew that her
touch differed from all the rest, and
He perceived that the touch of faith
had drawn virtue from Him. Only
| could there do no mighty work be
/ cause of their unbelief" They closed
| their minds to His appeal they re-
fused Him hearing and of their
city with its large opportunities, He
! declared, Thou that hast been ex-
| atted TO heaven shall be thrust down
! to hell This city represents the
| tragedy of a. closed mind. it's people
knew not the time of their vista
/ ton
We stand today confronted with the
same old question that relates to be-
| lief and its relation to life. We have
! certainly held our religious beliefs
very lightly. we have relegated them
to a place of unimportance. Our age,
| With its conception of values, has
| pressed its religious convictions to
! the very outer rim of its conscious
ness and while it has highly regard
! His demands. Some one says causti-
| ca1ly: we cannot think of God and
| modern society as at all congenial."
And yet there is a widespread, yes,
| universal. feeling that the hope of
our civilization resides in a revival
| of religious belief.
Whittier Are We Tending.
Whittier are we tending if not in
! the direction of vital and vitalizins.
| religious faith? The relation that
! belief bears to life is clearly demon
! strable, indeed, it is the determining
| factor in the scheme of things. II
| touches Immediately and intimately
! our most practical concerns: it has
! more to do with our happiness and
! our security than we have ever
! dreamed. True, our beliefs may take
| different forms of expression. but
the central fact of them all is the su-
prcme person of Christ. Well did
some one say: God may have other
| words for other worlds. but for this
world the word of God is Christ" His
unfailing demand is "Canst thou be-
! lieve?' "As thou hast believed, so he
| it done unto thee" Here all concep-
| tions focus, here all our roads find
| their common center; here, out of all
| our confusions and controversies, we
| find our unity. ( There is an ire
| sistible power about Him that makes
Him persist even in the face OF our
negations and cold Indifference. Like
| His confused disciples of old we are
forced to cry out: Lord, to whom
shall We go? Thou alone hast the
words of eternal life"
Copyright. 1924