The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1927-04-12
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

TO dare all things and to suffer
all things in unhesitating reliance
upon the certainty and sufficiency
of Gods love to conquer where
every other power fails.
Jesus, as He turned His steps
toward Jerusalem, faced the ap-
parent collapse of His mission. If
men were to judge by the surface
indications, by the part which was
visible to them-the picture of
Jesus standing alone in the grip Of
his enemies; Jesus with the organ
lied prejudice Of hierarchical Juda-
ism against Him; Jesus with the
might of imperial Rome against
Him; Jesus without q human
friend who had the courage to
stand for Him-men could only
say that this was catastrophe and
defeat. So judging, Jesus Himself
could have felt not otherwise.
The failure Of religion TO con-
quer the world In the name Of
Jesus is chiefly due to the fact
that. too often, it is thus that its
opponents have judged. They want
ed immediate visible results. They
have shrunk from apparent failure,
with all that it entailed of mate
rial loss and physical suffering;
they have compromised and resort
ed to other sources of seeming
strength. They have builded up an
apparent success, measured in
terms of wealth, or prestige, or
numbers. But they have sacrificed
the only thing worth while-the
spiritual regeneration OF human
ity through the power of love.
Savior Chose Victory.
Jesus saw all the gloomy ap-
pearances OF defeat long before
they overwhelmed His disciples
and sent them scurrying to cover
but He saw that the only real de-
feat possible lay in His surrender
to appearances, in His losing
faith in the loye-purpose of God.
Had He said, by little conces-
sion TO the Temple authorities, by
small yielding 10 Annas and PLATE,
/ can prolong My life and My sery-
ice to My people; I can continue
for another ten or twenty years
TO teach and to heal and to help:
| can gather a large following and
lay a stronger foundation for the
work that must 90 on when l am
no longer able to direct It," that
would have been tragic, that would
have meant utter failure, hopeless
defeat.
And yet how wise and common
Sensical it all sounds, and how
often men who count themselves
His followers have shaped their
service of Him by just such con-
siderations as these.
Jesus went to the Cross because
He believed that love was might
Ter than organized prejudice and
hatred, mightier than the armies
Of Rome, mightier than death. and
that the way Of Gods triumph ran
like path of glory through all the
midnight darkness which men
termed catastrophe.
Call to Christians.
And when we turn back to Cal
vary, and salute with grateful and
worshiping hearts the Man who
did not finch from it, we acknowl-
edge that Jesus judged truly.
When will Christians answer the
challenge of the Cross, and declare
that they are willing to risk every
thing, to lose everything, in order
to demonstrate anew the truth that
love is the only redemptiye power
for life, that love is the only an
swer to its problems, that love is
the only solvent for its ills?
When will Christians coura-
geously and with the heroism of
their Master, build all their plans,
rest all their hopes, chance every
thing upon the faith that the sig
nificance OF life is love, that the
controlling impulse Of the universe
is lover
When that day comes the Cross
viii return, not as symbol of an
experience. There may be an
other such appearance of failure
and defeat as made midnight for
the timid at Calvary; but beyond
1t will lie the dawn OF which Jesus
spoke when He said, "And ], IL
be lifted up, will draw all men
unto Me-"
It's a wise cork that knows its