The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1949-02-10


green billiard table 1#98zz
and he turne d - a! IN
green. Then some
mean person set
him down on -
Christmas necktie DR.. Foreman
and the poor little
thing exploded. This 10 q parable Of
the person who tries to please ev.
erybody. 1t can't be done-and il
ought not to be tried. ''Woe unto
you" said Jesus, when all men
speak well Of you"
Jesus Christ himself did not
please every one. Not even a per.
feet personality can be 100 per cent
popular. Not that Jesus enjoyed
rubbing people the wrong way.
There was nothing perverse about
him. He was deeply, sincerely
friendly. and to lose any friendships
must have been more painful for
him than for US who are so selfish.
Nevertheless he did make enemies.
he had his critics; and his followers
may expect no better.
Misunderstanding Motives
NNE POINT on which Jesus met
~ terrific opposition was his at.
titude toward the Sabbath. Repeat.
eddy he or his disciples would dc
things on the Sabbath which Gas
Jews then understood the law) were
quite wrong.
Il was just that sort OF thing
that Jesus ran into. more than
once. His enemies misunder-
stood, or ct least misrepresent-
Cd, his motives.
They claimed that he was "blas.
phemous." that is, that he was DELHI
erately making light Of Gods law.
The truth was that he was acting
By Gods highest the law OF
love. Helping in need was
more important than keeping the
letter Of the Sabbath law. Jesus
example may help us here. II our
best motives are misunderstood, we
have right to explain ourselves,
az Jesus did; but we are not oblig-
ed to change our ways to please
those who persist in misunderstood
ing US.
Stepping Out Of Bounds
yIYHEN Jesus healed the man with
W the palsy. it was not the cure
his critics found fault with, it was
his first saying your sins are for
given" who can forgive sins blu.
God alone?" they said In short,
the Pharisees thought - some Of
them perhaps sincerely-that Jesus
was stepping out Of bounds. pre-.
tending to do something that he had
no right to attempt and no power
to accomplish.
Now Jesus did have both the
right and the power TO say what
he said to that sick and sinful
man. And he made no apollo
gies for going beyond the limits
his critics set for him.
So we too may sometimes be &C
cused Of biting of too much" o.
going beyond our powers or capac
ities. Our critics may be right, you
know, though Jesus critics never
were. But how often they are
wrong! II Lincoln had listened t.
his critics he never would have lef
his backwoods law Office: they die
not think him At to be president
II the Wright boys had listened t
their neighbors, they never woult
have flown an airplane. for VIII,
would have thought couple Of hi
cycle mechanics could do what s,
many scientists said was impossi
BILE?
Are you sure you are right,
Then 60 ahead. in Gods namel
-
The Company You Keep
JESUS friends got him into trou
} BILE. as Mark shows US. For On,
thing, some were the wrong sort
like Matthew the tax-collector. Thel
his friends had an unconventiona
kind of religion, they actual,
seemed happy about it instead Q
gloomy like some Of Johns disci
Piles. And to make matters worse
his friends broke" the Sabbatl
laws much as Jesus did. All in all
Jesus critics complained that Jsu.
friends were bad lot, and the
Judged him by the company h
kept. But Jesus knew his friend
better than his enemies did.
He never gave up or Ioosened
. single friendship on his crit
les account. Some Of hi
friends gave him up, but he new
er gave them up.
Copyright by the International Cour
ell of Religious Education on behalf o
20 Protestant denominations, Release,
by WNU Featuresl
|
Stanfield Lomax of Atlant;