Thoughtful Moments

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 303, 9 May 1941, Page 6

Thoughtful Moments

(Supplied by ihe Whakatanc Ministers' Association)

SUNDAY CIRCLETHE FRONT LINE —THE INNEII LINE Behind; the roaring cannon, behind lire flashing steel, The defenders .of the Inner Line steady and constant kneel. Some bent, some grey or crippled, some three-score years and ten. Just praying, always praying, fo:' the Front Line fighting men. These cannot leadi a sortie, nor breast thei oceans foam. But their fervent prayers as incense .rise, from church and cottage home. The poor man and the wealthy all form the Inner Line, Linked by a common, sorrow in it' brotherhood Divine. You can hear old voices quaver, you can see the slow tears fall, Yet the Inner Line keeps: steady, England and honour call! The}' pray, and who can measure . such prayers' resist iessi might ? They trust the Lord of He will defend, the* right. (The Guardian.) a a • o IF GOD BE FOR US ? <- Lf Godi be for us. who can be aigainst us?" —Horn, viii, 31. When St. Paul said "If God be for us, " the words were not a question. He had no doubt of the fact. He was rallying the coniulenee ol his friend,s by recaliiing it. It was unconquerable bastion of their spirit In the last war. the remark of Abraham Lincoln on the point Ikv came familiar. The important question is n(nt whether God is on our | side, but whether we are on the side of God. We do not need to-day so much as then to be reminded; of this searching truth. That is one of the differences, in our mo'od in this war as compared with the last. We are so conscious of the sin of war that wu are less ready to claim God as an ally. Some are even doubtful as to whether God takes sides at all. Does He not rather stand aloof from the whole sorry -business as if to say, "A plague on both, your houses"? The struggle, with all that it involves, seems too remote from His will. We can be quite sure, however, tliati God does take 1 sides. He is on the side of truth against f alsie-hood. He' is on the side o<f righteousness against crookedness, of justice against injustice, of t'he depressed and enslaved human, spirit against alii who exploit it. Jesus leaves us in doubt, about that. God is, in factj thg Spirit of righteousness, truth, and love. That is how He ha 3 revealed Himself. If there is anv goodjness in us ait all, it is of His Spirit in us. Every breath of righteousness, every impulse of pity and love are of Him. Matthew Arnold said that God is '"the Power not ourselves making for righteousness." The Psalmist .said, "The face of the Lord is against all them that do evil." This is not alwaysi easily proved in ordinary life. Sometimes it seems the other way. It is the wicked who have often seemed to Succeed, That was the agonising problem of the siaintsi of the Old Testament. Later on, Jesus, the very incarnation of love and righteousness, came at last to a criminal's cross. There is encouragement here fox faith, however. He, Whose; experiences seemed most of all to deny it,

OUR SUNDAY MESSAGE

believed most surely that God was With Him. The light of that assurunce shone in His bleeding face in a radiance that took the hearts of men with beauty. It rekindled their faith even at tiro' hour of its apparent eclipse. The real proof of God's support is within us,. It lies in an inner reinforcement of strength and courage that has often made men invincible against what looked like insuperable odds. It is most of all in what 1 we, are able to do and to face that God reveals His power. It is in the victory of our spirit through faith that God's hand' >s seen. It is, within our hearts that God intervenes decisively; for it is there in the long run that events are decided. On the other handi, the worst results of evil are alsb within ourselves. The wicked man may outwardly prosper for a time. But the light goes out in his soul. He loses the joy of life, which conies only to the clcan of heart. He becomes increasingly blind to what is true and good,. He IcKes the greatest treasure of all'—the power of love. A Nazi World might be from the material point of view a paradise of senusal comfort:. But it would be a world of lovelesisne'ss, and that is hell. Apart from this., it is true in, the long run that evil-doing works itsown ruin eiven in the material world. The nature of things is finally against the success of sin. Stevenson said, '"I believe in the ultimate decency of things, and if I were' in hell I should still believe rn it." In the long run, the world will only work in one Avay, and thai is God's. The tragic proof of this Is all round us. Is God,, then, on our side in this conflict? He i.?, if we are o'n His. | That is the real question. It brings a good deal of heart-searching. It ought to do so. T'hci result is not always pleasant. We may be fighting for righteousness,, but we; are not righteous. There is plenty l f ground for penitence. We have helped to make the soil out of which, r.s Mr Priestley says, this "toadstool" has grown. Do not let us be afraid of pcnitcnct. It is not weakness, as some' think. It is the foundation of the most formidable strength. But this does not moan that God is not calling us to a decisive struggle against evil. In an interesting letter to French Protestants, Dr. Karl Barth makes this point. He se.qs a danger lest their mood of penitence and humility should lead them to retreat from the spiritual conflict, and leave the political field to Hitler. That, he says, has been fthe tragic failure of many Christians in Germany. Humility before Gcidi—Yes ! But submission to tyranny andt he enslavement of con-. : science—No! The best of us have mixed motives even in the good we> do. That is why we must keep the humble and contrite heart, ever open to the loving judgment of God. Are: we ' seeking His righteousness in evcry--1 thing? Are we seeking to learn what it means in our, our friends : ships, our relations with one an* ! other, our political aims and plans? I As we play our part m working oa- , fighting or praying, we are; eager that the things, for which we Kight should rule in our lives all through? ■ Their e are' just two ways of Jiving, , and. living means living together. Onei s our way and the other is God's. If we are seeking His victory we can be sure of it. It is the only one of which we. can be sure.