No Short Cuts To Achieving Better World

Chronicle (Levin), 20 July 1949, Page 4

No Short Cuts To Achieving Better World

'A better World requires better people ahd there are no short cuts to its achievement," said Rev, A Salmond, pfeaching on Sunday. in' St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Levin. An eminent Englishman, at the closej of a full life, had wrirten "The Confessions of an Octogenarian" arid among other thihgs he had confessed that he lacked those personal qualitieg rieeded in the establishment pf any ideai sttae. Many modefn sOdial planners refused to face the horrid impediment on the soul which brought disastdr to many fihe sociai ideals said the preacher. The Bible did' not make that mistake. It ihsisted ori the fact of human sin ahd the neea of God's forgiveness. The realism of the Bible did not lead to despair for humanity, but insisted that, with God, man was capable of great things. The Christran hoped for a better world, but the foundation of his hope lay not in hiiman planfling of any variety but in the new creation that cariie by faith in Christ. The shortest letter of Paul in the New Testament, the letter to Philemon, gave a vivid illustfatioh of What Christ could do in the consciences and sociai relationships of irien, continued Mr. Salmond. Because of a cdriirrion loyalty to Jesus Christ, three very different men in very different situations an impfisoned missionary, a runaway slavd and a wealthy ostate oWner wero led to act on a level of unselfish generosity and unexpected courage, they would not have risen to apart from Christ. - "A loneiy lmprisoned man gave up the preserice of a helpful friend, a successfriliy escaped slavo returried of his oWn free- will to servitude, and a siavd owner flew in the face of ciirrent sociai heliefs and received a siave back as an equal and a bfother in Christ. The aBsurd still bdcoriies the natural among folk who take' seriously their loysflty to JesuS Christ/'