INTEREST IN RELIGION

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 26, 31 July 1939, Page 16

INTEREST IN RELIGION

_». ACTION SHOULD BE ADDED "One of the striking things about the prophets of the Old Testament is their sense of vocation, a feeling that God had called them to a special work," stated the Rev. G. M. McKenzie at St. Michael and All Angels' Church, Kelburn, yesterday. Jeremiah, he said, was no exception to this- rule, but he was exceptional, in that he tried to avoid the. sense of being called. The message he was called upon to deliver was one reason for his reluctance. It was a tragic message of doom., Also he was apparently very sensitive to his environment. His was not the character that could endure unmoved the opposition and unpopularity that inevitably accompanied one who had to deliver an unwelcome message. Probably his youth had much to do with this sensitiveness. Further, Jeremiah was conscious of the inadequacy of the gifts he had for such a task. But Jeremiah was to learn that when God called a man to a certain task, He also provided the equipment necessary to carry it through. When a man felt that God was calling him to a special work, it was not for him to find reasons for not responding. His task was to give the best he had to the task. The man who willingly offered five loaves to Christ would be surprised to find that they were capable of feeding a multitude. "There is today," said the Minister, "a widespread interest in religion and in God. Religious books are among the best sellers. But it is largely an intellectual interest. Men are interested in God just as a man might be interested in astronomy, as a mere intellectual pursuit. And so the Kingdom of God tarries. God does not want intellectual interest; He wants us and our service. Intellectually ap--proached, God remains a hypothesis; it is only when man ventures all on the strength of that hypothesis that God becomes a reality. "There is in the world today a widespread feeling of good will and helpfulness, but it is largely ineffective. We are not prepared to venture on the strength of it. And until we do, 'all our good feelings will remain nothing more. If we believe that good will and helpfulness are part of God's plan for the world, then let us make the venture. And God's grace will see us through, however inadequate we may have considered our equipment for the task." .