Editorial March 23, 1935 Issue

Right Revival

W. Stuart Booth

After the children of Israel had been miraculously liberated from bondage in Egypt, after they had been led through the Red Sea, and in the wilderness had been fed with manna and had been given water out of a rock—even then they turned from the worship of God and made obeisance to a golden calf. Moses, returning from Mount Sinai with two tablets of stone bearing the Commandments, took strong measures in turning the thought of the people to God and in reviving their sense of grateful appreciation of the Father's care. Subsequent experiences of the Hebrews fluctuated between prosperity and progress, when they were obedient to God's law as stated by Moses, and defeat, disintegration, and degradation, which followed their disobedience. Repeatedly, clear-visioned, courageous prophets recalled them to the right path.

This backsliding tendency of human nature was expressed also through some of Christ Jesus' disciples who "went back, and walked no more with him," when his spiritual teaching demanded more than they were ready to yield. The Master by both precept and example did all he could to plant his followers' feet firmly in the way of spiritual right thinking and living so as to ensure their consistent and continuing progress out of the bondage of erroneous beliefs into the realm of freedom and dominion. It is significant that, in indicating the means and method of gaining the realization of man's God-given liberty, Christ Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The condition attached to the promise entails continuing obedience to the Master's commands; it precludes fluctuating aims and vacillating endeavors.

When the disciples failed to measure up to the Christian standard, Christ Jesus through patience, forgiveness, tenderness, and loving admonition strove to revive their waning zeal and wavering trust. Obviously he knew that faith in God which is based upon demonstration is much more apt to be stable and unassailable than is unproved blind belief. He not only healed all manner of sickness, gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, in support of his teachings, but instructed his followers to do the same works with the identical motive of glorifying God. It is noteworthy that so long as healing by spiritual power and means was regarded as an intrinsic part of the Christian church the progress of Christianity was not stayed. When materialism stole into the church, however, and spiritual healing was lost, there followed centuries of intermittent lapse and revival of spiritual endeavor.

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