Editorial October 5, 1912 Issue

"FEED MY SHEEP"

Archibald McLellan

The coincidence and correlation of profession and practise was insisted upon by the Master from the very beginning of his ministry, and he himself set an example in this respect which, had it been consistently followed in the succeeding centuries, could but have long since revolutionized the world and redeemed it both physically and morally.

There is food for thought in this contention, because of the admission so freely made today in religious councils and in the publications of the various denominations, that the gospel has seemingly lost its old-time grip upon the people. No one questions but that the gospel has been faithfully and effectively preached, so far as the clergy themselves have grasped its meaning from their own point of view. No one would think of denying, for instance, that the truth as it has been expounded in the churches for centuries has been the means whereby multitudes of men and women have risen to a high plane of spiritual living, the while they strove to endure unspeakable bodily discomforts, after having tried every available material means for relief, in the mistaken belief that this affliction had been placed upon them by God, despite the inconsistency in the thought that a God who is Love could so misuse divine power.

If we go back to that last meeting of the Master with his disciples, as related by John, we find special stress laid upon the command to Peter, iterated and reiterated, as if to emphasize the duty incumbent on those who were to carry on the work Jesus had begun. "Feed my sheep," he said; feed them as he "the good shepherd" had fed them, with that living bread of which if any man eat "he shall live forever." That the disciples interpreted this command to mean that they were to follow in the Master's footsteps, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and healing the sick, cannot be doubted, for we find Peter and John stopping, on their way to the temple to pray, to heal the lame man at the gate; and besides other specific instances mentioned, we are told that "many wonders and signs were done by the apostles."

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