Editorial March 8, 1913 Issue

"TOGETHER WITH GOD."

John B. Willis

That effective response to all the demands upon us, as parents, practitioners, and public citizens, constitutes a heavy load, is a proposition to which some of us may often be tempted to concede; and that the dominion of this sense does not represent the freedom which Christ Jesus declared was to be gained through a knowledge of Truth, goes without saying. The "I can't, I have so much to do," which is not infrequently heard upon the lips of Christian workers, often expresses that wholesome recognition of human limitations which authorizes one to decline to accept a further responsibility. It is usually better not to undertake at all, than to make an unsatisfactory trial. Sometimes, however, this excuse expresses our forgetfulness of the stupendous fact that we are coworkers with God, that in Christ human weakness finds its full compensation in divine strength; and if we have lost our hold on this saving realization of the presence and power of Truth in our work, then we do well to know it, are to pause right there until we have scientifically regained our bearings.

The traveler in Egypt or Palestine will sometimes see a native plowman following a team which is made up of a very large camel and a very little donkey. If harnessed so that the two pull against each other, it is apparent that their combined efficiency is only double that of the weaker member. One is sure to find, however, that the simple husbandman has been wise enough to hitch each animal directly to his crude plow, so that the tremendous pull of the stronger is in no way handicapped. This order of things serves to illustrate the vastly significant truth respecting the divine relation to the achievement of all our worthy undertakings, a truth which, if rejoicingly realized moment by moment, will give us strength as well as inspiration, when otherwise we are likely to be utterly mesmerized by the sense of inadequacy.

The sufficient reason for St. Paul's wondrous assurance and power to overcome, was fully expressed when he said, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." The facing of the world's fierce antagonism, the care of all the churches he had founded, the support of the drooping and weak-kneed among his helpers, and the endurance of unnumbered punishments and afflictions,—all this was not only possible to him, but it was so light a load that he could rejoice unceasingly, because of his abiding realization of the mightiness and reliability of the coworker upon whom he leaned. "I know," he said, "whom I have believed." Paul was a great Christian Scientist, and in so far as we gain his sense of God's relation to all right human endeavor, we too can find escape from that feeling of weakness and incompetency which has so often fettered our hands and rendered us a prey to enervating discouragement.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial

BICKNELL YOUNG TO RETURN