Dr. Charles E. Wagner, President of the Delaware Medical Society in The Sunday Star Magazine Wilmington, Delaware

In my thirty-three years of medical practice I have found that the spiritual life of a patient or his relatives or friends often influences the results obtained in his treatment. I can recall many instances where I have given sulfonamides or antibiotics and prescribed the usual methods of treatment without any apparent benefit. When I have indicated my deep concern to relatives, I have gone back the next morning to find the temperature normal and the patient markedly improved. Relatives then informed me that all of them prayed for his recovery, which I could attribute only to the power of prayer and not to mere coincidence of treatment or to my own skill.

Besides the power of prayer and its good influence upon the outcome of one's illness, the spiritual life of a patient may be reflected in his whole mental attitude toward that illness. The man, regardless of race, color, or creed, who feels that God is by his side, especially in time of distress or illness, is more apt to develop confidence or faith in his recovery. ... Faith generates hope in him for his recovery. Laymen as well as physicians are familiar with cases where their physicians did not expect them to recover or where they were given only a short time to live, but where their hope and determination to get well overcame all obstacles.

Considering these and many other conditions about life of which we know so little, I am reminded of the following verse in the Bible which I have always liked because of its simple truth: "And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

A contributor in the Quambatook Times Quambatook, Victoria, Australia

There is a result to every thought, a conclusion to every decision, and a reckoning in every deed. In the final analysis there is no escape from the justice of the living God and in the ultimates involved; there is no such element as chance. And yet considerations are given to happiness and security which are never allied to the divine will. However, in a real way our live are dependent upon two important factors, namely, the means by which we live and the ends for which we live; and we reveal ourselves as we are in the way we handle these two grave issues. Both are indelibly associated with the theme of security, but it is a fatal error to ever think of the means and the end in such a question apart from the vision and plan of the infinite God.

Because of the prevailing emphasis upon the amenities of life to which all men have an equality of relationship, there is an intensive stress upon security in terms of personal acquirement and the possession of an abundance of this world's goods. This struggle after so-called security invariably omits the corresponding stress upon the ethics of the Son of man, which assert that all the means of life must be subservient by personal consent to the spiritual purport of the kingdom of God. The quest after security goes beyond the family circle to embrace the family within the nation and the whole family of man. Peace in security cannot afford to leave any man or any people on the outside. High-sounding words and an otherworldly kind of idealism must be put to the test in producing the bonds of brotherhood and the eternal God as the central truth in security.

Earl L. Douglass in the Chieftain, Pueblo, Colorado

It is only when we become as little children that we enter into the kingdom of God. ... "Become as little children," said Jesus. When you do that, you are in a position to learn. ... Our superficial schemes get us nowhere. Our tinseled times satisfy nobody. Why not try the way Jesus suggested—genuineness, candor, teachableness, and an abiding spirit of love. The open mind of childhood, its natural democracy and freedom from prejudice, its trustfulness and guilelessness, have been carried on into maturity by a few really great ones of the race. There is greatness in simple sincerity which no amount of worldly cunning can imitate.

Russel H. Hoy in the Ohio Farmer, Cleveland

The secret of a fruitful life is very simple. It is not found in Bible knowledge, as such, for many a scoundrel can quote the Bible to his own advantage. It is not found in talents, nor in eloquence, nor in ecclesiastical office. It is simply found in a life of communion with Christ.

If we abide in him, as a branch on a vine, fruit-bearing becomes as natural and easy as songs to a bird or fragrance to a rose. We will not strain as though playing a role in a drama. We will just live. The atmosphere of our home, our neighborhood, and community will thereby be greatly enriched. "I am the vine, ye are the branches," said Jesus. "He that abideth in me and I in him ... bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." Such a man may be a mere babe in the Christian life, with little knowledge of formal theology, ... but if he be united to Christ in a living, vital union (a branch of the vine), much precious fruit will be borne.