Signs of the Times

with contributions from James B. Sadler, Bishop Hazen G. Werner

Rev. James B. Sadler in a column appearing in the Doylestown Intelligencer Doylestown, Pennsylvania

You have heard, "Man's extremity is opportunity," and this is true if we are willing to try to find a true relationship with our heavenly Father.

Enter into this relationship with a sincere desire to be changed. Very often it is not the other person who needs changing any more than it is we ourselves. Very often it is not the end which we so feverishly desire that has to be realized. We need to change our outlook on life as a whole, to let new meanings sink deeply into our minds — meaning about ourselves, about others, about our world. One of the best attitudes which should enter into our praying is this genuine attitude of desire to be changed, to be helped, to be made whole.

Further, religion can help us to meet life's problems. God is an ever-present help in time of trouble if we will face our problems honestly and try to find the best way to gain an issue out of the darkness which surrounds us. Far from being an escape from difficulty, a vital awareness of God's presence and a true trust in God bring us new resources of strength to win out when the odds are all seemingly against us.

Bishop Hazen G. Werner in an address recorded in The Protestant Herald Denver, Colorado

What would happen if you . . . would return to your homes and attempt to make them fully Christian? What would happen if parents out of a new respect for the spiritual worth of persons were to express their love for their children in terms of deeper understanding? . . .

If you feel that you have been Christian, attending church and supporting organized religion, ask yourself the question, "What difference does it make?" What difference does it make in the hunger to belong that children feel? What difference does it make in the discipline of a child? In the face of the wrongdoing of a child, can he be treated with neither overindulgence nor punishment given in anger, but with understanding to the end of growth? . . .

How really Christian are you as parents? If you are casual about your religion, the results in family life will be casual. There is no strength like the strength of a believing home. . . . Only insomuch as the concepts and experiences of God are made real because the religion of parents and teachers is real will the child become a believing person.

Send a comment to the editors

This is the end of the issue. Ready to explore further?

Online features Audio

March 28, 1959

Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit