[From the New Outlook, Toronto, Ontario, Canada]

"The Christian is most free and the servant of none." Luther was merely echoing a triumphant note which rings in all the teaching of the Apostolic age. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." This is the charter of Christian liberty. We are delivered from every kind of bondage which can fetter the soul of man. Conventions have no power to hold us; we slip through their meshes and go forward to find the truth which is the answer to man's immemorial quest. That is why a code of ethics is such a sorry substitute for a living religion. The one is apt to be a system imposed from without; the other is a free response springing from within.

It is one of the paradoxes of Christianity that this glorious liberty is limited at every turn. In principle our freedom is absolute; in practice is never is. We live in a world where other men and women are also seeking the liberty of the children of God, and it sometimes happens that our own achievement becomes a stumbling block to those who are less advanced. Our freedom is controlled by our responsibilities. The key to our liberty is "the mind of Christ;" and we disclose it under varying circumstances. It may sometimes happen that our very freedom from the bondage of convention makes us more susceptible to the demands of public opinion. We consider individual weaknesses, and the private needs of others. "Take thought," wrote the Apostle, "for things honorable in the sight of all men." St. Paul, who was so emphatic about the liberty of each Christian, showed in his own life an endless self-subordination to the limitations of others. He remembered their ignorance, their prejudices, their frailties. He became all things to all men in order that he might by all means save some. This is a natural development in the believer's life. The exhilarating thrill of absolute liberty becomes the patient drudgery of ceaseless service. "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." As Luther discovered, the Christian who is the servant of none, ends by becoming the servant of all.

Liberty, in other words, has risen to a new level. We do not deny its character; we vindicate it by freely accepting the limitations which the needs of others have imposed. The symbol of our freedom is a yoke, and we achieve our glorious liberty when we bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

[Henry Geerlings, in the Evening Sentinel, Holland, Michigan]

If we would make our nation more Christian, then it will be necessary for us to strive to help her stand first in moral issues rather than in material things. A nation which is first in wealth, power, and splendor knows only those things which are the envy of others and are apt to breed hate and discontent. The nation that has as her ideal moral pre-eminence builds a national character that is sound and clear and elevating enough to inspire and guide others to higher and nobler living. This will help to create a happy national home life, where every individual is of distinct worth. It will aid in providing for the needs of its citizens; and it will be immeasurably helpful in banishing crime, war, divorce, and all these other evils from our land.

A Christian need not be discouraged by such a goal, for this is the ideal he establishes for himself when he pledges his allegiance to Christ. It can become a reality when individuals place value on morals rather than upon things, both for themselves and for their families.

We need also to estimate national character in items of the service which the nation is rendering in fostering understanding and good will among men. In proportion to that accomplishment, love will be substituted for hate; mutual helpfulness will replace force; common agreement will uproot war. In such nations as this will the God of righteousness reign. . . .

The perils of our country are great, but the power of the gospel is greater. If we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for the highest and best interests of our country, we shall be making a real contribution towards making it more Christian

[Rev. James Reid, D.D., in the British Weekly, London, England]

The secret of St. Paul's success as a Christian is very simple. He took the Christian life seriously. For him it was a battle with evil, in himself and in the world around him. It was a fight in which something vital should be won by his success, or lost by his failure. He did not make the mistake of underestimating his opponent. He realized that he was up against evil forces entrenched in the world around him and bent on the destruction of his very soul. ... To overcome a temptation of pride or passion was not for him a trivial thing. It was not a mere matter of choice or preference, as it so often seems to us. His self-conquest was vital. It was vital not only to his own character but to the victory of Christ in the world. There is no other way in which the sense of reality can come into our Christian living. ...

[Rev. Oliver Huckel, as quoted in the Greenwich Press, Connecticut]

There are no limits to the divine possibilities of our high service and deep sacrifice in the fellowship of Christ. I want you to feel with me that although these present times are curcial and ominous, yet God's Word holds, and [Jesus] Christ's supreme purposes in world-redemption through good will, social justice, brotherhood, and world co-operation, in the ways of peace, must and shall be accomplished. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him," fulfilling God's eternal purpose.

[Jean Bess Goodman, in the Independent, Forsyth, Montana]

We find ourselves now, a civilization with the greatest abundance of material possessions and luxuries in history. But these material possessions have not lessened the evils of selfishness, greed, envy, sorrow, and hatred. We are in desperate need of a rebirth of ideals and a renewed understanding that the Golden Rule is still the most important law governing humanity.

The success of a democratic form of government and democratic social life is based upon individual responsibility—the individual's responsibility to himself and to humanity. In a world where public opinion no longer forces the individual to conform to certain proved methods of conduct, it becomes necessary that the individual be strong enough in his own character to decide upon his own course. And when nations and governments are repudiating their treaties and bonds, it becomes necessary for the individual to guard lest his own integrity and honor become undermined.

Humanity has come through the various crises in its history each time advancing a little further out of ignorance, hatred, and darkness.

Instead of being on the downward slide of world collapse, we may well be in the throes of another awakening to increased social responsibility and a better sense of man's responsibility to man.

But we can emerge from this present tumult of uncertainty, unemployment, and suffering only through the growth of individual character and individual responsibility.

[From the American Bar Association Journal, Chicago, Illinois]

When we pause to think of it, how mysteriously, even miraculously, virtue has ruled the world—ultimately ruled! Out of all the evil and corruption of the ages we have left to us the best literature, the finest pictures, the greatest music, the inspiring speeches and orations lifting men to dreams of liberty and justice. No laws have given these to the world, just the innate goodness in man, who instinctively knows good from evil, reality from sham.

[Dr. C. S. S. Dutton, as quoted in the San Francisco Examiner, California]

If men are to enjoy freedom they must first find a center other than self; and that center must be the same for all men. This can be found only in God. Belief in the fatherhood of God is essential to real freedom.

We need this faith today. We talk much about freedom, but it is meaningless talk unless our thought of freedom is rooted in a spiritual faith. ...

Faith in God is an unfailing source of liberty. The man who truly believes in God is bound to claim the right to obey God's will. He will assert that will against all natural or political forces. He will say that God is the Father of all men. He will use his freedom only in such ways as promote the common good, and he will never claim his freedom for the pursuit of selfish advantage.

There can be no community without brotherhood; there can be no brotherhood without the overarching faith in God, who is Father of all men.

[From the Dayton Journal, Ohio]

For almost a decade this country has been struggling against adverse economic conditions. There was a brief period in which prosperity appeared to be with us, but as the recession lengthens many are beginning to believe that the attempted reform of the national economy has been fruitless.

Why our great failure? Could it be that we are neglecting some great fundamental which roots down into the origin of things? Is there something lying at the base of successful living which stems down into more solid structure than that of economic law? Roger Babson is convinced that these queries may be answered in the affirmative. Several years ago he prepared charts showing how declining church attendance has always been followed by declining prosperity. Neglect of religion, he believes, has always resulted in lowered moral standards and business collapse. ...

In writing of the Wesleyan revival, Lecky commented: "The true greatness and welfare of nations depend mainly on the amount of moral force that is generated within them."

Thus Babson, economist, and Lecky, historian, agree that sound morals form the basis for economic welfare.

[Dr. W. E. Edmonds, as quoted in the News-Press, Glendale, California]

All right conduct has its fountain source in right thinking, just as all wrong conduct is born of wrong thinking.