When there is a failure to maintain the principle of balance, the greatest danger is that the very first principles of right conduct may be neglected, while all attention is bestowed upon matters of little importance which for the moment chance to loom large.

This indifference to essentials and scrupulous whitening of exteriors is such a common failing of humanity that we can gather lessons from almost all parts of history. The essentials do not change. They can be expressed in a few laws, perfectly beautiful, appealing to our intelligence so completely that no man dares to call them in question. They are never disputed, but they are continually obscured and thrust into the background by mutable man – made laws.

The essential duties enumerated by the prophet Micah are substantially the same as those laid down by Christ. The prophet declared that the ideal was “to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God. Christ declared that the weightier matters of the law were judgment, mercy, faith and the love of God. Justice and judgment here surely have the same meaning. There can be no doubt as to the meaning of mercy. An infidel might be humble, but mere humility is not all that is required. A man cannot walk humbly with his God apart from faith. Conversely, if a man has the true faith and a proper appreciation of the love of God, he will be guided to the true humility. Why is it that these principles, though never disputed, are nearly always neglected in favour of something which seems large in human affairs just for the moment, but which, after the lapse of a century or so, is seen even by men to be of little consequence?

The Pharisees would not have disputed the fundamental principles laid down by Micah. They might have been quite able to point out the faults of their forefathers in neglecting those principles. They were blind to their own faults, however, as men are nearly always. With the deceitfulness of the human heart they were able to satisfy themselves that all their worst actions were due to a zeal for God. It was zeal for the law that made them want to stone the sinful woman; a punctilious regard for the Sabbath that caused them to condemn the works of healing on that holy day; and doubtless after the crucifixion, many pious adversaries of the Lord went home to their families each man “proclaiming his own goodness”, and explaining that his apparently severe action was only a righteous zeal for God.

How can we escape from this frightful self deception which makes men become so unbalanced that they put too much emphasis on relatively small duties and neglect the weightier matters of the law? We are all liable to fall into such errors, and the causes axe so different in different generations that unless we maintain a very clear view of principles, the faults of men in the past do not enlighten us as to our own mistakes. We see clearly that there was lack of balance in former days. We are under no misapprehension as to the relative size of ancient gnats and camels. It is the near gnats under the microscope of our present concentration that seem so large, and if once we make a mistake all the instincts of the deceitful human heart tend to exaggerate it, in the effort to build up defenses of our judgment.

The first step we must take if we desire to avoid such evil is to impress the mind with a clear recognition of the possibility that we may have erred. We must try to recognize this as a practical possibility, not merely as an abstraction. Here again the factor of time effects great changes. Even the span of an individual life is enough to enable us to correct our judgments. A man can be far more just and impartial in reviewing his actions of ten years ago than those of yesterday. In bitter controversies of the past there always seemed absolute conviction of right and the most vehement expressions of sincerity, even by those who were working havoc. In some instances the passing of a decade sufficed to effect a complete change of view, and brethren in private conversation have heard some pathetic admissions of mistaken judgment and vain regrets for evil wrought.

There is an explanation of this obtuseness, but an effort to lay bare some of the deceitful labyrinths of the human mind would lead away from the present subject. We may be able to examine the wicked and deceitful heart a little later, but for the moment the subject is the principle of balance in relation to the weighty matters of God’s law. In this matter we shall probably find help by taking a distant view rather than by introspection. When we are painfully crawling up a steep hill it may seem the greatest object in all the landscape; but at a distance of a few miles it is perhaps invisible, or only seen as one of many insignificant hillocks at the foot of a great mountain.

In the same way we obtain a truer view of human duties and privileges when we can look at them without the prejudice which comes with personal contact. We can easily imagine that two Pharisees might agree as to the great principles laid down by Micah. They might so fully agree, in fact, that their minds would never be agitated over these essential virtues. Truths admitted by everyone may become dead truths. The mind grows along the line of its activities. That is why men always tend to exaggerate the importance of matters to which they have given much attention or which have been the subject of their discussion. Our two Pharisees might have a lifelong dispute over some matter of ceremonial washing or of keeping separate from others of their nation. In the most natural manner they would exaggerate the importance of these subjects while the essential principles on which they agreed received no attention. In the final result they might do unjustly, hate mercy and walk arrogantly without God, though never for a moment denying that the prophet Micah was right.

Christ’s condemnation of the Pharisees was mainly because of their arrogant assumption of righteousness and their merciless treatment of more unfortunate sinners. He continually urged the importance of the essential principles of right conduct rather than the exteriors to which they devoted attention. He told them that in their zeal for little duties they had neglected the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, faith and the love of God. He told them that if they had known the meaning of scriptural injunctions regarding mercy they would not have condemned the guiltless, and he told them — no doubt it seemed to them a most scandalous statement that the grosser sinners of humanity, harlots and publicans, should go into the Kingdom of God before them.

To his disciples the Lord gave similar instruction. Mat 25 gives more consecutive teaching on this subject than has been generally recognized. The very emphatic lesson concerning positive virtues follows the parable of the talents. What are the real talents? Are they not the opportunities to give to the least of Christ’s servants the life-giving bread and water and the protecting garment? In the parable the one who hid the money and brought upon himself the disapproval of his lord is not represented as a waster who had spent his talent in having a good time in service to the flesh. He hid the money because he feared his lord as a hard man who would want to reap where he had not sown. It was only logical that this servant should be condemned out of his own mouth. If his lord was a hard man, expecting to reap where he had not sown, surely he would demand to reap where he had sown. The unprofitable servant apparently hid the talent he had received and then puzzled his brains trying to produce something for which his lord had not asked, but which it was assumed that — being a hard man — he would demand. Is not the history of Christendom full of such anomalies? The fruits for which Christ asks have not been rendered, but tremendous efforts have been made to produce fruit where Christ has never sown. It is the worst of all the ill effects of lack of balance, and the danger threatens us all the time.

The picture of the judgment which follows puts all the emphasis on the positives. The righteous are approved for doing good, not merely for abstaining from evil. The rejected are condemned for their neglect of duty, not for evil they have wrought. “Come, ye blessed, because ye have fed the hungry, given drink to the thirsty, visited the sick and clothed the naked with a garment. Depart, ye cursed, because ye have not done these things.” The principle is laid down that what we render or fail to render to the least of Christ’s servants provides the measure of our attitude toward the Lord himself.

In the final day of judgment we shall not be able to excuse sterility in these essentials by reference to our strenuous labours to produce fruit for which Christ never asked. If any such excuses came to mind we should surely think of the unfaithful servant in the parable and become dumb. We have not a hard master who will demand fruit where he has never planted, who will require a personal rectitude of super refined separation which he never commanded; but we have a just Master who will require the performance of those essential duties that he so patiently explained. If we give bread and water, either natural or spiritual, to servants of Christ who hunger and thirst, we give to the Lord himself. If we neglect our opportunities to give, we neglect Christ. If we sin against the brethren and wound their weak conscience we sin against Christ, and assuredly if we cut off those whom he approves we cut off Christ.

It is strange that some fail to realize even the possibility of sinning in this matter of cutting off brethren who have offended or are supposed to be of unsound views. We have heard earnest members defend what seems to us an extreme in the matter of withdrawals, by saying, “I grieve for this but I dare not imperil my salvation by fellowshipping one who is not sound on this point.” As if there were many scriptural reasons for dreading utter condemnation if we fellowship one who is not quite sound in his understanding of duty; but no fear whatever of imperiling our salvation by cutting off and condemning and even traducing those who differ from us in judgment but are still hearty believers in the Gospel of Christ and the magnified and holy scriptures in which that gospel is enshrined. It is difficult to see how such a conception of the will of Christ has arisen. It cannot be from Christ’s treatment of his immediate disciples. It cannot be from the letters to the ecclesias which give us much instruction as to ecclesial relationships if only we will receive it. The idea that there is safety in severe judgments should not be gathered from the letters of the apostle Paul, for though he commands disciples to withdraw from those who walk in a disorderly manner, from fornicators, from those who work not at all, and who do not conform to his righteous teaching, he is almost as explicit as the Lord himself in warning us of the danger of condemning ourselves in judging others.

The truth is that we might imperil our salvation either by an extreme toleration or an extreme of separation. We must take the whole counsel of God and apply the lessons to the circumstances of our day as honestly and faithfully as we can. We must not be drawn to extremes in a competitive zeal for purity. We must certainly not allow a feeling of resentment at the repudiation of our judgment to make a difference of judgment the end of all fellowship. We must certainly try to avoid the horrible blight of a kind of party politics, with its astute manoeuvres, its personalities and its unholy alliances for a common offensive. We must be taught of God and try with all our powers, at whatever cost of loss of friends or of personal humiliation, to take the course which Christ would approve so that if we have to go before him this year we shall be able to claim that we have really tried to be faithful stewards. We are weak and erring, with fleshly desires and many evil taints which make us sadly in need of divine mercy; but let us be able to claim that in the administration of his truth we have at least been honest, caring nothing for the counsels of mere men, but trying with all our powers to put the weighty matters of God’s law in the right place. In short, let us be able to claim that we have paid attention to the essentials that Christ explained so patiently, instead of hiding away our talent and wasting our energies by hard exactions regarding which he has not spoken.

(PrPr)

Nearly two hundred years ago — 1784 was the precise date — there was born in an obscure village in Wales a girl whose zeal for the Word of God was destined to leave its mark on world history. Mary Jones’ parents were poverty-stricken tuberculous weavers in Llanfihangel. Life was hard in that poor cottage and luxuries of the smallest sort unknown. But there was godliness.

From her earliest days Mary loved to hear the telling of Bible stories. It is difficult to know how accurately these were told by her parents, for there was no Bible in the house, and if there had been, no ability to read it. Nor, as she grew older was there opportunity for Mary to attend school. Llanfihangel had no school. But when she was ten opportunity came to go to school at Abergynolwyn 3 miles away.

Of course Mary had to walk. No school bus in those days! And she was far too poor to own a pony. She was a quick pupil, and before very long was being used unofficial auxiliary teacher (unpaid) to instruct younger children.

All this time she had no Bible, but as her eagerness to know the Book grew so also did her determination to have a copy of her own. A relation of the family, Mrs Evans Evans, who lived two miles away, had a Welsh Bible and was willing for Mary to go as often as she wished in order to read it. Almost daily, Mary walked those four miles for the pleasure of reading the Scriptures.

But she must have a copy of her own! And this meant eager disciplined self-denying saving for a long time. She took on any additional activity which might add to the meagre store of pennies she was setting aside. She chopped wood for old Mrs Rees, she looked after the neighbours’ children, she spent long hours hemming sheets. And it was a great day when Mrs Evans gave her three chickens for even at the pathetic prices ruling then, eggs meant more than pennies. That first year’s saving yielded the princely sum of one shilling! The next year, two shillings and seven pence — and Mary looked forward with shining eyes to the day when she would have a Bible of her own.

But then her ailing father fell more sick than he had ever been, and what little money Mary was able to get had to go towards keeping the home going. However, she never relaxed her efforts or her determination. So it took six years of dedicated labour before there was money enough for that long coveted copy of the scriptures. But now there was the money, where to get the Bible? There was no bookshop within miles of Llanfihangel. Mary was told that Mr Thomas Charles, a minister in Bala, would probably help her. So one day with a little bread and cheese to help her on the way, she walked barefoot by lonely paths through the mountains more than twenty-five miles to the home of Mr Charles. There, in the minister’s study, tired pathetic, strained, but eager as ever, Mary held out her money and asked for a Bible. “But I have only one spare copy,” he said, “and that is already ear-marked for someone else.” But then he heard her story, and in his mind’s eye saw her, dogged and footsore, walking those endless miles through the mountains. “No matter,” he added, “you shall have it. Others can wait till I get a further supply.” So next day, with a springy stride, Mary returned home with her precious Bible, pausing now and then to rest a while and to use the opportunity to read from the Scriptures, a lamp to her feet a light to her path.

And there the story of Mary Jones ends. No more is known about her.

Her legacy to the world

But not long after this, in 1802 at a meeting In London, Mr Charles told the story of Mary Jones and her Bible, and pleaded for the founding of a society to print the Bible in Welsh. The idea met with immediate approval However, one member of the company, with more vision and faith than the rest, stood up and declared with passionate emphasis, “But I say, if for Wales, why not for the world?” The proposal was taken up with acclaim. Two years later The British and Foreign Bible Society formally came into existence, with the avowed objective of making the Bible available in all the tongues of Babel. In 1814 the Bible Society of the Netherlands was formed. Two years later came the American Bible Society. Today they are the United Bible Society, operating on a massive scale with the financial help and support of Bible-minded people everywhere. How many millions of Bibles have been printed during that one-and-a-half centuries? [Now almost two.] “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations.” Mary Jones never had the slightest inkling of the mighty work her simple single-minded zeal for the Scriptures would get going. In this sophisticated, materialistic twentieth century, how many bring to the Bible a fraction of the zeal which took Mary Jones through the hills to Bala?

(WEnj)

When propounding questions concerning the future, we must be careful to distinguish between the “What” and the “How”. “What hath the Lord spoken?” is always a legitimate question, and it will find in the Bible’s pages a complete answer. But Nicodemus’ question, “How can these things be?”, is quite another matter. God does not always choose to spell out the details of His plan in advance. Consequently, a revelation of the future often involves difficulties; sometimes the whole matter seems impossible, inconceivable. But a man is never so foolish as when he sets himself to “explain away” the simplest sense of a Bible passage only because he cannot see how it could mean just what it says. Many so-called “spiritual interpretations” represent such efforts to bring the word of prophecy within the scope of our little notions and dim comprehensions of things.

This was the point of the Sadducees’ argument against the resurrection. The Lord swept aside their small objections with his great answer: “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God” (Mat 22:29; Mark 12:24). This is still the perfect answer to all human objections against the plain meaning of God’s word. Men tend to feel so wise in their preconceptions, so sure they know how everything must be, that they often reject instantly anything that does not harmonize with their own ideas and traditions. Unfortunately, Christadelphians are not immune to the follies of ordinary men; we invite friends to “come to the Bible with an open mind”, but often our own minds were made up years ago, and are now locked into a rigid system of knowledge, even on such non-fundamentals as the details of prophecy. A couple of examples come quickly to mind here:

• The Location of Christ’s Judgment Seat: A number of Scriptures point very strongly toward (we might almost say “prove”) Jerusalem as the site of the saints’ glorification (Isa 24:23 with 25:7,8; Psa 133:3; 87:5,6; Mat 25:31-34; Isa 4:2,3; Joel 2:28,32) and the wicked’s punishment (Mat 3:12 with 2Ch 3:1 — the “threshingfloor” is the temple mount; Mat 10:28 and others — “Gehenna” is adjacent to Jerusalem). On the other hand, three passages are customarily interpreted as an implication (no stronger word is possible) that the judgment of the responsible will take place at Sinai (Deu 33:2,3; Psa 68:17; Hab 3:1-3). We believe that even the proponents of the “Sinai view” would in all fairness admit that these passages do not really prove their contention.

Without arguing at length the relative merits of either view, what strikes our attention here is this: The justifications for Sinai as the seat of judgment run heavily to just such an “explaining away” as we mentioned above. The justifications become in actuality objections: “How can this be — that Jerusalem will be the site of judgment? We can easily contemplate the gathering of resurrected millions to Sinai. It is the appropriate place, physically and geographically. But we cannot easily imagine this happening in the present Jerusalem. It is in too public a place for such a purpose. In the first place, where would everybody stand?” Such objections are really quite frivolous. Indeed, they are very much reminiscent of the Sadducees’ “seven husbands” argument; and they are readily answerable in the same way — by an appeal to “the power of God”. Such questions can always be raised — more questions than a dozen wise men working overtime could ever answer! But after all the “difficulties” have been raised, and answered, or gone unanswered, as the case may be, the Word of God still stands. God will fulfill all He has promised, to the last letter. Our “practical objections” are meaningless to Him. [Just as one thought, by no means dogmatic: If Elisha could lead an unfriendly army into Samaria, their eyes blinded to their surroundings (2Ki 6), then could not Christ just as easily hold the eyes of the mortal inhabitants of Jerusalem from observing the great spectacle of judgment going on in their midst?]

• Signs in the sun, moon, and stars: We as Christadelphians are always very quick to see symbolic significance in the heavenly bodies. Perhaps this characteristic is an outgrowth of our wrestlings with the traditional error of “heaven-going”; once we set out to show that the “heavens” are sometimes to be understood in a political sense, we scarcely know where to stop. We become almost afraid to consider that references to heaven or the heavenly bodies can ever be taken as literal.

And yet our Faith is built on the bed-rock of literality. If there is a single message that the Christadelphian body has sought to put across to the world more than any other, it is this: “The Bible means what it says. It is always preferable to take the most literal view of a passage unless there is a clear indication to the contrary in the context itself.”

What are we to make then of such a passage as Luke 21:25? Almost by reflex we begin to recite, “The sun, moon, stars, and heavenly bodies denote kings, queens, rulers, and persons in greater power: their increase of splendor denotes increase of prosperity; their declining, setting, or falling, denotes a reverse of fortune… ” (from the earliest “Declaration”). Is it inconceivable that there might, in the last days, be literal signs and wonders in the literal heavens? The first advent of Jesus was heralded by a literal star, or at least a literal light in the heavens; why not his second advent? True, we may not be able to say exactly what the sign will consist of, or how it will appear, or when. But prophecy was not given to us that we might be prophets, Scriptural “fortune-tellers” like Jeanne Dixon. The prophecy is God’s; we may properly ask, “What hath God said?” and the answer is in Luke 21:25,27: “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars… And then shall they see the Son of Man coming… ”

But the follow-up question, “How can this be?”, would seem to border on arrogance. It is as though we are saying, “This is too much for me to comprehend. I will bring God’s message down to my level. I will grapple with it until it fits as smoothly as possible into my limited notion of the fitness of things.” Let it be suggested that this is hardly the most reverential way to treat God’s word, to “spiritualize” literal words just because the alternative seems too extraordinary!

An example of such symbolic interpretation that pales before the wondrous literal fulfillment is 2Pe 3:7,10-12. In this passage the “heavens” have been long considered as political, for how else could the literal heavens “pass away”, or the literal elements melt with fervent heat, or the literal earth be burned up? But since those awesome days at the end of World War II, the literal character of this prophecy has become appallingly obvious. In a terrifyingly real way twentieth-century man now has in hand the potential to split the foundation blocks of his material world, to explode the atmospheric elements, and to incinerate the very earth (or a portion thereof) on which he walks. Who dare say in these days that 2Pe 3 cannot be fulfilled literally? And if this passage, why not many others that we have been so cautious about?

***

We might imagine a similar controversy during the days before the birth of Jesus. Perhaps an elderly rabbi, Samuel by name, unspoiled by the “colleges” in Jerusalem, knows nothing better than to read the Scriptures literally. He has never heard, in the relative isolation of Galilee, the Sanhedrin’s “authoritative” interpretations of the passages we know as Psa 22; 1110; Isa 7; 53; and such like. Thus he believes and teaches that the Messiah will be literally the Son of God, born of a virgin of David’s lineage; that he will be not only a king but also a man of sorrow and grief, rejected and despised; that he will literally die, but his life will be the ransom for many; that he will be literally raised from the dead to sit at God’s right hand in the literal heavens. What a wave of protest, of opposition and even scorn, this teaching would have raised in the courts of learning! What “unanswerable” questions his antagonists would ask; what “unassailable” difficulties they would solemnly raise! How absurd, how heretical, they would say, was Rabbi Samuel’s doctrine! Does he really believe that God could actually have a son? What a wild literalism, when we can all see that Isa 7:14 is “highly figurative”! And how could the King of Israel be hated and killed, by his own people no less? It is the most farcical speculation. Why, we can think off-hand of at least fifty good reasons why God would never allow such a thing! To all of which simple old Rabbi Samuel could only answer that the Scriptures say so.

If there is any lesson here for us as a community, may we have the grace and humility to take it to heart. Almighty God, who has created the heavens and given us the written word, will scarcely be limited in His actions by our own imagined “difficulties”.

Johnny Oates is a retired baseball manager. He was never more than a mediocre baseball player, but — like some other athletes of marginal abilities — he had a keen eye for the strategy and flow of a game, and was a quick learner. Ultimately he became a very successful manager: his team, the Texas Rangers, won their first three divisional championships under his guidance.

Johnny Oates is also dying of an inoperable brain tumor.

Just recently, he was honored — along with three retired players — by induction into the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame. The ceremony preceded a game in Arlington, Texas, and over 30,000 fans were in attendance. Almost needless to say, they reserved their loudest cheers for their favorite manager.

Johnny Oates is an avowed Christian, not one of the “closet” variety. He flourished in a profession not particularly known for Christian beliefs or conduct (though of course there are a number of baseball men who practice their faith while being professional athletes).

Johnny Oates succeeded at his chosen profession by employing a keen tactical sense, and a positive, constructive approach to dealing with lots of supersize egos. He did not yell, curse, or argue (very much!) with umpires. He treated every man, great star and bit player, alike — with honesty and dignity. When his team did poorly, he shouldered the responsibility, and resigned from a very well-paying job.

At the induction, the current manager of the Texas Rangers, Buck Showalter, spoke of Johnny Oates as “a really good manager, but — besides that — he was the most honorable and moral man I ever knew.”

Big, rich, tough professional athletes cried, and hugged and kissed their old manager Johnny Oates.

When Johnny stood to address the crowd, he moved carefully and awkwardly with his cane (he is now partially paralyzed on one side), but his words were strong and clear. After acknowledging certain dignitaries, and thanking the current management for their hospitality, and the fans for their support, he said: “It’s quite an honor to be here. There’s one big difference between each of the other inductees and myself. Each of them are here tonight because of what they did. I’m fortunate enough to be here tonight because of WHAT OTHERS DID FOR ME.”

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The believer in Christ is surely where he is because of what others did for him! There is no truer statement than that. But do we remember it? And do we thank the people who made us — at least the better parts of us — what we are?

The athlete may pat himself on the back, and say to himself (or even publicly) that he has gotten where he is by hard work and practice alone — but that is not true. He did not create for himself his bone and muscle structure, and his reflexes — those came from his parents and grandparents, but in the most meaningful sense they came from God. And the raw materials of the athlete required molding and training by coaches. Many of the multimillionaire professional athletes owe much of their success, if the truth be known and acknowledged, to volunteer youth league coaches and low-paid high school coaches who reshaped their natural talents into a supremely marketable skill. And sometimes, those who have climbed to the pinnacles of the athletic world even remember to thank those who helped them along their way.

The rich man may hold himself out to the world — and may be praised by others — for his hard, relentless work that brought him a great fortune, or for his brilliant foresight. He may have gotten “ahead of the curve”, out on the frontier where vast sums of money accrue to the fellow who builds a better mousetrap, or writes a faster computer program, or develops a more efficient engine, or discovers a new life-saving drug. But look a little deeper, below the surface — and you will often find a not-so-pretty story: a story of scheming and trickery; or a story of other, “little” people who were stepped on, or pushed aside, or manipulated, or stolen from… so the rich man might reach the heights. Certainly this is not always true, it may be granted, but it does happen all too often.

And many of those who achieve great wealth can thank parents whose nest eggs gave them a start, and benefactors or sponsors in business — who saw their potential and gave them a valuable opportunity.

And others can thank family connections, or simply the fortuitous circumstance of being in the right place at the right time:

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all” (Eccl 9:11). Here it’s worth pointing out too, that “chance” doesn’t really mean “chance” — so much as the “providence (of God)”. What may look like a mere “roll of the dice”, or “the luck of the draw”, is really — in the eyes of the Bible writer — the design of the God, who sees the end from the beginning.

The educated man, the great scholar, may say, “I studied hard to get where I am. Nobody helped ME!” But again, his brain — like the athlete’s body — is to a large degree the result of a fortunate arrangement of his parents’ genetic material by a Creator God.

And besides that, many great men and women of learning — like the proverbial twigs — were given their early bent in a scholarly direction by those same parents, or grandparents, or perhaps teachers, or other mentors. And, for that matter, we have not mentioned nearly all the other factors that make scholars what they ultimately become:

• school systems, and libraries, and free education for all, in many advanced countries;

• governments which provide safe and secure access to places of learning;

• all the scholars who have gone before, whose work and writings have paved the way to greater advancements; and

• quite possibly, not just parents who sacrificed so that they might have the best possible educations, but sometimes spouses and children, who gave up their quality time with them so they might follow their own specialized pursuits.

Those who have succeeded, to any degree, in their workaday lives, has done so — in no small part — because of coworkers and subordinates. The woman who rises to a management position has benefited, quite directly, from the labors of others beneath her on the corporate chart. Like Johnny Oates, she can — and should — say, “I am fortunate enough to be here because of what others did for me!”

And more than all this, the very air we breathe in, and the capacity and ability to breathe it in — a thousand times while we have been sitting here together — so that we can achieve ANYTHING at all, is through no achievement of our own. It is only because the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth has given us life, and nurtured and protected that life, in a multitude of ways we can scarcely understand. “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). As the hymn writer put it,

“Unnumbered comforts to my soul Thy tender care bestowed, Before my infant heart conceived From whom those blessings flowed.”

I’ll speak from personal experience for a moment. It only dawned on me, some years after the fact, that I was alive because of medical advancements over which I had absolutely no control. When I was a youngster, I had more than one case of pneumonia, and related respiratory problems; and the doctor said I was “lucky” to be alive, and that the only thing that saved me was penicillin. This I heard from a fairly early age. What I didn’t learn until much later was that penicillin became a widely used antibiotic only in the 1940s. That’s when it dawned on me that if I had been born a mere 5 or 10 years earlier, I could easily have died as a small child — never having access to the drug that saved my life. Truly I am here because of what others (even people I never met) did for me!

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But especially it is the believer in Christ who should say, “I am here because of what others did for me!” We might think to ourselves, “I am here because I learned the Truth!” But for most of us, we did not so much learn the Truth as we were taught the Truth — perhaps at a quite early age (though it took more years to bring that early learning to fruition) by parents and grandparents and Sunday School teachers. To all them we owe a debt of gratitude that is simply too big ever to repay.

Many of us sitting here are directly descended from early families in Texas who happened to be in the right place at the right time, and were touched by a couple of pioneer Christadelphians. The Oatman brothers were physicians who learned the true gospel in Illinois from John Thomas, and migrated to Texas in the 1850s. These men traveled all over the hill country of Texas, healing the sick and preaching the Truth everywhere they went, finding one or two here and there, who learned and were baptized. In turn, many of these folks held out steadfast over whole lifetimes, in tough living conditions on the frontier, managing to teach their children the same truths they held most dear, and passing on to the next generation the precious promises of the Bible. We are here because of what they did for us.

Some of us sitting here have, much more recently, made their own choices to accept the teaching of the Bible, and be baptized, because of one particular person who introduced us to these concepts. Our “family line” or “family roots” don’t go back nearly so far as those of some others, but they are no less precious — and maybe they are held more dear because we have experienced more of the “other side”:

“I once was lost, but now am found… Was blind, but now I see!” (cp John 9:25).

For us who have more recently learned the Truth, there may be an immediacy and power to these ideas that changed our lives — which make us especially thankful for what others did for us! And perhaps more eager to do for others what has been done for us!

****

For parents who provided a settled environment in which to grow up, safe from fear…

For a grandmother who lived nearby and encouraged us, in her own outspoken and unique way, to think of spiritual things…

For the example, learned at an early age, of driving an hour each way to attend Christadelphian Sunday school and meeting, practically every Sunday (“No, Mom, I want to sleep. I’m tired. I don’t feel well.” “Get up anyway; you can sleep in the car; you’ll feel better when you get there. It’s the right thing to do!” So off we would go!)…

For the old brother, who — every time he exhorted — repeated the same Bible verse, until it drove us to distraction: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Yes, it drove us crazy, and we laughed about it… but what we didn’t realize at the time was that we were learning it so well, that we could never forget it!

For all these things, and more, we must say, “We are what we are because of what others did for us!”

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But, most especially, as believers in Christ, we are what we are because of what one man did for us! And from this one supreme act of love, under the guidance of a Loving Father, all the other blessings flow. BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DID FOR US, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE!

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD” (Jer 9:23,24).

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:22,23).

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2Co 5:14-17).

The Word of God enlightens (Psa 119:130). The Word of God converts (Psa 19:7). The Word of God convinces (2Ti 3:16). The Word of God teaches (Psa 119:99; 2Ti 3:16). The Word of God quickens (Psa 119:9; John 15:3). The Word of God washes (Eph 5:26). The Word of God sanctifies (John 17:17). The Word of God dwells (Col 3:16). The Word of God works effectually (1Th 2:13). The Word of God prospers (Isa 55:11). The Word of God bears fruit (Mat 13:23). The Word of God exhorts (Heb 13:22). The Word of God builds up (Acts 20:32). The Word of God guides (Psa 119:105). The Word of God strengthens against sin (Psa 119:11). The Word of God endures (1Pe 1:23). The Word of God corrects (2Ti 3:16). The Word of God judges (John 12:48).

The word of faith (Rom 10:8); The word of grace (Acts 20:32); The word of truth (2Ti 2:15; James 1:18); The word of righteousness (Heb 5:13); The word of reconciliation (2Co 5:19); The word of promise (Rom 9:9); The word of power (Heb 1:3); The word of salvation (Acts 13:26).

“More bitter controversies have been waged over this portion of the Scriptures than over any other, with the exception, perhaps, of ‘this is my body’! Some fierce upholders of purity in the church have applied the prohibition against tare pulling to the purging of those without, namely in ‘the world’ and have proceeded to arrogate to themselves the business of gathering the tares into bundles and burning them – even doing so literally in the case of thousands of heretics burned at the stake! Others have taken a different view and have made this parable an excuse to contain within the church every evil thing on the basis that to remove them would root up the wheat also! Neither view… is correct.

“The mild and loving discipline to be exercised by the church of our Lord is amply provided for in other NT writings, apart from this parable; and, it seems, what is forbidden here is exactly the thing that was done in the brutal, savage excommunications so characteristic of the church of the Middle Ages, which mounted the Spanish Inquisition and many other diabolical institutions upon the pretense of purifying the church” (Coffman).

This parable has caused much controversy among Christadelphian expositors. Some rather strange and disconnected interpretations have been put forth because the expositor “looked ahead” and sought to avoid an inevitable but unwelcome conclusion. Let us look carefully at each section of the parable, not fearing any conclusion simply because it may be unfavorable to an old viewpoint. Brother Thomas has well said, in his “Rules for Bible Students”:

“Never be afraid of results to which you may be driven by your investigations, as this will inevitably bias your mind and disqualify you to arrive at ultimate truth.”

This parable goes one step beyond the previous parable (that of the sower), yet it follows on in the natural life-cycle of the seed: sowing, sprouting, growing to maturity, and finally harvest. In this parable the “seed” has become more than simply the word of God, as it was in the previous parable (Mat 13:19). The “seed” now symbolizes the individuals subsequently begotten by the sown word (Mat 13:38) — again, one step further along in their personal development.

“The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field” (Mat 13:24). “The field is the world” (Greek kosmos: an arrangement or order) (v 38): Here is the preaching of the gospel message first by Christ and then, by extension, by his disciples and later brethren, in obedience to his command of Mar 16:15,16 and Mat 28:19 — a command which is still obligatory today. The “seed” takes root and produces fruit from place to place, known as “children of the kingdom” (Mat 13:38). (This “sowing” has been continuous from Christ’s day to ours; there is no arbitrary “boundary line” at AD 70 after which the “sowing” was to cease!)

The men who sleep (Mat 13:25) must refer to Christ’s followers and “fellow-laborers” (1Co 3:5-9), the parabolic “workers in the vineyard” (Mat 20:1-16). The “sleep” represents the sluggishness and carelessness of the appointed ecclesial watchmen in every age (Eph 5:14; Rom 13:11; 1Th 5:6) which allows the enemy to do his diabolical work.

The enemy who sows “tares” among the wheat is the “devil” (v 39), the lusts of the flesh (Heb 2:14) embodied in individuals and organizations who sow evil and false thoughts secretly in the midst of the ecclesias in every age. Again compare Paul’s loving warning in Act 20:30, where he foretells that after his departure men will arise speaking “perverse” things with the effect of leading away unsuspecting believers. (See also 2Ti 3:4-6 — men who “creep in stealthily”; Jud 1:4 — “unawares”; 2Pe 2:1; and Gal 2:4.)

The “tare” or “darnel” is a very troublesome weed found in Oriental wheatfields. It was thought by the ancients to be a degenerate form of wheat (LTJM 1:589). It looks exactly the same as wheat until late in its growth cycle. Its seed is similar in size and shape, but is gray in color; its fruit is very scarce. When present in a field with good wheat sown broadcast, the roots of the two are intertwined. Thus the darnel can be successfully separated from the good wheat only at the time of harvest. Thankfully, it causes no danger during growth, but even a little will spoil the finished product!

There is a definite and intended contrast in the Lord’s parables between the “tares”, sown in the midst of the ecclesial field, and the “thorns” (Mat 13:7,22), already active in the field of the world, in the “soil” of human nature (Gen 3:18), before the “good seed” is even sown.

The “tares” sown by a subtle and secret enemy produce fruit in the “children of the devil” (v 38). There were many such intertwined among the faithful believers in Christ’s day (Joh 8:44; Mat 3:7; 23:33). Such “children” are lip-servants, hypocrites, “questionable brethren” — not “questionable”, certainly, to him who knows what is in the heart of every man (Joh 2:24,25), but indeed “questionable” to his brethren who lack such infallible discernment. By the explicit teaching of Christ, his brethren have no right nor duty to exclude these “tares” from their “fellowship”.

Of course there are some brethren whose errors in doctrine or conduct clearly place themselves beyond the boundary of traditional Christadelphian “fellowship”, and faithful ecclesias will deal with these brethren in accordance with Mat 18 and related passages — always remembering, of course, that every opportunity must be given for repentance and reinstatement. It would seem that, in practical terms, this parable is designed to teach us that most of our time should be spent in sowing the good seed instead of rooting out those who may or may not be unacceptable to Christ at his judgment. If there is ever any doubt, Christ says, as to a brother’s “fellowship” standing, then let him grow until the harvest (v 30), when the infallible Reaper will decide his case.

“Let both grow together until the harvest” (v 30). Some would contend that this commandment refers to the apostasy outside the ecclesia. But if this were the case then it would be a pointless commandment, for we have no responsibility there — in the churches of Christendom — at all. Our only freedom of choice lies in the “ecclesial world” (James Carter, “Questions and Answers”, Tes 39:272-274). And Christ very clearly is telling us there will arise a questionable class within the ecclesias which cannot be discovered and extricated without the risk of doing grievous damage to the true wheat. He is pointing out to ecclesial laborers their inability to judge perfectly , and thus their inability to be always certain that they are uprooting tares instead of wheat. And furthermore he is implying that the “roots” even of the wheat might be weakened by continual agitation.

“The harvest is the end of the world (Greek “aion”: age, era, dispensation)” (Mat 13:39). Some brethren suggest that this means AD 70, and the related overthrow of Israel is the fulfillment of this parable, but this seems to involve more than a minor dislocation of several related references. In the first place, such an interpretation would imply that the “sowing” or gospel proclamation must also have ceased in AD 70, and this is far from the case. Furthermore, the end of the aion means generally in the Bible the full and final end of Gentile times, marked by the resurrection and the judgment of the responsible. In this very same chapter (Mat 13), in Mat 13:49, the phrase has that obvious meaning. In the world (aion) to come, ye shall receive eternal life, Jesus said (Luk 18:30).

It is at this judgment that all things will be made manifest (Mar 4:22; Luk 12:2; 1Co 4:5). This is the time for the rewarding of both classes. Then and only then will the tares be separated; for, according to the type, they do no damage to the good grain in the field, but even a very little will taint the finished product!

All of the other allusions in Christ’s explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares point just as directly to the judgment of the saints. Consider the following references:

Mat 13:39: “The reapers are the angels” — Other examples of angels at the judgment:

Mat 24:31: “He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet.”

Mat 25:31: “All the holy angels with him.”

Mar 8:38: “When he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.”

Luk 12:8,9: “Him shall the Son of Man confess before the angels of God.”

Luk 12:41,42: “They shall gather the tares out of his kingdom…there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Similar Scriptures have to do with the last judgment:

Mat 8:12: “Ye shall be cast out of the kingdom.”

Mat 13:50: “And shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Mat 24:51: “Shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.”

Luk 13:28: Same as Mat 8:12.

Luk 13:42: “A furnace of fire”: This is the “second death” (Rev 20:14; cp Mat 25:41 and Mar 9:43-47). These allusions to the second death clinch the argument that the “tares” represent false believers, not a “Christian” apostasy which is not even amenable to resurrectional judgment.

Luk 13:43: “Then shall the righteous shine forth.” This is a quotation from Dan 12:1-3, a prophecy of the last days, the resurrection, and the judgment. The righteous ones — the good seed — will shine forth in the newness of Spirit life at the same time that the wicked will be subjected to a well-deserved shame and contempt. The analogy of the “harvest”, it must be emphasized, requires that the tares be separated at the same time as the righteous are rewarded.

“The parable of the tares cannot refer to the Romish apostasy, or equivalent heresies, for the good seed is NOT growing together with that! If, however, some still persist in not recognizing the plain teaching of the parable of the tares, what of the adjacent parable of the net and the good and bad fishes? These are not sorted out until they are brought to land, and then, and not until then, is the division made. This cannot refer to outside apostasy, but rather to developments inside the ecclesia, and Jesus is warning his followers what to expect” (Ibid, p. 273).

Other parables picture the same sequence, especially those of the foolish and wise virgins (Mat 25:1-12); the servants and the talents (Mat 25:14-28); and the sheep and the goats (Mat 25:31-34).

“If, however, we had to admit that the claims of the critics are true, and that they really are consistently more strict in their fellowship than we are, still it does not necessarily follow that they are more faithful. We want to act as the Lord would have us act. We want to be guided by the precept and example of scripture. The Lord Jesus was not as strict in condemning offenders as were some contemporary sinners. The apostle to the Gentiles revealed extraordinary patience in dealing with faults of both doctrine and practice. With these examples before us it must be admitted that it is possible to err on the side of severity in the matter of withdrawing from those who are accounted weak or faulty. Even in ecclesial life an industrious rooting out of tares may be a mistaken zeal” (IC, “A Pure Fellowship”, Xdn 95:259; reprinted from Xdn 68:408).

“It is possible to err on the side of severity.” This might be the keynote of Brother Collyer’s writings on the broad subject of fellowship. Such an emphasis is notably anticipated in the well-balanced comments of John Thomas on several occasions, with special reference to the parable under consideration. I quote these as a sort of appendix to our study of the wheat and the tares: “Beloved brethren, human nature is always tending to extremes and transcending what is written. As the saying is, it will strain at gnats and swallow camels by the herd. It set up the Inquisition and is incessantly prying into matters beyond its jurisdiction. It is very fond of playing the judge and of executing its own decrees. It has a zeal but not according to knowledge, and therefore its zeal is intemperate and not the zeal of wisdom or knowledge rightly used. It professes great zeal for the purity of the Church, and would purge out everything that offends its sensitive imagination. But is it not a good thing to have a church without tares, black sheep, or spotted heifer? Yea, verily, it is an excellent thing. But then it is a thing the Holy Spirit has never yet developed, and it cannot be developed by any human judiciary in the administration of spiritual affairs. There are certain things that must be left to the Lord’s own adjudication when he comes…” (The Ambassador, 1866, pp. 91,92; reprinted under “Dr. Thomas and Divisions”, Xd 67:52,53).

“The Mystery of Iniquity, then, had its beginning in the Apostolic State. The seeds of it were then sown broadcast by the enemy. But they did not ripen as soon as sown; they only began to grow. The fruit was to be the ‘Lawless one’. But fruit, when first formed, is not mature. Considerable time passes from the first appearance of fruit to the time of ingathering because of ripeness. So with the Lawless One, he had to appear as the fruit of the Mystery of Iniquity; but after his appearing, he had to grow and ripen for the vintage, when he should be ‘consumed with the spirit of the Lord’s mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of his coming’ ” (Eur 1:431).

“As Paul testified 30 years before, ‘the Mystery of Iniquity’ was ‘already’ at work, and showed itself in the ‘false apostles’ at Ephesus; the spurious Jews of the Synagogue of the Satan, at Smyrna; the Balaamites and Nikolaitans at Pergamos; the children of Jezebel and the Satan, at Thyatira; the twice dead, at Sardis; the but little strength, at Philadelphia; and the wretched and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked, at Laodicea. These were tares, which in 280 years from the day of Pentecost, choked the good seed, so that a separation had to ensue.

“But while the Mystery of Iniquity was thus developing ‘after the working of the Satan’ with all power, and signs and lying wonders…there existed a class, who not only knew the Truth, but loved it. This was ‘the salt’ of the first three centuries, which gave savour to pre-Constantinian christendom. It was the redeeming and antagonizing element in the Ephesian haters of the deeds of the Nikolaitans; in the Smyrnean rich in faith…

“The Apostolic Christendom, then, to which John wrote, was divisible into these two sections, which were more or less commingled in the ecclesias generally — real and nominal christians…” (Ibid 421,422).

This basic interpretation is followed also by Robert Roberts:

“The reservation [about particular additional demands in fellowship] is a reasonable one, and needless distress is being caused by the insistence of a ruthless rule of excision. There is great danger in this course. While trying to pull up an incipient tare or two (if they are such) they are levelling whole rows of genuine wheat” (Xd 35, July cover page).

And, finally, it is followed by HPM also (“The Parable of the Tares”, SB 9:65-69).

The baby in the manger uttered his first cry, and thereby his Father staked a claim upon our lives. Thereby the Mighty God of all creation became also “Abba” — the tender Father of a little child; and OUR Father as well!

The God whose son was born in that stable, amidst the simple farm animals, ceased being (if He ever was!) a God of remote abstractions and technical theories.

He is now, for us, a God who loves PEOPLE, a Father who is not willing that any should perish, who holds back no blessing from His “children”, who searches out and loves even the least worthy and most neglected.

A tiny cry in a manger. It was truly a miracle. It was the greatest of all miracles — the birth of God’s own son!

But isn’t every birth a “miracle”, and a mystery? Isn’t every child a “holy” child, because he or she receives life from the God who is holy? Isn’t every child a “gift” from God, showing His continuing love for man, showing that even yet He has not “given up” on us?

And shouldn’t every child be a special child — like Samuel or John or even Jesus — who should be dedicated by righteous parents to the service of God?

Like Mary and Joseph, many of us have been entrusted by God with future kings and queens — who will one day, by God’s grace, sit upon thrones and apply to the nations the lessons learned in their parents’ homes.

And, in fact, aren’t we ALL — from youngest to oldest — children of God, begotten by His love… children who manifest our “sonship” by our love for one another? If there is a lesson in the Christmas story, it is this: the preeminence of love. We love him, because He first loved us. For, after all, “sonship” is not what we do, but what we receive. Not what we earn, but a gift. Thanks be to the Father in heaven, that through His special Son we have received the gift of knowing what it means to be His children.

Harry A. Whittaker, Christadelphian and Bible prophecy student, died in 1992 at the age of 83. Harry was exemplary in many areas: Bible student, teacher, preacher, missionary, author, letter-writer, visitor, counselor and upbuilder. His boundless energy, forthright message and genuine concern for the welfare of others were inspirational. Harry’s copious writings [see below] are a source of wonderful Bible insights and discoveries, and have encouraged many people in many countries. His work in the area of Bible prophecy has been particularly interesting, and has certainly influenced the thinking of many.

Harry and his wife Phyllis did pioneering preaching work in Guyana in the 1950s.

A list of the published works of Harry Whittaker:

The Last Days The Time of the End Five Minutes to Twelve Isaiah Joel Of Whom the World was not Worthy (Jeremiah) Revelation — A Biblical Approach Jews, Arabs, and Bible Prophecy Visions in Daniel Studies in the Gospels Studies in the Acts of the Apostles Bible Studies — An Anthology Israel in the Wilderness Letters to George and Jenny Exploring the Bible Enjoying the Bible Exhorting and Testifying The Very Devil Through Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures Abraham — Father of the Faithful Wrestling Jacob He is Risen Indeed Genesis 1-2-3-4 Hezekiah the Great (with The Songs of Degrees, by George Booker) Passover Reformation Samuel, Saul, and David Seven Short Epistles Joseph the Saviour Word Studies Judges and Ruth The Gifts of the Holy Spirit The Letters of Peter Seven Short Epistles Jude

Cowper wrote, “Wisdom and knowledge far from being one, have ofttimes no connection.”

The poet was trying to express the truth that wisdom is superior to knowledge, but in his statement of the difference he went too far. There is bound to be a connection, for although it is possible for men to have knowledge without wisdom, no one can be wise without possessing knowledge. Wisdom makes use of knowledge as mind makes use of matter. It is superior because it is comprehensive. A new-born babe begins life without knowing anything of the world he has entered and without any of the qualities that may come with experience. He cannot possibly be wise until he has knowledge — knowledge of the difference between good and evil, knowledge of the God who has called him into being, and knowledge of the way of life. Wisdom is revealed in the proper use of that which is known. The One who is perfect in wisdom has also the perfection of knowledge.

Wisdom is always good, but there is such a thing as the knowledge of evil. It can never be an advantage to lack wisdom in anything, but there are matters in which it is a blessing not to know.

The apostle Paul wrote, “knowledge puffeth up” (1Co 8:1). He was not condemning knowledge, but simply stating a truth. Knowledge of the right kind is excellent, but even it may tend to inflate the individual who possesses it. Men may be puffed up even by their knowledge of the Scriptures, especially if their reading has been ill-balanced. Much charity is needed to guard against this evil and to make knowledge lead to edification.

There are people who will say that it is only the dangerous “little knowledge” that puffs men up, while those who have studied deeply are truly humble and never boast. This thought has been stated often, but it is not true. Indeed it would be difficult to define the words of such a saying. All the knowledge of mankind is only little. The most ignorant and the most cultured are only separated by a few degrees. It is quite true that intelligent people perceive the ugliness and folly of blatant boasting and so if they boast they do it more skilfully. Or it is possible for a man to feel himself so superior to the common run of humanity that he finds no pleasure in the admiration of the multitude. His detachment is a form of pride, and he may fall into the worst of errors by being puffed up against God.

For all ordinary people it is most natural to find a certain pleasure in the possession of knowledge that is denied to others. The child’s open triumph with the delighted affirmation “I know, I know!” is only the natural expression of a pride which we conceal in later life. Men and women do not feel such keen pleasure in little triumphs, and they may be so self-deceived as to imagine that they are completely above such childish weakness. Often, however, circumstances conspire to reveal the inflation that is there even in those who would claim to be quite free from it. Even in dealing with the oldest and most dignified of men, a diplomatist remembers this human vanity.

An active business man once told us that in early days he made this discovery by accident. He was trying to sell certain articles to engineers, and was finding it very hard work. One day, aside from his business he thought of a very interesting engineering problem which baffled all friends to whom he put it. One of these friends suggested that there was probably one man in the country who could solve the problem, the head of a very large firm, why not write to him? The young man hesitated to be so bold, but at last he wrote, stating his problem. He was invited to make a call. The big man received the youth quite graciously in his office and explained the interesting difficulty. Then having given full satisfaction by his superior knowledge and ability, he began to question the youth as to what he was doing in life, and ended by giving him a good order. There is a sequel to this story which illustrates a worldly wisdom, hardly falling within our subject. The young salesman having found by accident that exalted men were children at heart, changed his method of approach and played on this human weakness. He took advantage of this nattering thought of superior knowledge, the truth noted by the apostle that “knowledge puffeth up.”

In some measure all men are subject to this weakness, but if they are instructed in the knowledge and wisdom that has been divinely revealed, they are aware of human vanity and so are on their guard. Knowledge and ignorance are only relative terms. It is said that in rural England a century ago, a man who could read and write was accounted a scholar, although in other circles the same man would have appeared as an ignoramus. In the same way the man with the greatest reputation for learning in all the world might seem deplorably ignorant to the angels. It is possible even that some of those with the greatest reputation would appear more foolish than their less capable fellows, just as we have noticed when we have chanced to overhear the conversation of children, the cleverest boy talks the worst nonsense, for there is no one to check him, or call in question his assertions.

Wisdom is needed to guide our steps, or knowledge will only bring increase of sorrow and a greater capacity for folly. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord and it ends with obedience to all His commandments. It can make use of knowledge on this mortal, material plane, while recognizing that there are other planes unknowable to us now. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding” (Pro 4:7).

In the first chapter of the book of Proverbs we are told that “wisdom crieth aloud in the streets, she uttereth her voice in the broad places, she crieth in the chief place of concourse, at the entering in of the gates” (1:20,21, RV).

Considered as a “dark saying of the wise”, this is provocative of thought. We very rarely have a literal shouting of words of wisdom in the streets of a city, or in the broad places of human activity, but when we remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we can see a definite meaning in the saying. In ancient Israel and in the modern world the idea of God is before men all the while even though human thoughts fail to turn to Him. In our time we can hardly live for a single day without Christ being brought before our minds, and through Christ, the Father who was manifest in him. Even the daily newspaper utters the call of wisdom in spite of its low aim and its native foolishness. The date it gives is from the birth of Christ, the record of human vanity confirms the teaching of Christ, while often, especially in these latter days, there is an item of news which shouts of the purpose of God to those who can understand.

Even apart from these matters the call of wisdom can surely be heard in the ordered wonders of the universe in which we live. Man’s cheerful acceptance of the earth as his home proclaims that in his heart he recognizes that there is a Creator. Would he feel comfortable on a ship with no captain? A hundred thousand tons of metal and wood driving through unknown seas at thirty miles an hour and no one in control? How then should he feel when he realizes that he is all through life on a vessel weighing millions of tons and going through space at sixty thousand miles an hour? Of course men believe that someone is in control. The stability of the earth and its long continuance, the facts of human consciousness and human ideals, the wonders of chemistry and the wonders of life all combine to prove that there is a mind far above that of man. Human intelligence is just sufficient to contemplate these things and to make some response. Wisdom is thus calling to the sons of men in the streets, in the broad places and at the entering in of the gate.

The Proverbs, however, do not suggest that it is easy for men to secure wisdom even though the first call is so loud and insistent. We have to incline our hearts to understanding, to cry after discernment and to seek for wisdom as for hid treasure; then may a man understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Then wisdom may be a tree of life to us (Pro 2:1-5).

There is much food for thought in this contrast between the first loud call of wisdom to the sons of men, and the diligent search which is necessary before we can find the real treasures that wisdom can yield. The study of nature will not carry men far. “The mysterious universe” offers new complexities as men advance in knowledge. The investigations of men are like the attempt to reach a goal which is moving from them faster than they can run.

God can only be known as far as He has chosen to reveal Himself. He has revealed that He is “a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. Just as there are treasures and stores of wealth in the material world to reward the diligent labours of men, so there are spiritual treasures for those who search diligently in the Scriptures that have been handed down to us. In the only way possible or desirable in this mortal condition we shall find God if we search for Him with all the heart.

In the book of Proverbs there are many contrasts drawn between wisdom and foolishness, most of them easy to understand. From the many passages we choose one because it contains hidden depths and may arouse helpful thoughts.

“Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands” (Pro 14:1).

Perhaps this has a meaning even on the most material plane. Some women take steps to improve their houses as time goes on, while others let everything go to ruin. We have even heard of people breaking up some of the woodwork of their houses and burning it through foolish indolence or still more foolish anger. On a slightly less material plane we have noticed the extraordinary difference between the woman who builds a home of confidence, unselfishness and love and the one who pulls a home to pieces by suspicion, jealousy and a generally negative attitude. On a higher plane still, the saying is true of the corporate woman formed through the ages. Those who desire to be constituent members of the bride to be, must be wise. They must build the house and not pull it down.

(PrPr)