" Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.... In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good." (Eccles. 11:1, 61Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. (Ecclesiastes 11:1)
6In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. (Ecclesiastes 11:6)). So wrote King Solomon, and these words never applied more aptly to tract-distributing than at the present time.
Once on a time men listened to Gospel messages with interest and respect. That day is past. It is estimated that barely 5% of the population regularly attend a place of worship, and that the remaining 95% have, little or no care for their souls. The word is preached, and Christians attend, but the unsaved, who need the Gospel, are mostly absent.
Underneath all this carelessness and apathy there are still to be found consciences that are ill at ease. Here and there are those, who are concerned about their own wrong-doing, and a good many more are concerned about the state of the world, and the things that are coming on the earth. Such will still be pleased to accept a tract or a Gospel booklet, and give it a careful reading.
Christian young men and women are saved much of the lavish expenditure that the man of the world indulges in. The men who smoke, drink, gamble, attend race courses, pictures, football fields, etc., spend a large portion of their earnings in this way. The women, who smoke, drink, attend the pictures, buy lip-stick and cosmetics, spend much that the Christian young women do not. Is it too much to urge that at least some of the money so saved would be happily spent in procuring sound Gospel literature for distribution?
Little did Dr. Goodall of the American Missionary Board realize what would be the result of his dropping a single tract in Nicodema in Asia. Years after it was discovered that it had produced a Christian assembly of forty persons, with an attendance at their Gospel service of two hundred persons.
A tract-distributor, who gave away thousands, hearing of no result from it, became discouraged and gave up the work. Years after, in conversation with a Christian man, he heard the story of his conversion through reading a tract, put into his hand by a stranger. The title of the tract was mentioned, and this awakened memories, for it was one he had often given away in bygone years. Questions were asked as to time and place and circumstances. The answers given led him to realize that he was the man, who had handed out the tract with this truly happy result. Tears came to his eyes. He bitterly reproached himself for having ceased this happy work, and for the rest of his life ardently resumed this service.
The well-known compilation, The Journey and its End, of which some 400,000 have been circulated, has been used to the conversion of literally hundreds during its life of a little short of fifty years. Quite recently one copy was found to have been used to four distinct cases of conversion within a few weeks. To God be all the glory.
And yet, if the full.truth were known, how much greater the results must be than those, that come to our notice. Many a tract-distributor, perhaps suffering from disappointment, believing that their work has accomplished little result, will doubtless get a glad surprise when the day comes in which all will be revealed.
We earnestly hope that Christian young men and women, who read these lines, may be stirred up to seek diligently the conversion of those around them by the medium of the printed page. " Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not " (Gal. 6:99And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:9)). Time is short. Great are the opportunities. Scatter the printed page in busy city, in quiet village, in sleepy hamlet. Above all, do so with earnest prayer, seeking the guidance of the Lord of the harvest.
A. J. POLLOCK.