Idleness—its Peril.
In the early days of Christianity, just after the turn of the First Century, the Roman legions, who had been left in Spain to hold that land for their Emperor, were employed on engineering works of benefit to the country. They built an aqueduct in Segovia, so that a good supply of water might be available not only for themselves but also for the inhabitants then living in that hot and dusty town. They did their work so well that for nineteen centuries the aqueduct stood and conveyed the refreshing water.
About the end of the nineteenth century or beginning of the twentieth, more care for ancient things began to move the minds of thoughtful Spaniards, and it was decided that the aqueduct ought to be preserved for posterity, and therefore it ought to be relieved of the weight and wear of the water. So they laid pipelines after the modern manner, and they stopped the flow of the water, that for many centuries had gushed along overhead.
Very soon after this the result began to appear. The hot sun dried the mortar and made it crumble. The aqueduct began to fall apart as stones slipped and fell. Soon it became a ruin, interesting, but useless. What the centuries could not destroy so long as it was in service, idleness disintegrated very swiftly indeed.
Here is a parable that may well be considered by every Christian. Diligent service for the Lord may be shorn of much of its value by being defective or misguided or unintelligent. Yet idleness is worse, for not only is it without any value at all, but it works much mischief in the character and life of the idler, since disintegration sets in.
And what is true of individuals is also true of gatherings of God’s saints. Lack of service, in other words just plain idleness, has often been the cause of their disintegration.
Idols—Conquest of.
A child had a china doll which she named Euphemia Forbes. One day she said to her smaller sisters: “I’ve got an idol.” “What’s an idol?” they asked. “Something I love better than father and mother, even better than God. But I am going to sacrifice my idol.” She got the hammer from the kitchen, laid Euphemia on a stone, and with one blow broke her in pieces. She buried the pieces in the garden.
Idols—Conquest of.
A great conqueror invaded a country in the Far East. One day he entered a temple where stood an idol so beautiful that none of his followers were willing to destroy it. “Then,” said he, “I will smash it myself.” He lifted his battle-ax, and with a mighty blow smashed the idol into a thousand pieces. From its interior a rich store of golden coins, thousands of them, poured like a stream at his feet.
If.
One of the shortest answers ever sent by one State to another was sent by the Lacedaemonians to Philip of Macedon. Philip had sent a message: “If I enter Laconia, I will level Lacedaemon to the ground.” All the answer sent back was the little word, of two letters in their language, as well as in ours: “If.” Romans 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9).
Ignorance—its Fruit.
An order is given “All employees to enter by side door.” One ignores order, and goes in by the front door as usual and thus misses seeing a notice that a certain room is not to be used. Not having seen the notice, he goes to that room and begin to work. Presently a big patch of plaster falls on him. Two things are true of him he is disobedient and defiled, being covered with dust and debris.
Ignorance—its Fruit.
I am out in the country and have lost my way. I have a general idea of the direction in which I should go, and finding a path going that way, I climb over a gate and quicken my pace. But the darkness overtakes me. As I grope along, I see a light ahead; a man with a lantern. He tells me that I am trespassing on private property, and asks for my name and address. When I get home, I discover I am splashed with mud. My ‘sin of ignorance’ has (1) exposed me to prosecution, and (2) had a defiling effect upon me.
Ignorance—its Sorrows.
Professor Blackie, of Edinburgh University, was lecturing to a new class, with whose personnel he had a very slight acquaintance. A student rose to read a paragraph, with his book in his left hand. “Sir,” thundered Blackie, “hold your book in your right hand,” and as the student tried to speak, “No words, sir! Your right hand, I say!” The student held up his right arm, ending piteously at the wrist. “Sir, I have no right hand,” he said. Before Blackie could open his lips, there arose a storm of hisses, through which his voice could not be heard. Then the professor left his place, went down to the student he had so unwittingly hurt, put his arm around the lad’s shoulder, and drew him close until the lad leaned against his breast. “My boy,” said Blackie—he spoke very softly, yet audibly— “My boy, you’ll forgive me that I was over-rough? I did not know! I did not know!” How much of the sorrow of the world comes from lack of comprehension of the conditions which beset our brother’s life!
Ignorance—its Unbelief.
Amazing ignorance. Years ago an English mining prospector named Courtenay, aged seventy years, arrived at Los Angeles. For fifteen years he had been hunting for gold in the deserts of Arizona. He asked after Queen Victoria and was astonished to hear she was dead. As a motor car passed along he jumped into a doorway in alarm. When told about the wireless he flatly refused to believe it and said people were trying to fool him! He had been out of touch with civilization while hunting for gold.
Influence—Evil over Good.
When you store your apples, leave one rotten one among forty good ones and you will soon have 41 bad ones. But does goodness work that way? Suppose I have a cupboard full of rotten apples. How delightful if by putting one good one among them they all become good! The greengrocers would soon flourish if they could turn all their bad apples into good ones by putting one good apple in their midst.
F. B. HOLE
Influence—on Others.
Soon after Herschel discovered the sixth planet, Uranus, some astronomers, studying the new discovery, observed that whenever Uranus came to a certain point in its path round the sun, it behaved in a peculiar way. Instead of continuing evenly in its orbit, it turned aside in a manner that the astronomers could not understand at all. At last it struck them there must be some other body, near enough to Uranus to act upon it, and pull it out of its course. By certain calculations they fixed upon the exact spot in the sky where the suspected body ought to be. On turning their powerful telescopes to that spot they beheld, for the first time, the planet Neptune.
Influence—on Others.
When climbers intend to scale a dangerous peak they bind themselves together with a long rope, as a safeguard against accident. A party started to climb a very difficult mountain in the Alps. As they were crossing a narrow ridge, however, one of the party slipped. His sudden fall jerked the others off their feet, and they rolled over the precipice, one dragging the other down, and all were dashed to pieces on the rocks below. The rope that was meant to help became the means of destruction. Thus it may be with our influence.
Inheritance—Earnest of Our.
At a wedding in New York, the bride, daughter of a millionaire, received from her father the present of a latch key. There was a stir among the guests, and several expressed surprise. But the bride smiled and took possession of the key. The actual present was a substantial mansion, beautifully furnished. The key was a token that the mansion was hers, and also the means by which she could possess it and all that it contained.
Inheritance—Enjoying Our.
A working man inherited a grand estate, worth many thousands of pounds, with a lovely mansion, surrounded by a park. But he did not know what to do with it. He had only been used to a small weekly wage. When a friend came to see him he found him living at the entrance lodge, sitting in his shirt sleeves and having his tea. He was not going to live in a big house where he might lose himself! The property was his own by right and title, but he did not make it experimentally his own by enjoying it.
Inheritance—Unclaimed.
A man, emigrating to California, secured three acres, which he planted with cabbages. A visitor, finding him among the cabbages, said, “Give me a spade.” Turning up a handful of earth, he showed him gold dust enough to pay for all the cabbages.
Inheritance—Unclaimed.
For services rendered during the War of Independence, an Indian spy received from General Washington a parchment entitling him to a considerable pension. He hung it round his neck as a charm, and many years after, when dying in great poverty, it was found there. He had never drawn a cent of the money, and had been no better off for having the document.
Invitation—God’s Glorious.
Private R— was transferred to the Marine barracks at Quantico, Virginia, near the nation’s capital. But he couldn’t find a place nearby for his wife and himself to live.
So he sat down and wrote a letter to his Congressman in Washington and complained about it. You can imagine his astonishment when he received a reply from his Congressman, Mr. O—, inviting the R— family to come and live with them in their Washington home until they found a place. But they did not accept the gracious invitation. They found quarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
The soldier reminds us very much of some unsaved people. When they get in serious difficulties and don’t know which way to turn for help, they finally look to God and cry to Him to help them out.
And in His great love, God not only offers to help them out of their present difficulty, but He gives them a wonderful invitation to a Home.
Miss Frances Ridley Havergal’s last words. A friend was reading Isaiah 42. When verse 6 was reached, she stopped her, and whispered: “Called, held, kept, used! Well, I will just go home on that!” And so she did.