THE parable of the missing man which the unnamed son of the prophet used in seeking to stir up the slothful spirit of the king of Israel has a similar lesson for us. We are exhorted to redeem the time, literally to buy up opportunities of testimony for witnessing for Christ; to be as alert for witnessing to the lost as bargain-hunters are to purchase goods to advantage. Yet how often we neglect to use the circumstances which are put in our way, where we may say a word for our Lord and endeavor to point the lost to Him. Our intentions are good, but we become so occupied with other matters, many of them trifling in the extreme, and ere we realize it, the man to whom we should have spoken is beyond our reach.
“Is it justice, is it kindness,
Thus to leave them in their sin,
‘Midst the ignorance and blindness,
Not a ray of hope within?
None to tell them of the Saviour
Who has died their souls to win.
Lord, increase our love, we pray Thee,
Fields are ripe and servants few;
Help us gladly to obey Thee;
Give us willing hearts and true,
That, responsive to Thy bidding,
We may seek Thy wilt to do”
—H. Wilson.