JANUARY 1, 1915 



39 



A. I. Root 



OUM HOME 



Editor 



But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil. — 

 Matt. 5:39. 



Pray for them which despitefuUy use you, and 

 persecute you. — Matt. 5:44. 



Some of you may, perhaps, feel like 

 saying, " Why, brother Root, you have had 

 the above text over and over. Can't you 

 think or talk about something- else?" No, 

 friends, ] eaiuiot think or talk about some- 

 lliing else when this same " Gospel of Christ 

 -Jesus " is still such an "unexplored region" 

 as I told my good mother jears ago. 



About the first thing on reaching our 

 Florida home was to see if the Sears auto- 

 mobile was in good trim after standing 

 unused six months in the auto house. It 

 went off promptly on almost the first crank- 

 ing. Have you forgotten about the mis- 

 chievous boys who vexed and annoyed me 

 two years ago? Well, if you have, the boys 

 liaven't. Just as soon as I stopped before 

 a store, two of them, with mischief in their 

 looks, pounced on my auto, began pinching 

 the tires, blowing the horn, and pulling and 

 twisting almost every thing movable. The 

 impulse to forbid them touching my proper- 

 ty was almost irresistible; but (thank God) 

 1 had learned some lessons. I took no no- 

 tice of them, and started to go into the 

 store; but as I neared the door and heard 

 them rattling things the temptation was so 

 great to look around and see what they were 

 at T could hardly stand it, and could only 

 mentally gi'oan in distress, " Lord, help ! " 

 I think I added, " Lord, give me faith to 

 believe you will not only take care of my 

 machine but of my poor self also while I 

 am trijiiifi to follow your commands." 



Years ago, when 1 was laboring in the 

 Medina jail with my poor friend " Fred," 

 he said that, while this new doctrine might 

 be right, it " went awfully agin the grain," 

 and I realized it. 



When I came out of the store they had 

 topped meddling (my prayer was prompt- 

 Iv answered, please notice), and I said, as 

 if nothing had annoyed me: 



*'Boys, can you tell me where Roy Parker's 

 jihice is? " 



■'Oh, yes ! we'll show you. Sha'n't I crank 

 \ iiiir machine? " 



As he was a small boy, and hardlj^ equal 

 to the task, his companion laughed at his 

 apparent failure; but I gave him some in- 

 structions; and w'hen off it Went I asked 

 them to get in and ride with me, and we 

 parted the best of friends. 



Dear friends, the above is only a trifling 

 incident. Why should T take pains to tell 



il at all? Because it embodies a great truth. 

 These boys were simply wanting something 

 to do. I succeeded in diverting them from 

 tlieir mischief into something useful. They 

 are a fair type of boys all over our land. 

 In our recent temperance crusade the ques- 

 tion was asked, " Which is of more impor- 

 tance — the revenue or our boys?" Also, 

 " Sliall we pay the revenue by sacrificing 

 our boys? " 



A year ago two of my auto tires were 

 punctured while my machine was left some 

 time on the street, and how did I know that 

 my tires would not be punctured again 

 while I was in the store trading? It did 

 occur to me; but I answered Satan that 

 saving these two boys was of far more 

 moment than many " tires " or even a whole 

 automobile. 



Very soon after our arrival a boy's face 

 on the street startled me, and I soon recalled 

 it was the boy who (by God's providence) I 

 saved from a watery grave.* He is now 

 bringing me every evening the Bradentown 

 daily paper. In answer to my prayei', God 

 gave him back to life, and a further respon- 

 sibility rests on my poor shoulders. Is it 

 not of far more importance that I win him 

 to Christ Jesus and everlasting lile'^ When- 

 ever I meet him his face appeals to me as 

 if there exists a sacred relationship between 

 us. Does it not behoove me to feel a greater 

 interest in all the boys because of that in- 

 cident ? 



A word more about being in haste to 

 " resist evil." Do we who are church mem- 

 bers remember as we should that " a soft 

 answer turneth away wrath " ? 



Mrs. Root and I were once riding with 

 our old pastor, Rev. A. T. Reed. The livery 

 horse balked. Mr. Reed said, " Wait a 

 minute." He jumped out of the buggy, un- 

 buckled the " belly-band," and quickly 

 buckled it up again, " chirrupped " to the 

 horse, and off we went all right. In answer 

 to our surprised request for explanation for 

 such an absurd remedy he replied: 



" My act simply diverted the attention of 

 the horse from his ugly spell; and when I 

 got back into the buggy and told him to go 

 he had forgotten about being contrary." 



* A few weeks ago I attended a moving-picture 

 show that is attracting much attention just now — 

 John Barleycorn. It seems " John " became dis- 

 courased in the effort to break away from his foe; 

 and while partly intoxicated he attempted suicide by 

 .iumping off the dock. His struggle in the water, 

 and failing strength as he made his last faint strug- 

 gle when he ro^o the last time, were so real it re- 

 called the incident of the drowning boy so vividly 

 that T involuntarily started before I recalled why 

 the scene affected me so. 



