FIFTY MILLION STRONG 



and His disciples were a joyous company. What a message 

 of glad tidings He gave to the world! How radiant with 

 good cheer are some of His sayings ! Play may be considered 

 the brilliant strand of the great fabric of Christianity, of 

 which the life of the lowly Nazarene is the warp and woof. 



Work. Christ believed thoroughly in work. He started 

 life as a carpenter and thus dignified labor with the hands. 

 There is no record of the years during which His energies 

 were devoted to the trade of His choice, but His wonderful 

 ministry indicates that He did His whole duty during those 

 silent years of preparation for His life work. No other 

 assumption is tenable when one studies His later achieve- 

 ments. One of the greatest preachers of the present time 

 spent a number of years in quiet preparation for life's duties, 

 and, as a result, he is today a power in the whole Christian 

 world. While other young men, their college work finished, 

 at once plunged into the strenuous life, thus bringing to an 

 end the growth which needs quiet and leisure, this young man 

 spent a few years in further preparation. Fenelon, writing on 

 Eloquence, advises against allowing oneself early in life to 

 become involved in engagements and recommends one's re- 

 maining in retirement until the powers are matured. Joseph 

 Cook, it is remembered, spent many years in developing the 

 great powers of his mind. But his debut was brilliant and 

 he exerted great influence in the intellectual world till his 

 death. The silent years have prepared the greatest men of 

 all time for their world tasks. One may be sure the silent 

 years of Christ's life were years of conscientious preparation. 

 And the three years that followed His silent years are the 

 most brilliant in point of human achievement in the annals of 

 history. 



Worship. The purpose of Christ's coming among men was 

 to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. And this Christ 

 did during His -brief ministry. But the one thing that stands 

 out in bold relief, so clear-cut that its luster grows brighter 

 with the passage of the centuries, is Christ's attitude on 

 worship. How imperfectly is the word worship understood 



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