The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1904, Page 34

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84

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Yes, the ascended Saviour will come again and
take His weary pilgrims home. When the disciples
stood gazing up into heaven after the Lord had left
them, two angels appeared to them and said, ‘‘This
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him
go into heaven.” We shall then see Him in whom
we have believed, and shall behold His glory and
enjoy forever the fruits of His labor, and sufferings,
and victory on earth. ‘‘Then we shall have looked
our last look on sorrows and afflictions and foes;
we shall have witnessed the last parting, and shall
have beheld the last deathbed scene; we shall have
gazed on the last grave, and have read the last grave-
stone inscription.’? Henceforth our eyes shall be
turned to brighter scenes, when we, together with
our loved ones who have fallen asleep in Jesus,
shall see the King in His beauty—our Saviour
and our Lord.

‘cThere we shall see His face,
And never, never sin,
There from the rivers of His grace
Drink endless pleasure in.” -

The Missionary Command.

Shortly before Christ ascended to heaven He
gave the command: ‘‘Go ye into all the world,
and preach the Gospel to every creature.” It isa
simple command.

Go.”

Christ did not say, If you think it worth while
to go, or if you think it safe to go, then go. He
simply said, ‘‘Go!’?? The command is simply to
be obeyed. The results are in His hands. It is
related of the Duke of Wellington that when a
certain minister asked him whether he thought it
worth while to preach the Gospel to the Hindoos,
the old General asked, ‘‘What are your marching
orders, sir??? The minister replied, ‘‘Go ye into
‘all the world, and preach the Gospel to every crea-
ture.’ ‘Then follow your orders,’’ said the Gen-
eral; ‘‘your only duty is to obey.”

Yr.”

To whom is the command given? ‘‘Go ye,’
said Christ to’ the disciples who were to be wit-
nesses of His ascension. But the command was
not given to them alone. This is clearly seen from
the promise added to the command. Christ said,
‘T.0, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
_ the world.’? Mission work is to be done unto the
end of the world. As long as the world stands the
command stands. It is given not only to those

who first heard it, but to Christ’s disciples and fol-
lowers of all times unto the end of the world. The
‘*ve’? of the command means every Christian. The
duty to preach the Gospel rests upon the Church,
upon each and all its members. The early Chris-
tians understood this. They ‘‘went everywhere,
preaching the Gospel.’’? Every Christian should
make known the Gospel to those who know it not.
He will find opportunity in his family, among his
relatives, among his acquaintances. Not every
Christian can become a called missionary in the
mission field, but every Christian must know that
those who go as missionaries are our representa-
tives. If we cannot go, we are to support those
who go and devote their lives to mission work.
They are toiling and suffering in obeying a com-
mand which is given not only to them, but to the
whole Church, to every member of the Church.
But alas! How feeble is the sympathy of those
whose work they are doing! How meager the con-
tributions to carry on the work which the Master
commanded the Church todo! Is not greater liber-
ality in regard to mission work one of the needs
of the hour, especially in regard to our Colored
Mission? God has blessed the labors of our mis-
sionaries. He has‘opened new doors for them to
enter. The mission schools are crowded. In spite
of great difficulties, colleges have been’ opened for
the education of those who are to become, laborers
in our colored mission field. But larger contribu-
tions are needed if the work is to be carried on and

‘enlarged in obedience to the missionary command.

May the great mercy of God which we enjoy through
the Gospel of Christ make us more willing, more
liberal, more zealous in our mission work.

“Into ALL THE WoRLD.’’

The apostles were Christ’s witnesses to the Jews
and to the Gentiles, and bore His message into the
different parts of the world. And the world is still
to-day our mission field. As God loved the world
and gave His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the
world, so the Gospel, the message of His love, is
for the whole world. When God opens the door
for mission work in a certain land or among a cer-
tain race, the Church must not think that land or
that race is not fit for mission work. The Gospel
is for all lands and for all nations, and the com-
mand is, ‘‘Go ye into all the world.’

‘*PREACH THE GOSPEL.’’

Not science, or.politics, or a system of morals,
but the Gospel. Not human opinions and theories
and fancies, but the Gospel. Not something about
the Gospel, but the Gospel. Not the Gospel with

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