The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1911, Page 5

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The Lutheran Pioneer.

ox

«chamber, sent for the doctor, who, luckily, was
iat home, and with united efforts we roused them
iall to life. The room had been heated in the even-
ing with peat. Probably a piece had fallen out
and gradually kindled the boards of the floor, a
spot of which was quite charred. Had we arrived
half an hour later, our efforts at saving our chil-
dren would likely have been in vain. That night
I learned to thank God for His protection. It was
evident that His gracious hand was in it. All
we had passed through had combined to preserve
the lives of our children. The wild animals which
we counted our persecutors must be the deliverers
of our children. But the last evening of the year
I have always since spent at home.

Oe

‘*A Man’s Foes Shall be They of His Own
Household.” -

Christians in this land do not apprehend what
fearful trials most Hindoos must pass through in
forsaking their own religion and entering the Chris-
tian Church. It ‘would be comparatively easy to
hear physical tortures, if these were all, but in most
cases methods are employed to prevent the converts
from confessing their faith, which appeal strongly
to their feeling; they must literally forsake father
and mother for Christ’s sake.

A young Hindoo who had received Christian
Baptism gave a touching description of the trials
which he underwent. “I fear,’ he said, “I cannot
convey to you any idea of what my mourning mother
is doing. She scarcely eats at all. During these
five or six days my sister has been reduced to almost
a skeleton. Whenever I think of or look at her,
my heart nearly breaks. When I think that they
are suffering so much mental agony for me, I pray
to God, and find consolation in the thought that
God and truth are the cause of this lamentation.
Last evening I went to bed after prayer. In a little
while my sister called me to have my supper. I was
introduced to a scene which must remain indelibly
impressed upon my memory as long as I live. My
mother was lying prostrated on a:bed overwhelmed
with grief. Now and then she was sighing. Beside
me was my elder brother, weeping like a tender-
hearted woman. He wept and wept and wept till
I could no longer bear to remain there. When I
was about to leave, my brother told me to remain a
little while. ‘Then he described the piteous condi-
tion of our family, and he pleaded, ‘My dear brother,

I have done mueh to give you an education, scanty
though it is. I will do more if you retain caste.
I am willing to sell the little patrimony’ (on which
the subsistence of our family depends) ‘to provide
for your expenses required to prosecute your stu- ©
dies. Take now as large a sum of money as is re-
quired, but grant me only this petition, Preserve
the life of mother, who will certainly pine away to
death in your absence. Worship whom you will,
but retain caste.” I could bear these things no
longer, so, besecching them to take food, I retired
to pray.... I clearly see that dear and affectionate
friends on earth must be forsaken, if necessary, in
order that one may be ‘rich towards God.’ But this
is a truth very difficult to act out. I do not fear
either kind of persecution. If the whole world
stands against me, I am ready to be crushed for
Him who died for us while we were sinners. Lord,
I am Thine for evermore.” At the close of his
letter he says, “I can do nothing for my mother
but pray that she may be led to see the blessedness
of the course I have taken. All of you constantly
pray for me and my friends. I don’t know how to
express my feeling of gratitude. Your humble
brother in Christ Jesus.” — Missionary Herald.

Om

Our Father Who Art in Heaven.

Once in a great storm at sea the passengers on
board a ship were all terribly alarmed and dis-
tressed. One of them observed that a little boy
was the only person who seemed calm and happy.

“Are you not afraid, my child?”

“No, sir.”

» “Why not, when we are in such danger?”

“T am not afraid, because my father is at the
helm.”

He was the captain’s son, and he trusted that
his father would bring the vessel safely through the
storm. So those who know God as their Father in
heaven may always feel safe and happy.

The Christian’s Journey.

A Christian, being only a traveler through this
world, must expect a trayeler’s fare—bad roads
sometimes, bad weather, and bad accommodation.
But since his journey is short and his home is in
heaven, his actions, sufferings, prayers, and con-—
versation turn that way.