The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1915, Page 57

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'That is the work of the Church;
work of every member of the Church. Mark well,

The Lutheran Pioneer,

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PuBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SyNopDICAL CONFERENCE OF NortH AMERICA.

REV. F. J. LANKENAU, EDITOR.

Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

Vol. XXXVII.

ST. LOUIS, MO., AUGUST, 1915.

No. 8.

We Are Thine.

(After the German of J. Sturm.)

Our hearts are in heaven wherever we be;

Lord Jesus, our hearts are in heaven with Thee.

For we are Thy own, Thou hast bought us with blood,
And pardoned and cleansed us in Baptism’s flood.

We sat in the prison of darkness and gloom,

Our sins made us helpless and hastened our doom;
But Thou hast released us from sorrow and fear,
From darkness and bondage, and filled us with cheer.

-No longer we're naked, Lord, sightless, and lame,
The robe of Thy righteousness covers our shame;

Our eyes are enlightened, Thy gifts we behold,

Thy grace and Thy peace, which are better than gold.

Thou leadest us, bearing our banner, the cross;
We do not look back to the world with its dross,
- But follow Thy steps to the city divine
To dwell there forever, because we are Thine.
H. OsTeruvus.

The Chief Missionary Motive.

What is it that should first of all arouse us to
missionary efforts?
do our missionary duty, apart from all considera-
tion of success and in spite of failures? Without
hesitation I answer, The will of Christ. Christ’s
command is plain, “Go ye and make disciples of
all nations.” “Go ye into all the world: and preach
the Gospel to every creature.” That is the great
commission of the Lord of-the Church. In this
command our duty is clearly and unmistakably ex-
pressed. We are to make disciples of all nations;
we are to preach the Gospel to every creature.
that is the

What should. encourage us to.

this command is given not only to the missionary,
but to every individual member; it is addressed
to every individual member personally.

And it is this command of Christ that should
constitute the chief motive of all our missionary
labors. The missionary is laboring among the
Colored people of the South, not to promote the
spread of secular knowledge; that is sure to fol-
low; but he is not there for that purpose. The
missionary is in Africa, not to increase commerce;
that is bound to follow the missionary’s labor;
but he is not there for that purpose. The mis-
sionary is working among the North American
Indians, not to promote the cause of civilization;
that will surely come; but the missionary is not
there for that purpose. The missionaries are in
China, in India, in Africa, or wherever they may
be, to preach the Gospel, and to make disciples of
Christ. Christ so wills it. We are to gain the
world for Him. We are to carry the glad tidings
into every land,'and plant the banner of the Gos-
pel in every nation; and we must not stop with
this work until all people have embraced the Gos-
pel and gathered beneath its banner. Such: is
Christ’s command, and such is our work. And
right in this grand purpose of all. missionary work
is to be found the chief motive.

Christ commands it; it is our duty to obey.
We have no choice in the matter; we are to obey.
As. long as we accept Him as our Lord, so long
are we obliged to go on with missions. And in
defending the cause of missions, we should take no
lower ground than this, — Christ wills it. Christ
commands it, is the all-sufficient answer to every
objection that can be brought forth against mis-
sions. I care not what may be brought forth against
missions. People may speak of their great cost as