The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 68

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68

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

ing itself favorably felt in various centers of
Mexico, though the forces are as yet comparatively
small; and there is every reason to believe that
as the Protestant mission-schools send out their
products, the leaven of the Gospel will penetrate
the mass of the Mexican people more and more.
F.J.L.

How about Us?

The following incident was brought to our
notice some time ago. A certain insurance man
was stricken with some illness and was ordered to
the hospital by his physician. The man had a
reputation among his acquaintances that he lived
in his work and that all his thoughts centered about
the insurance business. Among those who knew
him best it was said that he found a new argument
in favor of some kind of insurance every day.
Well, as has been said, his doctor ordered him to
the hospital. But even when he faced this con-
finement, he did not forget his business. As he
got ready to leave the office and was putting on his
coat, he said to his colleagues: “Well, boys, I don’t
think J’ll lose so very much time in the hospital
after, all. There is the doctor that I can work on,
and I should be greatly disappointed if I couldn’t
induce a few of the nurses to take out more in-
surance. And when I am strong enough to sit up
after the operation, I may be able to do a little
business with some of my fellow-patients. Be-
sides, I have a long list of prospects whom I can
reach by correspondence. I'll have my little port-
able typewriter brought to the hospital when I am
far enough along and shall then spend some of my
time in sending greetings to these prospects and
telling them a little about insurance.” ‘Thus it was
that the insurance solicitor spoke as he was on his
way to the hospital to undergo an operation.

When we heard of this incident, several Bible-
passages came to our mind. Among them that
earliest recorded word of our Savior, “I must be
about My Father’s business.” Jesus made His
Father’s business His BUSINESS. He really
worked at it! Saving souls was His business. He
had a passion for souls. ‘Paul followed in His
Savior’s footsteps; he crossed sea and desert, hill
and dale, to bring the message of the Savior to
lost men. So also the other apostles and the early
Christians in general felt it their CHIEF BUSI-
NESS to save souls. They were fully convinced

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bring souls to Christ, the Savior. Waking and
sleeping, while working and in their leisure mo-
ments, in health and in sickness, they were think-
ing of this BUSINESS of theirs. Though they
faithfully and willingly performed their secular
duties, they always felt that all they did in the way
of earthly duties was but a means to the main end
—the saving of souls. And so they improved
every opportunity to further their business of say-
ing souls and profited by every circumstance to
attain the great end they had in view.

How about us? Do we look upon the saving -
of souls as OUR BUSINESS? Alas! when we see
the indifference of so many in spiritual matters;
when we are brought face to face with the fact that
so many of those who with their mouths confess
that Jesus is the ONLY Savior of ALL men, in
their lives belie the confession of their lips; when
we notice how so many that could well give much
of their time to the blessed BUSINESS of saving
souls refuse to exert themselves in the least in the
service of Jesus and their fellow-men; when we
see so many professing Christians who seem to
flatter themselves with having done their duty when
they go to church and give to the up-keep of their
own church and for missions and benevolences a
fractional part of what they spend on themselves
and their families for luxuries; when we see this
glaring inconsistency between profession and life,
then we cannot but send up the fervent prayer: —

Awake, Thou Spirit, who didst fire

The watchmen of the Church’s youth,
Who faced the foe’s envenomed ire,

Who witnessed day and night Thy truth,
Whose voices loud are ringing still

And bringing hosts to know Thy will.

O, yes, God grant us grace to work while it is
day, since we know that the night cometh when
no man can work! FB. J.L.

Our Colored Mission in Buffalo.

As in Cincinnati, so in Buffalo, the Negro Mis-
sion is in the hands of the city missionary. It
could not be in better hands than those of the
zealous and efficient city missionary, Pastor H. F.
Wind. At a recent visit to Buffalo we learned the
following concerning our Colored Mission in the
Queen City of the Lakes. This is what Pastor
Wind has to say: —

“There has been fine progress in this work in
the last few weeks. After a long and fruitless

that the main reason why they were living was to ‘search for a vacant store in the Cold Spring sec-