"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;
and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.”
jFomgn Uteunuu ImtntaL
hnterc i it the I’oU-Office at Itlchmond. Va.. as Second-Class Matter.
Vol. LX II. _ AUGUST, i91L No. 2
THE HEROISM OF MISSIONS.
It has been said that a hero is one who
is possessed by some great Idea and lives
and works for tlmt Idea with generosity
and bravery. According to this analysis,
all real Christian lMng Is heroic. Christ
came to earth filled with the Idea that
men are God's lost children and His mis¬
sion was to reveal the Father to them
and win them back to God. Ho lived
and died with supreme devotion to this
purpose anti with an unselfish generosity
and an unshrinking courage that has
made Him the wonder of the world.
Fired with this unquenchable passion, He
arose from the dead, ascended Into
heaven and poured out Ills Spirit upon
men. Tho true Christian must have
something of the rassion and tho Spirit
of tho Master.
It follows inevitably that Christianity
is most heroic in its missionary work.
Hero the dominant note of a lost world
to bo won to God becomes clear and
strong. Self-forgetfulness, generosity, su¬
preme courage, almost reckless bravery
must come Into full play In missionary
work. Above all, the missionary’s motive
must be that of tho Master. The people
are lost, unutterably lost, and the mis¬
sionary goes to preach Christ to them
that through Him, Lae Father may bo re¬
vealed and tho lost saved. The mis¬
sionary's lifo requires devotion, self-for¬
getfulness and courage and makes him
a hero, but his heroism does not consist
in the fact that he makes sacrifices, en¬
dures hardships and is exposed to dan¬
ger. Men have gone through all these
things for worldly gain, for fame, for
love of adventure and ure not heroes
Missionary heroism consists In the fact
that men do and bear all, filled with the
passion of Christ, held to the task by devo¬
tion to a noble, unselfish purpose and forget
themselves in the effort to save the lost.
Here emerges the blessed thought that
missionary heroes are not necessarily
confined to the foreign fields. That thin
line of brave men and women yonder face
to face with the forces of heathenism
need not be the only array of heroic souls
in the world’s mightiest conflict. There
is need here at home for devotion, self-
forgetfulness, and courage, which, if dif¬
ferent, may still be as great as that which
fills the heart of the missionary. In giv¬
ing, In working, in sacrificing for the
cause, we may be as heroic as Graves or
Hartwell or Miss .Moon. Tt is possible for
a business man to be filled with the
vision of Christ and give his life to his
Lord’s work with as great heroism as that
of a missionary beneath the tropical sun
of Africa. World conquest in the name of
Christ, calls for heroes at home just as
truly as at the front.
Moreover, we at home need this spirit
of heroism. We are in danger of losing
all likeness to the character of John the
IJaptist and settling down to soft raiment
and dwelling in houses like those of kings.
It is possible for us in our homes, in the
marts of trade and even m our churches
to become the bond-slaves of custom,
pride and self-indulgence. The trumpet
call of war or the exegencies of a conti¬
nent to be subdued kept our fathers he¬
roic. There is nothing to save us now
unless we can be fired with a passion to
make this land truly Christian and to
take the world for Christ. It is the only
task left that is large enough and calls
for sufficient devotion and courage to make
us truly heroic.
