Consecration!—Just what is meant by that expression? It is not a synonym for conversion. Peter was "consecrated" in the sense of leaving all to follow Jesus, and even in taking up the sword in bloody defense of his Lord. But he was not converted until the divine miracle of Pentecost transformed him. Until then he was controlled by impulsiveness and ambition, mingled with cowardice, and this despite his ardor and activity. Let us not confuse genuine conversion with seeming consecration.
Observed!—The motion picture actor has the glare of the spotlights thrown full upon him in the filming of the scene. Every detail of his professional life before the camera is faithfully registered for the theater patrons. This calls for rigid care and self-control in deportment before the camera's eye, though away from the camera, his private life may be foul and fetid. But the minister of God is under the glare not only of continuous human observation, but also divine, both in public and in private, and his every word and act should be correspondingly scrupulous, for he labors not only for human observation, but for divine approval; and not merely for time, but for eternity.
Honesty!—If all the ministers of this movement were just like me, what kind of movement would this movement be? No, this question is not thrown out to elicit the complacent answer, "A perfect movement." It is to stimulate sober meditation about our weaknesses and deficiencies which would be multiplied to the nth degree if all workers were just like me, and if the movement were not balanced by others with strength and
Dishonesty! —To use terms designedly to which denominational usage has given but a single content, and that consequently produces but one understanding in the mind of the unsophisticated hearer (the speaker holding mentally to a materially different meaning), may convey a disarming yet false impression of orthodoxy, but it is a species of ndefensible dishonesty. Let us be honest in what we are, and not masquerade under false habiliments. Every man has a right to his own convictions; but let him be straightforward. We ought to define our terms honestly.
Study! — The incessant impress upon the brain cells by the daily trash called news—the sensational recital of the erratic, erotic, abnormal, distorted, perverted, and unusual — has its unconscious but reactionary effects on the life and its ideals and standards, unless counterbalanced by a daily study of eternal and unchanging principles of righteousness and truth as found in the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy. Never have times been so perilous in these subtler, insidious aspects. Never did we so need the safeguarding of the word of God. This is the hour for a revival of its study by the workers in this cause.
L.E.F.
