Faith has ever been the strongest weapon in the armory of the ambassador for Christ. It has in it all the elements of success; and when one is baptized in love, it makes one a knight-errant for Prince Immanuel. "Faith is . . . the evidence of things not seen;" it is the vision of the man who is God's seer. It always finds a way of contact with sinners in the name of the Master. Ten thousand miles of travel will not give to the messenger a deeper appreciation of the dire need of activity and zeal in rescuing the perishing than he will realize where he is, if he has the vision of faith. He who is blind to the need of service where he is, will be blind to that need in the darkest land in the remotest corner of the earth. Faith opens the eyes to see the lost and erring who need help everywhere.
Faith obeys spiritual law, and the spiritual always ultimately triumphs. All the strength the ambassador has lies in his spiritual power, his divine vision. Faith gives this vision. The man of God deals not in carnal things. His message is not finance, nor social reformation, nor legal religion; but he becomes a "voice" in the darkness, calling men to flee from destruction to a place of safety.
Faith dried up the impassable waters of the Red Sea, and made a highway for the people of God; faith threw down the walls of Jericho; faith made out of the chosen three hundred of Gideon's host an irresistible, conquering force; faith shut the mouths of the lions when Daniel was to be sacrificed by wicked men; faith made of Saul the persecutor a mighty foreign missionary.
Faith does the impossible. When all else has failed, faith takes wings, and shows courage, strength, and the way to victory. Beyond the present, faith sees the Omnipotent, and knows that God will win. But it does more than wait; it marches into the conflict, fearless of all danger, ready to receive blows as well as to give them.
Every ambassador for Christ should strive to strengthen his faith. Faith will grow when it is fed by action and endeavor. Faith rebuilds itself, not in retirement and ease, but at the front, battling for God. Faith may be wounded, but it can never be defeated. What may seem defeat is victory. From the arena, torn with wild beasts; from the dungeon cell, eaten by vermin and dying in prolonged agonies of filth and neglect; from the fiery furnace; from the slow, smoldering flames at the stake; from the bloody guillotine and the cruel, stinging lash, we hear the shout of victory, "I triumph though I die."
Faith was never more needed than today. Unbelief is rampant. The religious world is in a state of chaos. The foundations of Christianity are undermined; the defenses of the Christian religion are under assault: the word of God is relegated to the scrap heap, as far as its divine inspiration is concerned. More and more is unfolded to our understanding the sad question of Christ concerning these very days: "When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?"
"Never more than today were needed men of calm and resolute faith. Brothers, to your knees and to your ranks! To your knees in humblest supplication; to your ranks in steadfast bravery which no foe can cause to quail. Stand forth in courage and in gentleness for the truth. Cherish a tender humanity and a catholic heart. Then take your stand, calm and moveless as the stars."
I.H.E.
