"The Sons of Genius"

What a wonderful body is the church of Christ, how many-sided, how com­plete! We come upon it on one side, and it seems to us a company devoted to trial and suffering; we touch it in another part, and we marvel at the lionlike power of its at­tack upon evil. Again, we behold its mem­bers bearing with patience and meekness the commonplace, heavy burdens of the world; and yet anon we are brought to ad­mire the fortitude with which they over­throw the obstacles that beset their path and forge straight on to their goal.

It is not all a fighting force, nor yet a servants' household; it is not all the swift zealot, nor yet the slow, plodding burden bearer, this church of Christ. If we have be­held in it the tender-hearted, the zealous, the loyal, the broad-minded, the thrifty, the helpful, the persevering; if we have seen there the statesman, the warrior, the manager, the teacher, the minister, yet we have not finished the roll call. There are other members, other qualities, other char­acters, which help to make us the great composite commonwealth of Israel. And so we turn to—

Asher

Jacob begins the blessing of Asher, Moses concludes it with making him a blessing. "Out of Asher," says Jacob (Genesis 49:20), "his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties;" Moses concludes, "Let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil." Deuteronomy 33:24.

Asher is refined, and he is diplomatic. Let no one scorn these qualities in the church of Christ, regarding them as too slight and too finical for Christian service; for while it is not to be denied that they may be carried too far, and refinement be­comes fastidiousness, and diplomacy craftiness, and while it is not to be denied that the Asherite has these temptations and may sometimes need to be rescued from them, yet in themselves these qualities are true Christian graces, and are in the catalogue connected with sturdy powers. "Thy shoes," says Moses to Asher, "shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be." He is not a weakling, a dilettante, this member of the church of Christ; he is strong and enduring.

It is not a mark of strength to be rough, coarse, boorish. Too many there are of Christians whose training has been all of the rough-hewn variety, with little of the smoothing and polishing that make for beauty while not diminishing strength. And I am persuaded that it is for this purpose that God has placed Asher in our midst, that his influence might smooth and brighten and make gracious the lives of his brethren. Oh, there is great need of a refin­ing influence, of the gentlemanliness of Christ among His followers! Its need is manifest in the home, in the relations of parents and children and of brothers and sisters to one another. It is a need observa­ble in neighborhood and church society and in business. Wherever the Christian goes, whatever relations he holds, through whatever experiences he passes, he needs to take with him the gracious, considerate, courteous bearing of his Master.

But how far from it the most of us come! In the home, how many are the unkind, cutting words that are spoken, how fre­quent the brusqueness of manner and of tone, how common the disorder and inat­tention to the proper care of person and surroundings! Simeon flings his clothes and his words in disgraceful heaps, Gad cleaves with his broadsword a way for his person and his beliefs, Zebulon cuffs a broad path for his policies, and Ephraim shrills denun­ciations of another's selfishness.

Well is it, then, that we have Asher. "Let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him clip his foot in oil." Listen to him, brethren! The agreeableness of his person, the quietness of his tongue, will help to still the tumult, and soothe the ruffled minds. It is not so difficult to come into agreement, to be able to cooperate, when the oil of grace with which Asher has been anointed is brought into the affair. The most of our squabbles come because our spirits are not anointed, lubricated, with the oil of peace. The rough-hewn timbers of our spiritual house need the smoothing and the rubbing and the polishing that alone brings the refinement of the true Christian. Oh, there is work enough for Asher to do!

It is not without significance that Asher, the diplomat, is represented as living in the midst of plenty. It is our common observa­tion that those who come up by great striv­ing, through hardship and privation, are not by nature diplomatic. They are used to breaking bones, not to mending them. Though there are exceptions, it is more often the man who has at least sufficient to lift him above want, who exhibits the suave and conciliatory temper. And we are not to condemn him for the conditions out of which "his bread shall be fat." It is no crime, and it is no disgrace, for men to have wealth, if they use it aright for God and their fellow men. God can and will use them in their peculiar field if they yield themselves to Him. It is "the love of money," not the money, that God con­demns. As Robert E. Speer has said, "We cannot serve God and mammon; but we can serve God with mammon."

It is, of course, more usual for men raised in the midst of plenty to become selfish and oppressive toward their less fortunate fellow men. But the grace of God makes ex­ception in the cases of those who dedicate themselves to Him. And, whether inherited or acquired, such is the state of Asher which helps to give him the refinement and the grace to be "acceptable to his brethren.

Naphtali

"Naphtali is a hind let loose: he g,iveth goodly words." Genesis 49:21.

Of Naphtali are the eloquent. Most nat­urally we look for him among the preach­ers, the evangelists, the orators of the pul­pit; though not all preachers are eloquent, and not all the eloquent are preachers. It is a great gift, this of eloquence. It does not consist merely of a readiness of speech; that may be simply chatter, and more than one man who thinks himself eloquent in the things of God has merely a barber shop garrulity. Yet a ready command of lan­guage is a part of the gift; and he who has it has an endowment from God which he should cultivate and improve. But elo­quence involves a grasp of more essential things, a vision of a wide field, a power of analysis, a fervor of spirit, an intense faith in the cause. Of these, with declamation, is compounded eloquence. And great is its power in the church of Christ.

There is a great contrast of figures be­tween Issachar and Naphtali. The one is the ass, slow, plodding, haltered, burden-bearing; the other is the hind, a deer let loose upon the hills, light, fleet-footed, free as the air. And it is not hard to imagine —indeed, it is not hard to remember—that Issachar and Naphtali, whenever they fail to keep the love of Christ in their hearts, fall out with each other because of their very opposite traits.

"Look at him!" cries Issachar, "that Naphtali! Oh yes, I know how he gathers all praise to himself! Eloquent? Sure! He can spout words like a fountain. When he lets himself loose and goes skipping over the hills or soaring up into the clouds, he makes you all think he is the most wonder­ful man in the world. And then the people who are taken in by him come up and pump his hand and tell him how wonder­ful they think he is, and he swells up bigger and bigger with importance. But you just try to tie him down to responsibilities, to hitch him to the plow of service, and you'll find he's not there. He just hasn't the weight. He gets all out of patience, and kicks over the traces, and smashes things up in general. He's a good speaker, and that's all you can say. He gets all of the public's eye, and leaves the public's foot to plod."

And Naphtali rolls a condescending eye down upon Brother Issachar. "Oh! Issa­char?" he says, in that exasperatingly su­perior tone. "Why, yes, I think Issachar is a good man. Not very much sense, but he means all right. He's stupid, you know, and slow-witted. Very provoking in Sab­bath school class or under a sermon: can't get an idea through his head. Why, when I'm preaching my most eloquent sermon, and the people are stirred to the depths of their souls, I look down there and I see Issachar just sitting with a wooden face, not comprehending or appreciating a bit of it. And he hasn't any too much reverence for the gospel ministry: never comes up and shakes hands, or congratulates you, or anything. Of course, he has a soul to save, and I try to help him in my sermons some­times. But when he gets the mulish streak on, I just leave him alone to sulk it out. Only thing you can do, you know."

Oh, what a state of affairs there is in the church when brethren of differing capa­bilities lose sight of Christ and gaze in criti­cal disfavor upon one another! Thus it was often with the apostles who followed Jesus; and as with them, so now, it would not take long in such a state to wreck com­pletely the fellowship and the service of the members.

But when the grace of Christ is flowing into the heart, when His directions are re­membered and observed, "that ye love one another; as I have loved you," ah, what a change comes! Then, as they look at one another, the members of Christ's body, though they may discern defects, have their minds fastened rather upon the per­fections of their Master, and through Him they see the good that He has placed in every fellow member. Then Naphtali, be­holding Issachar, says:

"I want to tell you, Brother Issachar is an invaluable man in the church. We couldn't get along without him. Why, when you see things moving along vigor­ously and smoothly, and no one in sight, you just want to get down and look under­neath, and there you'll discover Brother Issachar. Quiet, unostentatious, he puts his back under every burden, and his shoulder to every wheel. He treats the sick, he feeds the poor, he gives a home to the orphan, he searches out the down­cast and the discouraged, and puts them on their feet. And when I start a tent meeting, to give a series of gospel lectures, why there's always Issachar right on hand to drive the stakes and make the benches and arrange affairs with the business men of the town. Always helping!

"And right then and there we send for Brother Naphtali. And you know, Brother Naphtali comes down and he starts in to give the people such wonderful lessons from the Bible that they all flock out to hear him, and they say, 'Well, that's cer­tainly the truth. We never heard the Bible so clearly and beautifully taught as your man Naphtali teaches it.' And of course we are all praying with him that they shall get their minds on the truth instead of on the speaker, and that many of them shall be converted and saved. And they are. And pretty soon a lot of them join the church. And under God we have Brother Naphtali to thank for that.

"Oh, of course," says Issachar, "Brother Naphtali isn't a very practical man. He isn't a farmer nor a carpenter nor very good in business. But that's where we others come in. We are meant to help one another. But I tell you, now, when it comes to preaching the word and building up the church, then is when we can't get along without Brother Naphtali."

Oh, what a change comes into their lives when Brother Issachar and Brother Naphtali get hold of the love of Christ! Then they see, not the defects, but the vir­tues of each other.

And isn't it true, friends, that God uses a man for what he is good for? "If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body." 1 Corinthians 12:17-20.

But when with due humility we look at one another in the spirit of Christ, we find, not room for destructive criticism, but place for praise and encouragement and cooperation. How differently the fail­ures and weak points of our fellows look when we exchange the spirit of mortal flesh for the sympathizing, long-suffering spirit of Christ! The very things that be­fore invited our severest criticism, now challenge our magnanimity, our fair play, our broad-visioned Christianity. Where we once wished to expose, we now endeavor to shield. And this is the test of disciple­ship, for Jesus said, "A new command­ment I give unto you, That ye love one another. . . By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples."