Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

all,"
off"
crop,"
ECHOES NUMBER
LESSON HELPS FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 13, 1955
VOLUME LIV WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4G, 1955
ts
"Tourist
Tragedy
By Edwin Raymond Anderson
V)
NUMBER 8
Two men traveled side by side one Spring morn
ing to that low mound of earth a short distance with
out the Jerusalem gates, which is known as "Gor
don's Calvary," and reputed to be . . THE
.
. place.
They stood upon that bleak bit of lifted ground,
each occupied with his own thoughts. If this were
actually the place where the dear Lord was crucified,
"who died to save us it would be difficult to
frame the thoughts into words. Several moments
passed . . . then the first of the two reached into a
pocket, drew forth note-book and pencil and scrawled
the line, "Visited Calvary today," snapped both back
into pocket and went back to the city.
The other watched him go down and away. Then
his eyes slowly turned back to that bleak spot. Sud
denly tears spurted from his eyes, his frame began
to tremble, and overcome with holy emotion, he fell
upon his knees, lifted those misted eyes to the skies
and hoarsely whispered, "My Lord and my God!"
Two men . . .
striking pictures of the many who
profess to honor the Name which is above every
Name and who pretend to enter somewhat into the
wonder and the glory of Calvary ! The one is a tourist
with a collection of facts on file. The other is a
warming"
worshiper with a "strange of heart which
has lifted those filed facts, under the kindling of
the Holy Spirit, into acts-on-fire, expressed in fer
vent doxology. And as in such cases, the question is
naturally formed out of the picture, "which man is
representative of yourself, dear reader, in cold, actual
truth"
Are you a doctrinal tourist Are you a de
voted worshiper There is "a great gulf fixed" be
tween the two, measuring the actual state of the
heart and life before the Lord who died for both on
the bloody gibbet.
A spiritual writer of another generation has
marked the danger of, "trafficking in unfelt truth,"
and in this generation one must admit with deepest
grief that the traffic is unbearably heavy. Somehow
we find it all too easy to complain about the liberals
in our midst who traffic in unknown truth, dealing
with things they know nothing of where spiritual
reality is concerned. But to whom much is given
much shall be required, and where truth which is
known in the head is tragically "unknown" in the
heart and life, the disaster is all the greater, and
severe. The woes which the Lord
judgment intensely
pronounced in the days of ministry in flesh upon
earth, were directed to those who were custodians of
the divine revelation, and who had betrayed their
charge with that brand of spiritual sophistication
which had drained all the practical life out of the
vessels. A hum-drum holiness is far worse than a
base heathenism in the sight of the Holy One who
ever desires truth in the inward parts, not the up
ward regions.
We are fast becoming
a people of "religious
tourists,"
who know all the chapters-and-verses, who
can "reel favorite verses at the drop of an invi
tation, who attend all the "top-flight" meetings and
hear the "cream of the who are found regu
larly in the front seats of the outstanding rallies
and conferences, and dwell in densest spiritual dark
ness for all of that. Where are they to be found in
the time of holy quietness where is the hunger of
innermost heart after the deeper wellsprings of
holiness where is the measure of their outreach
after pure worship "in spirit and in truth" "Thou
empty,"
shalt be missed for thy seat shall be will
alas(!) be the verdict written against the many
who pride themselves upon their doctrinal correct
ness and splendid orthodoxy.
Somehow I sense that far too many of us know
too much, even where the Word is concerned. "If
them"
ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do
saith the Lord, and all true doing begins with the
doxology of praise and worship. What unhappy
Christians we are, if knowledge has not deepened
(Continued on Page 119)