Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

man?"excepted'me!"unloose."you?"another?"guile.""A Man Greatly Beloved"Paul Coleman had a large circle of acquaintances,and his circle of friends was almost identical. I say'almost,'for a wise man said, "Woe is me when allmen speak well of but those who knew Paulwell loved him."Circle of friends" is a misnomer since a circleis a curved closed line every point of which isequally distant from the center. But friendship islike a cross section of a lily bulb of which the onionis the most commonly known variety; it is a seriesof concentric circles. Jesus had His beloved Danieland His beloved John; next to them, Peter, James,Andrew, and so to the outer husk, the perimetricfringe. Paul Coleman must have had some enemiesfor he openly testified against wickedness.Kind and loving things have been said abouthim, some of them have even been said to him,enough to make a book. Many of you have said them,and many more have thought them. More thanone stranger has said to me, 'Aren't you Mr. ColeThat was the finest thing they could sayto me, but not so nice to say about him. They musthave been strangers to him too, just sufficientlyacquainted to recognize the superficial cousinly resemblance. I think I can understand how John theBaptist felt when folks said to him, "Art thou Hethat should come, or look we forAnd heemphatically answered, "No, there cometh one afterme the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy tostoop down and Or how a $50,000.00 counterfeit bill feels, passing through one business dealafter another, yet all the time trembling withinfor the time when the human lie detector at somebank will proclaim its worthlessness.One of the finest things I ever heard said aboutPaul was said by his brother John. He and I occupied adjoining rooms with an open door betweenat Madison, Wis. The conversation which passedthrough that door frequently concerned his (brother Paul. Once in a bantering manner I said, "Youthink a lot of Paul, don't There was no uncertainty in the answer: "Paul is the finest fellowI ever knew." There was no suggestion 'of presentcompany meaning me, nor of absent company either, meaning you. What was particularlyfine about that remark was that John was Paul'ssenior by two and a half years almost to a day,and through almost a quarter of a century of childhood and young manhood they were rarely separated.Those few words told of Paul's chastity in heart,sraeech and behaviour, his malice toward none, hischarity for all, his untarnished honesty and love oftruth, his nobility of aim and his hatred of evil. Itwas like the tribute Christ paid to Nathaniel, "Beholdan Israelite indeed in whom there is no OrLuke's tribute to Barnabas, "a good man, full ofthe Holv Ghost and of faith." "Gold tried in thefire."It was the writer's privilege to be closely associated with Paul in his Christian life and work.From the time of the establishment of the Publication Board until his health began to fail he was thefaithful and efficient Secretary. Its burdens were hisburden, his time and wise counsel were at our disposal and how we will miss him! He. wrote of the168things that he felt the Church needed, and had otherarticles on his mind to write had time and strengthbeen given.During presbytery meetings and other gatherings we were at times assigned to the same homesfor lodging, and to the same bed. He tarried longand after rising. Heon his knees before retiringtook time to dress and undress his own soul, toadore his Master, and to present the problems ofthe entertaining household, and of his bedfellow.Those homes were brighter for his visits, sometimesto the extent of another member born into thekingdom. Paul was a personal worker in jails andhospitals, in public schools and wherever there wereneedy souls. Eternity will tell.D.R.T.The K. C. Roanoke Ministers' Ass'n.(Written by Dr. Mace)Dr. Coleman was held in the highest esteem byall of us, because we have believed with all certainty that his character and spirit were muchlike that of our Master. The influence of his goodlife will not soon be lost on this community. Hisministry was to a much wider field than to thoseof his own church. We shall greatly miss him inthe Master's group and we wish you to know thathis Christian spirit and courage have held us up intimes of need.Mr. Proctor Piasters :It was a privilege to have felt the influence ofhis deeply spiritual personality.Mrs. Jennie McFarland:He surely followed his Master faithfully.Mrs. Robert Young :To us he was a radiant Christian. His countenance reflected the beauty of the Saviour he loved.We shall all miss Dr. Paul Coleman, our friend.Mrs. Vera Curry Boston:He was a man among men. I for one fear therewas no other quite like him. I will never forgetwhat he did for me.Viola McFarland Wylie:If I were to try to choose any one way in whichDr. Coleman's ministry helped me most while in theK.C. Congregation, it would be the prayer of penitence Mr. Coleman offered for all of us just beforewe went to the communion table. Partaking of thesacrament became a privilege after such a prayer.Rev. E. G. Russell:He was the choicest kind of a Christian manand most failthful minister of Christ whom all thebrethren thought a great deal of.Dr. J. K. Robb:One could not be about him for very long without being conscious of something helpful and uplifting.Mrs. Harold Auld:Rev. Coleman always made everything so easyto understand in his preaching and when he wrotefor the Covenanter Witness even the children couldunderstand.COVENANTER WITNESS