The Eternal Element

The Eternal Element THE PERSONAL ELEMENT
By F. L. ROWE.
"Even a child maketh himself known by his doing."
Proverbs 20:11
Beginning with our national life, we recognize that it was the personal element that influenced others to following the lead of those demanding independ­ence. It was the confidence of the Colonists that made them follow Washington against overwhelming odds. The sterling qualities of the man. his own high sense of justice, his personal interest in the people in the New World, and his determination to free them from the persecution of England, caused him to assert him­self, and his personality was reflected in the lives of those associated with him. His own confidence in a God of Justice helped him to win our independence. Without this personal element, Washington would have been simply a man instead of a leader and emancipator.

Even our good friend, Mr. Wilson, thinks it was the personal consideration that God had for him that caused him to be elected president. In writing to Mr. McComb, his campaign manager, who had naturally requested certain favor from Mr. Wilson as a proper reward or consideration for what he had done for him Mr. Wilson replied with characteristic Presbyterian conviction, "I owe you nothing. Remember that God ordained that I was to be the next president and neither you nor any other mortal could have pre­vented it." The personal element develops the best in every activity. Restraint, enforced or voluntary, produces nothing great. Unionism in trade is in fact destruc­tive of the highest in life as it dwarfs individual effort and puts a premium on mental inactivity. It is the personal element that brings out inventions and makes discoveries; that improves and perfects machinery, that startles the world by the application of heretofore unknown laws: all because the personal element cannot be restrained. When John saw Jesus coming, he exclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. He must increase, but I must decrease." Jesus, in answer, said "Of all that are born of woman, there hath not risen one greater that John the Baptist." Again, Jesus walking by the seaside, saw two fisher­men, Peter and Andrew. He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Going up from thence he saw two others, James and John: he called them, and they left all. The day following, Jesus findeth Phillip: he said, "Follow me." Phillip findeth Nathaniel. And as Jesus passed by he saw Matthew sitting at the seat of Customs, and he said, "Follow me". His personality swayed them. He bad done nothing for them. They were to him strangers, and he was to them as a stranger, but when he uttered those magnetic words "Follow me," there was an irresistible impulse that caused them to leave all and follow him. All through his ministry this same per­sonal element drew men to him. He was like all other men in every natural, normal condition, but no man spoke as be did when he uttered the words "Follow me." Zaccheus is spoken of as a sinner, yet the Saviour went to his house and dined with him. Did Zaccheus draw Christ, or did Christ attract Zaccheus? The personal element entered into the attraction that brought these two personalities together.

It is the personal element that places a man, a school, a business, and institution or even a city, state or nation, above others. A good man or business may prove a failure through inferior leadership. The same business house with a live wire would prove a profitable institution. Churches that have pronounced personality in lead­ers of spiritual makeup are also awake to their ad
vantages. Unless a man is a natural leader, he is not fitted for the office of leader or overseer. It is the personal element that wins for him the respect of others of the congregation. It is because the members are willing to recognize him as fitted for his office, that they willingly sit under his instruction and are guided in their religious activities by his wisdom. The leader who is concerned about the souls of the members will have the same attendance of members at weekly ser­vices as when they have a monthly preacher. This is not generally the case, but I know of places where this condition actually does prevail. It is an honor and a comfort to a leader to know that he has the confidence and the support of the brethren and people in general who respect him and honor him, and seem willing to listen to him, although they may have known him from boyhood. His interest in them, the prayers he offers that reach home—that is, both the heart and heaven—the solicitude he has for them, his fidelity in calling upon the sick, and the devotion that he shows like only to that of a father to his own children, is bound to stamp his character upon them, and his personal influence holds them and leads them in Christian service.

People who attend church only when there is preaching, are following the man and not the Master. Our own brethren become men worshippers, although I believe not consciously. The true preacher fears God and loves his fellow men. That is why he preaches as though today were his last and tomorrow the judgment.

We are too often swayed by eloquence. We hear the wonderful flow of oratory, and we are lifted way up in the spiritual atmosphere, and after it is all over, for the life of us we can't tell what we heard. We simply say it was grand, it was wonderful, but only the man's power as an orator has stamped its impress, and we have forgotten the simple truth that he wanted to leave with us. His effort was like a shower on parched ground, it sounded good and felt good, but it didn't soak in the way he wanted it to. I am reminded of an instance in connection with Patrick Henry. The train stopped in Virginia, and a number of passengers got oft, and were stretching themselves, and promenading up and down the long platform. A lady passenger overheard someone say "This is where Patrick Henry was born." She swung herself about and took in the beautiful hills, and drew a half a dozen deep breaths, and then remarked, "No wonder Patrick Henry was a great man." A native of the place overheard her, and in his droll manner answered, "Wall, lady, I have lived here all my live, and from what others tell me, those some hills have always been there, but we haint seen any more Patrick Henrys."

Patrick Henry would have been a great man if he had been born in a swamp. It wasn't the environ­ment that made him great; it was the personal element that came out when placed where conditions brought out the real man, Patrick Henry. The true preacher holds up Christ, and not him­self. The true preacher bides behind the cross. His sole effort is to present Christ to the world in a way that the world will see him and nothing else. The consecrated preacher desires nothing more than to make the world realize their sinfulness over against the spotless character of the man Christ. if the preacher can succeed in bringing that before the people, he feels his task is accomplished. If he fails in that, it is because the personal element was lacking that brought the subject of his discourse into the hearts and minds of the people.

I recall an interesting event in the life of Gov­ernor Corwin, one of our early governors of Ohio. He was called upon the preside during a County Sun­day School Convention. During the proceedings of the meeting, the secretary made the statement that in that County there were one hundred and thirty-seven families that didn't have a copy of the Bible. At the conclusion of this secretary's report, Governor Corwin arose and said, "Gentlemen and friends, if the state­ment made by your secretary is correct, I have only this to say: that if this County Sunday School Associa­tion is in earnest in their work, there would not be one family in this County tomorrow night without a Bible." His rebuke struck home, and left a lesson that we can all profit from. Figures may mean nothing. Abstract statements are empty, but if we carry into our prac­tical lives the things that we say with our lips, we would change the whole religious atmosphere in every community. The personal element will do this, and where that is pronounced, the results are bound to come.

It was the personal element that caused a good sister to assert herself when the banner of Christ was being trampled in the dust in sectarianism. She would not give up. She would not be absorbed. She would not consider anything except what she had learned from the Word of God. She stood firm and alone for years, but was finally rewarded and made happy in seeing a congregation built up in her own neighbor­hood.

It was the personal element that caused a good brother in old Virginia to assert itself, and reclaim a congregation that was headed for Babylon.

It was the personal element that enabled Peter to know the depth of the Saviour's love when he received the special invitation after the resurrection. No one but Christ himself would have made allowance for Peter's weaknesses and blunders; but the Saviour knew Peter's power and his value, and he kept him and used him. Only one who had possessed weaknesses like Peter could appreciate Christ's long suffering patience toward one of Peter's peculiar make-up. I, for one, am glad we have Christ's understanding of Peter. His life placates all human imperfections.

I am glad when I read the story of Onesimus, that slave who heard Paid over in the city of Corinth, and eight years after found him in the city of Rome. He came to him like a tramp, made known his identity, and became a follower of the Saviour through the per­sonal impression made upon him when he was in the house of Philemon, and had heard the sterling words of the wonderful apostle. When he needed a friend, he knew where to find him, and he found his way to Rome and hunted him out. Paul sent him back to his master, but sent word with him that he was no longer a slave, but his own brother in the faith. Eight years had passed since the time that Paul had been in the home of Philemon. This slave had come in and out, waiting upon his master, but had picked up enough of the words of Paul to know the character of the man; and to pick up something of the doctrine that he preached, and the personal element remained with him until it brought him to his own salvation.

It was the personal element that swayed Agrippa when he stated to Paul, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

Imagine, my friends, a man like Paul, standing be­fore the king and talking to him in that fearless man­ner; but he had a higher King to whom he owed his first allegiance and he talked to Agrippa just as he would talk to you 'or to me. And his words were not lost, for even the king recognized the integrity of Paul. He recognized the truth of his statements, and almost yielded to the persuasion forced upon him by Paul's earnest words. Paul might have apologized, and he might have cringed from the king; but he didn't.

We must keep alive the personal element. We must never reach the point of self-satisfaction. Every good thing in life is the result of activity. What others have accomplished, does not make it safe for us to place reliance in. The same effort put forth by our pioneers of the gospel must be put forth by us. Not to go forward is somewhat to go back, and having put our hands to the plow, we cannot look back.

I am reminded of a very interesting conversation that I bad with a retired business man in Cincinnati a year or two ago. He was a pioneer in the shoe business. I called at his house with a mutual friend, and while there he entertained us with story of his early struggles and success, which also brought out his anxiety, over his own boy and grandchild. He said:

"When I started in business fifty years ago, I just had a little shop where I mended shoes. I worked early and late, and my wife helped me to keep things going, and we struggled along. I learned the lesson then that I would have to roll up my sleeves and get down to hard work if I was going to succeed. I did so, and enjoyed my work. After a year or so, the work grew on me. I had more demands for boots and shoes than I could supply. I had to hire a helper. Pretty soon I began carrying a stock of boots and shoes, and opened up a shoe store. My business con­tinued to grow, and I decided to begin to manufacture boots and shoes. That succeeded and I kept building larger, until I had a dozen people working for me. Everything seemed to come my way, and I was happy and continued to work early and late. The rest you know, as my firm took on large proportions, and up to the time I retired we had a factory six stories high and covering a quarter of a block and employing hands by the hundreds. Five years ago I retired and turned my business over to my boy, who is now a man with a family of his own. But (and he laid special emphasis on that word) my boy has no initiative. He cannot start anything. There doesn't seem to be any push to him. He wants everything laid out for him, and I am afraid that he will not be a success unless it is just by accident. He doesn't know the meaning of hard work. He doesn't understand the business in all its details as I did, and if everything comes his way he will get through. I have left enough to take care of him, but his little boy two years old—I actually fear for him. I am afraid that by the time the father is my age, everything will be gone, and then that little boy will have to do like granddad did, roll up his sleeves and get down to bard work. It will be a repeti­tion of the old story—"three generations from shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves." And all because the personal element was lacking in the son, who should have learned these things that would have made him as strong a factor in the de­velopment and growth of that business as his worthy father had been. The Lord's work should enlist our energies and consume our thoughts to the exclusion of all worldly ambition or considerations. If this be true in your life and mine, the personal element will be conspicuous and influential in attracting others to the same truth that has comforted your life and mine and made us appreciative of the Great Center of all that is worth while in teaching, in life and in anticipation—Jesus Christ, the righteous.