The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, March 31, 1955, Image 9
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Volume LVI
Clinton, S. O, Thursday, March 31,1955
Number 13
*=
Present-Tense; Future-Perfect
By DAVID A. MAC LfNNAN
ProfeMer, Tele University
Divinity School
In April
TEXT: “By now they were ap
proaching the village to which
they were going; end He made ee
if He was going still farther. But
they pressed Hiln, saying ‘Stay
with us, for it is near evening and
there’s not much daylight left.”’
—Luke 24:28, 20 (Maneon)
Two men are driving along a
prairie road to town. They “take
it easy”; ditches with gumbo wait
to grab their wheels. They have
talked about many things as
neighbors will; how' the stock
weathered the winter, when seed
ing might begin, how Jennie and
the wee one are making out, tax
es, and the like. Taxes and poli
tics bring their words to the threat
of war and what is happening In
Moscow and Peiping and what it
will do to us over here. Nodding
their heads vigorously, you hear
them agreeing about one fact:
things are bad. And what’s around
the corner is likely to be grim,
really rugged—no mistake.
“It’s tough any way you look
at it, Bill. Take that boy of mine,
he never lived in a world without
war brewing or breaking out. And
we’ll all be in it I guess it’s what
a fellow on the radio said the other
night: we’re going to live in a kind
of garrison state from now on.”
“It IS tough, Mac,” agrees his
friend. “Russia, China, Formoaa—
things are a mess.’’
Two men—or were they man
and wife?—walk along a country
road to the village where they
lived. “What kind of world is
this?” asks one. “Isn’t there any
thing we can count on in religion?
Here was this Man, and somehow
I still think He was more than a
man—God-man, Peter called Him.
If anyone could have saved us
and our people without lifting a
spear, it was this Jesus. I had
hoped that He would have been
the One, but now He’s finished
like a common criminal, on a
cross. It makes a person wonder
if God
Men like ourselves are moving
along roads whether in Canada, in
America, in Asia, in Palestine, try
ing to face the facts, deserving full
marks for living with dark reality.
How would you describe die out
look on the way to Emma us—
theirs and ours? A phrase that
comes frym those lessons in gram
mar we had hack in school is us
able now for our inner mood and
outward prospect: “Present—
TENSE.”
But what of the future? No
doubt about the present; any can
did camera shot of our condition
would show tensions—between
power groups in the world com
munity, and in us. What about the
future? Would it not be just'plain
sense to say the future will be
black, dreadful, something that
will not bear thinging about? It
would be—unless there is another
factcf operating: a power and a
purpose with goodness and justice
at the heart, v
That factor is at the heart of
this difficult and dangerous en
terprise we call living. We call
it the Good News, the wonder,
the truth of Blaster. The Gospel
points to the infinite factor in
our human situation. What do
those wizards with numbers, the
mathematicans, say?— multiply
infinity with any factor, and the
result is infinity. What does the
living Word of God say?. In
substance this: multiply divinity
—the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ—with any fac
tor, and the result will be divine.
Now listen again to peurt of the
report on the two discouraged
travelers trudging to their vil
lage on the first Easter evening.
The two have been joined by a
Third who is the key to the
problem that perplexes them.
"By now they were approaching
| the village to which they were
going; and He made as if He was
going still farther. But they
pressed Him saying, ‘Stay with
I us, for it is near evening and
! there’s not much daylight left.’
So He went in to stay wth them.
Divine love reached down into
the human scene giving men the
clue to the grand drama of life.
If Easter means that death and
evil could not defeat or hold
Christ, then it means the same
for us, if we are linked to Him.
It means that for all who trust i
and serve God, it is a case of
present—tense; future — perfect.
You see, the disclosure, the!
revelation of Easter, is that God
has the last word, and that this
word is life, peace, joy, victory.
The present is indeed tense, and
in this kind of world the Chris
tian cannot escape tension. The
pull between two kinds of pow
er—the power of evil and the
strange power of holy, righteous
love—that kind of tension is like
ly to continue. True, if you com
mit yourself to God in phrist,
commit all that you know of
yourself to all that you know of
God, you will experience release
from many inner tensions. But
while there will be peace at the
center, you will encounter war
around you.
Do ypu say, “Then isn’t this
rather stupid optimism to speak
in the same breath of the fu
ture’s being perfect?” Is it?
If l?y perfect you mean the end
of striving, the end of tears, the]
end of sacrifice in this mortal |
stretch of our existence, then
perfection is not promised. But
if you mean growth toward ma
turity in our relationship with
others toward God; if inward re
inforcement for every need is
part of going on toward perfec-
ton—then it is true: present—
tense, future—perfect.
Does this mean that living by
the faith of the Son of God who
loved us and gave Himself for
us and has been raised from the
dead by the power of God, we
shall be free from pain and loss?
No. But it does mean that the
cloud over Hiroshima need not
cast its shadow over all the years
ahead. For it means that when
we move along the road of God’s
will for His human family He
Himself draws near; that when
our dark hours come, as they do,
the miracle of Easter in Emmaus
is repeated. He comes in to stay
with us, and then leads us far
ther. And coming He brings
meaning, and with the meanng
peace, and in the peace power to 1
do what His spirit commands.
Easter jittests this incontro
vertible fact: God vindicated the
most perfect life, even the life of
His Son. Lift up your hearts,
yes, lift them up unto the Lord!
For He must reign, until all His
enemies are put under His feet.
Present—tense, at least anxious?
But the present belongs to Him,
and the future is in His hands.
Receive His gift of eternal life
— knowledge of God through
trust in Him and Jesus Christ
whom He has sent. Then you
and I and all our brothers in the
faith can conquer the forces of
the present that bring death to,
men’s souls—war, racial hatreds,
lies and deceits, injustice.
What about the long future?
Christ is risen; He has put down
the last enemy, death. There are|
no permanent bereavements.
Physical death remains, but no
death can touch the real you, if,
as Paul would say, you are "in
Christ,’’ united to Him in loving
trust and obedience.
The more we live in our love
and active immortality, the more
greatly we live. One of my Ger
man colleagues told me that dur
ing the last weeks of World War
I two characteristic communi
ques were issued, one by the
German High Command, and
the other by Austrian headquar
ters. The first read: “The situa
tion is serious, but not hopeless."
The next day the Austrian head
quarters issued a statement say
ing: “The situation is hopeless,
but not serious.” For the Chris
tian fighter it is like that: “Situ
ation now — hopeless; but not
serious, not irreparable, "hot fin
al." Why? Because even when
it seems as if “there’s not much
daylight left,” the Light of the
world draws near. He makes
Himself know supremely with
in His communty, the Church.
More than ever the church in
all its branches is the light and
salt of society, the custodian and
transmitter of the truth that can
set us free from error, impotence
and despair. Despite the frailty
and follies of her members, she
is the Community of the Resur
rection, the living Body of
Christ.
This is the fact, the claim, the
promise and the truth this East
ertide: “Present — tense; situa
tion hopeless—from man’s per
spective; but not serious—for
there is always Christ. Future—
perfect.”
The Sense of Security
By JAMES C. KINARD
As the train rounded a curve
in the approach to a large city
there suddenly burst into view a
lighted cross on top of a moun
tain. One of the passengers re
marked to his traveling compan
ion, “Every time I see that cross
I feel our country is more secure
because of jt."
He was a business executive
who admitted that he buried
himself in his work but did not
forget his religion. He went on
to say that he appreciated the
fundamental values of things
spiritual for which that cross
stood.
It is worthy of note that
church membership in the Unit-J
ed States is steadily increasing. I
Our newspapers give generous)
coverage of religious activities.
A number of columnists write on
these themes and their readers
are responsive.
President Eisenhower signifi
cantly prefaced his inaugural ad
dress with a prayer to God for
gudance. Our leaders recognize
that the freedom which we
Americans enjoy is founded on
faith in God. They realize that
our profession and practice of
that faith. There have been other
people to fade out in history be
cause they sought security in
gold rather than in God. Ameri
ca is not making that fatal mis-
take.
Addressing a group of young
people who were studying for
business careers, the public re
lations director of a national cor
poration advised, “If you would
succeed, keep God in your busi
ness."
Good government and sound
business are essential to each
other The recognition of God'
is indispensable to both.
Local Girl Writes
Magazine Sketch
Miss Emma Gray, daughter of
Rev. and Mrs James S. Gray of
this city, is the author of a sketch
published last week in the Con
verse college liJerary magazine,
“We, The Freshmen ”
The magazine is devoted to pub
lishing the works of Converse's
first year students. It is edited by
a freshman board of editors. Miss
Elizabeth Bearden, associate pro
fessor of English at Converse, is
the faculty advisor. Mias Gray’s
sketch is entitled.
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