THE FUTURE
J. F. JOHNSON
MISS EMMA P. JOHNSON.
L. A. WISE
OUTLOOK
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Age of Bad Health?
For many this is the age of bad health. Everyone
should have a family doctor and dentist, however, many
people consider the drugstore as being the doctor of all
pains. There are too many people relying on pain killers
for toothaches, aspirins for headaches and upset stom
achs, and foot products for ailing feet. Many of these
remedies relieve the pain, but many of them aggrevate
the pain.
There are too many people suffering from cancers,
tumors, and rare diseases and illnesses today because of
modern convenient medicines. Rather than making an ap
pointment with a doctor or dentist, a person usually runs
to his nearest drugstore and buys a bottle of pills. When
the pain goes away as a result of the pills, the person
is happy and thinks nothing else about it unless the pain
returns. As a last resort the person visits the doctor to
find out that he could have prevented his illness two or
three months before if he had visited the doctor. Many
doctors tell their patients that it is cheaper and more
pleasant to prevent than to treat and cure.
Drugs used in the hands of inexperienced people such
as LSD and marijuana often shorten the lives of many,
most of them teenagers because of overdoses.
However, drugs are not the only reasons for bad
health. Consumer products such as cigarettes, cigars, and
other tobacco products are known to cause heart attacks,
lung cancer, throat disorders, and other serious illnesses.
Alcohol, another consumer product is known to affect the
liver, kidneys, bladder and has caused the loss of many
lives in car accidents.
Even overeating is dangerous to the health. Over
eating is a major cause of heart attacks because food
usually turns into fat which eventually surrounds the
heart, overworks it, and smothers it.
Water and air pollution as a result of big industries
in large cities distribute chemicals which are harmful to
the body especially the eyes and nose. Bad weather, such
as too much sun, usually results in heat exhaustion or sun
strokes. Exposure in cold weather can cause pneumonia,
flu, or tuberculosis.
Believe it or not, overworking can result in bad
health. Many backaches and spinal disorders have develop
ed from long and hard hours.
There are over a thousand illnesses and diseases ; there
are over a thousand reasons for them, and yet there are
over a million doctors to prevent, treat, and cure them if
possible.
Therefore, I say to you, as you walk or drive along
the streets of the city and observe signs, let them refer
to your health as well as to your driving.
CAUTION ? handle each pain with care.
YIELD ? to the thought that each pain may be seri
ous.
GO ? to the doctor of your choice.
STOP, LOOK, LISTEN ? to what your doctor or den
tist has to say, and 26 to 55 more years of good health
may be added to your life.
SING WHILE YOU DRIVE
i5 miles per hour ? sing, "Highways are happy way*."
56 miles per hour ? sing, "I'm but a stranger here,
Heaven is my home."
86 miles per hour? sing, "Nearer my God to Thee."
75 miles per hoar ? sing, "When the roil is called op
yotmder, HI be there."
85 miles per hoar? sing, "Lord, I'm coming home."
DRIVE SANELY
T his Weed's Sunday School Lesson
NEW LIFE IN CHRIST
Beginning Where Yon Are
For eight years Dag Ham
marskjold, a Swedish diplomat,
worked in the difficult post of
Secretary-General of the United
Nations. He died in i plane
crash in 1961 while trying to
bring peace to the Congo.
Following Hammarskjold's
death a personal journal was
found that revealed the sense
of vocation and commitment
that had guided his life. One
entry read:
"I don't know Who ? or
what ? put the question, I
don't know when It was put. I
don't even remember answer
ing. But at some moment I did
answer Yes to Someone ? or
Something ? and from that
hour I was certain that exis
tence is meaningful and that,
therefore, my life, in self-sur
render, had a goal.
"From that moment I have
known what it means "not to
look back,' and 'to take no
thought for the morrow.'
"... I came to a time and
place where I realized that the
Way leads to a triumph which
is a catastrophe, and to a cata
strophe which is a triumph, that
the price for committing one's
life would be reproach, and that
the only elevation possible to
man lies in the depths of hu
miliation. After that, the word
'courage' lost its meaning, since
nothing could be taken from me.
"As I continued along the
Way, I learned, step by step,
word by word, that behind every
saying in the Gospels stands one
man and one man's experience."
Searching The
The Scripture for this lesson
is Matthew 5:1-9; Luke 19:1-10;
Romans 8:1-9; 2 Corinthians 5:
17-21. Selected verses are print
ed below.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore, if any one is in
Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has passed away, be
hold. the new has come. 18 All
this is from God, who through
Christ reconciled us to himself
and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation. 19 that is, God
wm in Christ reconciling the
world to himself, not counting
their trespasses against them,
and entrusting to us the
of reconciliation. 20 So we are
ambassadors for Christ, God
making his appeal through ua.
We beseech you on behalf of
Christ, be reconciled to God. SI
For our sake he made him to be
sin who knew no son, so that
la him we might become the
righteousness of God.
Matthew 5:3-9
3 "Blessed are the poor fat
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who
mourn, for they shall be com
forted.
B "Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteous
ness for they shall be satisfied.
7 "Blessed are the merciful,
far they shall obtain mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemak
ers, for they shall be called sons
of God."
Memory Selection: I have
been crucified with Christ; It Is
no longer 1 who live, but Christ
| who lives in me; and the life
I t:w live in the flesh X live by
faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for
me. ? Galatians 2:20
Exploring The Questions
The two passages of Scripture
I given in this lesson mesh like
question and answer. Writing
to the Corinthians, Paul talks
about being "in Christ" and "a
new creation." Sometimes we
fall into the trap of feeling good
about such phrases without be
ing able to say what they really
mean. But the second passage
of Scripture, the Beatitudes,
makes the meaning quite clear.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty
about the Beatitudes is applying
them, but first they are difficult
to understand. William Barclay
gives significant help in his book
The Beatitudes and the Lord's
Prayer for Everyman (Harper
[ and Row; $5.95). Note particu
larly pages 20-100.
A short, readable paperback
book interpreting the Sermon on
1 the Mount is Jochim Jeremias'
The Sermon on the Mount (For
tress Press; $1). Also helpful
would be the materials prepared
for the quadrennial emphasis on
studying the Sermon on the
Mount. These should be readily
available in your church.
The passage from Corinthians
is not theological reflection drop
ped out of the sky but a witness
to persons with whom Paul had
lived and worked and fought
and made up. For him, recon
ciliation with friends was a per
fect opportunity to talk about
God's reconciling work in Christ.
The human situation once again
provided a starting point for
talking about God.
Translation is a difficult prob
lem in verses 17 and 19 of the
Corinthians passage. The Eng
lish can be confusing, so we will
need to give special attention
here. Also receiving some con
sideration will be the relation of
the letter to Paul's ministry in
Corinth and his use of the am
bassador as an example of the
Christian.
Finally, through the use of
cartoons depicting real-life eq
uations, we will consider some
of the problems of living the
gospel in everyday life.
Finding Help
With Tour Questions
Somewhere around A.D. SO
Paul went to Corinth and stay
ed for a year and a hall or more.
It was probably his largest
church. From First Corinthians,
especially, we can see that the
problems Paul encountered were
those raised by the secular na
ture of life in Corinth.
Later, while Paul was work
ing in Epheaus, his authority
waa questioned by certain critics
in the Corinthian church. In
response Paul wrote what is
often called "the severe letter,"
which probably included 2 Cor
inthians 10 through 18. Hare he
justified himself and his min
istry. Meanwhile Paul sent
Titus to Corinth.
When Titus brought news of
a reconciliation, Paul wrote "the
thankful letter." The Scripture in
this lesson is part of that letter.
In cementing this renewed
friendship, Paul took the oppor
tunity to explain further his un
derstanding of the reconciling
work of God.
God's New Creation
The correct translation ol
verse 17 is, "Since you are in
Christ, you are a new creature."
The expression "in Christ" sum
med up for Paul the result ol
man's redemption, his new state
ol existence. Notice that Paul
was careful to trace the source
ol man's new condition back to
God. "All this" (verse 18) can
only refer to the redemptive
work ol Jesus Christ in trans
forming the live* ol men.
Sentence construction in verse
19 indicates a process ol recon
ciliation. The Revised Standard
Version translation "God was in
Christ" is misleading. The pri
mary emphasis here is not the
fact of the Incarnation but the
activity of God in Christ. A
better translation is given in a
footnote in the Revised Stand
ard Version: "In Christ God was
reconciling
Ve^se 20 indicates Paul's con
viction that God's gift always
pointed to a task. It is the work
of those who are "in Christ" to
bring to fruition those things
made possible by God's act
Traditionally, an ambassader
is both a messenger and a rep
resentative, speaking in place of
the person he represents. He
does not act on his own au
thority. It is his duty to pro
claim the message entrusted to
him by his sovereign. The am
bassador, before acting, receives
a commission. Thus, in using
this figure, Paul has drawn an
almost perfect analogy ol the
Christian's authority to speak ?
on behalf ol Christ.
The Beatitude*
The other passage of Scrip
ture in this lesson speaks about
the conditions of the new Ufa
These verses are, of course, from
the Sermon on the Mount.
Perhaps we need first to re
member what the Sermon on
the Mount really is: a collection
of sayings by Jesus. Each one
seems tq be a summary of a ser
mon or a teaching of Jesus.
When compiled in one place,
they make a real impact.
We need, too, to understand
the function of the Book of Mat
thew, in which the Beatitudes
are found. Scholars suggest that
Matthew was compiled as a
book of instruction for Jewish
Christians. The implication la
important Here is how on*
scholar puts It:
"If the Sermon on the Mount
is a catechism for baptismal
candidates or newly baptized
Christians, then it was preceded
by something else. It was pre
ceded by the proclamation of
the gospel; and it was preceded
by conversion, by a being over
powered by the Good New*."
These teachings, then, are in
tended for persons who are al
ready "in Christ" They are not
laws or rules but examples of
the type at radical commitment
expected of Christians.
Life la the Kingdom
Now let us take a look at
what is bfehind these pointed
little sayings. In his book The
Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer
for Everyman, William Barclay
suggests some modern transla
tions that I thinir bring the mas
sage of the Beatitudaa to us In
a powerful way.
Blessed are the poor In spirit
Barclay suggests that this bea
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