TWO EPISODES OF THE CIVIL WAR
1. Looting Those Who Fell
THE battle was over. Darkness expanded its misty veil over the battle-field. Victory had been won by neither army, but there were left a large number of dead and wounded.
The ambulances were sent out with help for those who fell in the fight. Where moans were heard, they went, raised the wounded limb a trifle, asked sympathetic questions and bandaged the wound as well as could be done in a hurry; then the wounded were taken to the field hospital.
But if one looked more carefully, other figures were discernible; half hidden by the darkness they sneaked about among the wounded and dead.
Who were they?
It didn't look as though they heeded the moans of the dying, nor did they raise them to carry them off to the field hospital. What were they doing, then?
They were plundering those who fell, taking from them their little articles of value: A hideous thing, truly a deed of darkness! Who would have believed that anyone could have the heart to plunder the dying.
You and I would not do such a thing. We become intensely indignant and disgusted when told of such heartlessness. "God, I thank thee, that I am not as the other men are, extortioners——"
No, on that battlefield where the wounded lie, having been hit by shells and maimed by swords, we do not go in order to plunder and loot. That is true enough.
But—alas, there is a "but" about it.
The world is a huge battlefield. Right and left we see about us the wounded who are moaning and suffering from pain; they are sighing for just a little aid, a kind word, a gentle smile. They need succor—they need being taken to the hospital. They still have a remnant of the sense of honor left. There is a possibility that they may right themselves; that they may be able to qualify as good fighters in the next skirmish—perhaps to conquer where now they have suffered defeat. But instead of the gentle smile, the kind word, and the little aid—we took away from them whatever was left and let them lie where they were. We deprived them of the last remnant of honor, extinguished the last faint glimmer of hope. The bruised reed was broken. The smoking flax was quenched.
On Life's vast battlefield you and I may, after all, have taken part in the plundering of the wounded; or we may have gone by just like the priest and the Levite. At least we have not always done as did the Samaritan: Bound up their wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and brought them to an inn!
Old Dr. Bengel says: "I am kept constantly busy by reading proof upon myself."
Let us do likewise. Then we will be better and better enabled to heed the moans of the wounded on the vast battlefield of Life, and to bring them to the inn, to the church of the Lord where there is healing for all wounds. This is our task toward the wounded, and it was that which was in the mind of Jesus when He said:
"Go, and do thou likewise!"
2. Removed Because of Mischief
During the Civil War it became necessary to remove one of the officers serving under General Sherman; "Removed because of mischief" was the way it was entered upon the record.
General O. O. Howard succeeded him in command and continued to have charge of the unit until the end of the war.
Then the army arrived at Washington, where a parade was to be held followed by disbanding.
The day before the parade General Sherman said to Howard:
"The political leaders demand of me that the officer whose place you took, resume his charge tomorrow and ride at the head of his unit in the parade, and I wish you would help me out of this predicament."
"But it is my unit now, General," Howard said, "and it is but fair that I ride at its head tomorrow."
"Yes, of course," General Sherman answered, "but—are you a Christian, Howard?"
"What do you mean by that?" Howard asked astonished.
"I mean that you can bear that disappointment and let him have the honor. You are a Christian," Sherman added; "well—what do you say?"
Like a brave officer, jealous of his honor, Howard had anticipated this day with delight, but, after hesitating a moment, he said:
"Yes, looked at from that point of view, only one answer is possible: Let him ride at the head of his old unit tomorrow!"
"All right then," said Sherman, "but you will report at headquarters tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock."
The next morning at the appointed hour Howard reported that everything was arranged. The officer who had been removed because of mischief had resumed his old post.
"Very well," Sherman answered, "then you ride by my side today."
"I have no right to do that," Howard replied.
"It is an order," Sherman answered smilingly.
Thus O. O. Howard rode beside General Sherman at the head of the entire army in the parade at Washington—he who had renounced glory and right for the benefit of one who had forfeited both, so that the latter might be honored.
"Removed because of mischief." That might have been written upon the brow of Adam when the portals of Paradise were closed behind him. Removed from the living God because of mischief—that was the legend above the whole story of mankind until the fullness of time.
Removed because of mischief—from one another, from the respect of fellow-beings, from honor and enviable positions among men: That was the legend above the lives of so many—of him who had stolen money from his master's till; of him who had suffered a moral lapse, etc.
But into the life of him who has been removed from God because of mischief one came and said: It is my will that you resume your old place of the child in the arms of his Father. It is my will that you take part in the ride into the new Jerusalem. I will share my rights with you and give you my glory. Yes, thus speaks the Son of the King of Heaven in His church upon earth.
This I have done for thee, Jesus says. But then, when you go among those people who have been removed because of mischief from good positions or from the respect of their fellow-beings: How much of your glory and rights can you give to them?
You are a Christian.
We ask, almost as surprised as O. O. Howard: What do you mean by that, Lord? Too often, we ourselves think too little of it. But Jesus sayeth: Remember that you are a Christian when you associate with those who have lost the respect of their fellow-beings. As a Christian you must be able to sacrifice a little of your honor and your rights for their sake.
To be a Christian is not merely to be a child and to rest upon the arm of the Father. It is to make real the love of the Father, in the steps of Jesus Christ, among those who have fallen by the wayside.
You are a Christian.
Are you?
And one thing more. Howard did not lose anything by relinquishing his glory and rights like a Christian. Far from it! He gained by it. He was placed beside the supreme commander at the head of the entire army. Thus with us.
When Jesus demands of us that we as Christians shall bring sacrifices, then it is not for the purpose of causing us any loss, or to make us advance something for which we will not be reimbursed, but simply to enable us to receive more from Him. Such advances He changes into an income for us. We will receive a hundredfold. We will be qualified to be at the front, and by His side we approach the goal.