"Whittier tells us the story of the day in Connecticut in 1780, when the horror of great darkness came over the land, and all men believed that the dreaded Day of Judgment had come at last.
"The legislature of Connecticut, 'dim as ghosts' in the old Statehouse, wished to adjourn to put themselves in condition for the great assizes, Meanwhile Abraham Davenport, representative from Stamford, rose to say:
"This well may be
The Day of Judgment which the world awaits;
But be it is so or not, I only know
My present duty and my Lord's command
To occupy till He come.
So at the post where He hath set me in His Providence
I choose for one to meet Him face to face,
Let God do His work. We will see to ours."
[Footnote: David Starr Jordan—The Call of the Twentieth Century.]
The Lord's love found its supreme expression in sacrifice. He walked not only the Via Dolorosa—the way of pain and sorrow—which led through Gethsemane to the green hill far away beyond the city wall; and to Calvary—the pathway of His life was marked by daily, hourly sacrifice.
He knew the full measure of loneliness, of misunderstanding, of cruel malignity. He of the most sensitive perceptions and feelings suffered from the brutality and coarseness of those who hated Him. He knew the anguish of homelessness. Listen to the cry that escaped Him: "The Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." If we are following Him we too will share in the sacrificial life. "He that would come after me let him take up his cross and follow me." But there is joy in sacrifice, deep and true, and things highest and best come to us only through the life laid down.
Out of the deep of sacrifice The pillars of the future rise.
It was a regiment that had volunteered for sure-death service at Port Arthur, and the Japanese captain addressing them as they were about to march said, "I send you forth as my loved children. If as you discharge your duty, you lose your right hand, fight with your left; if your left, too, is lost, serve with your feet; if your feet also are lost, you can help with your head, giving cheer and encouragement to others. Do not be reckless of your lives for they are needed."
Joyously seventy-seven earnest, willing ones went to live that message—gloriously they did their part and won the day, though not one of them ever returned to tell of victory.
God calls us to live for the saving of America.