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CHURCH, JOINING THE
A physician meeting an evangelist said to him:
“I believe in religion as much as you do, and I accept Christ as my Savior, but I will never join any church.”
“Doctor, you are pension examiner.” “Yes.” “How many applicants for pensions have you examined?” “I do not know, but hundreds.” “Doctor, how many of these received a pension who had never joined the army?” “Not one, not one. My wife and I will unite with the Presbyterian Church.”
They did. This man, seventy odd years old, who had never been at church once, became a devout Christian and died in the faith. (Text.)
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CHURCH, LIGHT AND STRENGTH
Persia has well been called the land of “the Lion and the Sun.” The symbol of “the Lion and the Sun” originated in the days when the Zoroastrians were the inhabitants of the land. The sun, being the emblem of the fire-worshipers, was taken as their national badge. The lion was added later because Ali, the grandson of Mohammed, was called the “Lion of God.” The woman’s face in the sun was inserted some years later by one of the Persian kings as a tribute to his favorite wife.
What is the Church but the land of the Lion and the Sun, the Lion of Judah; the Sun of righteousness? What is its content but the bride of Christ?