“The very next day a lady came to the office and said, ‘I felt all the afternoon yesterday that I ought to go to London and give you £100 for the proposed new mission, and here it is.’ It was a £100 bank-note. I asked her name, that I might write a receipt. She said ‘No.’ I said ‘Give me your initials.’ She said ‘No, put it down to “a friend,” and you may see me again.’ So when the London gentleman pays in his £200 we shall have £400.”
MORE MISSIONARIES—THE GOSPEL WAY.
There never before was a time when the openings for missionary endeavors were so abundant. Barriers which formerly opposed, have been broken down almost everywhere. In many places there is some condition of things that invites the Gospel directly or indirectly.
This is notable on the Pacific coast, where the Chinese are so eager to learn English that they are more than ready to use the Bible as a textbook. Nor are the Chinese peculiar in this. Knowledge of the English language is equal to a competency in other lands, and the Bible can be freely used in teaching it.
Commerce has also removed many barriers; and what is of equal importance, it has necessitated the building of ships, the construction of railroads, the laying out of highways in the desert, and a telegraph for every quarter of the globe. The press has done its share of work as well. Through it, intelligence has penetrated almost to the remotest bounds of heathendom. All these things have made way for more missionaries. To this it must be added that the increase of missionary organizations and the natural development of their operations, all multiply the demand for more men to run to and fro throughout the world, heralding the tidings of joy unto all people.
Still another barrier has been virtually removed. Once money was lacking, but now the church of Christ has the means needful to send forth all the men that the new condition of things demands. Not that the wealth is yet consecrated, but it is in possession, and by the simplest gift of grace from the Lord of the harvest, it will be forthcoming when required. The men have also been raised up. They have not enlisted, but they have been trained. The records of our colleges show now, and have shown, an increased number of students as the years go by. New colleges have been springing up over the country, until the list can be reckoned by scores and hundreds. From these classic halls armies of men march forth, brave, sacrificing, full of life and hope, fitted for missionary endeavors, and able—God helping them—to capture the world for Christ.
There is neither lack of opportunity, money or men for the domain of missions. The trouble is that the men and the means have not as yet been transferred. There is some one thing lacking which no human power can supply.
It is a question of disposition on the part of those who hold the wealth, and of the men fitted for the service. God only is able to deal with this question of disposition successfully. He can do it, and we can help.