Throughout the ages men have struggled and fought and died for places of power. Men have dreamed of world-empire and have drenched many lands in blood in their mad efforts to realize their dream. But "vaulting ambition" never leaped so high as the ordinary facts of our everyday life. The electric switch, the engine throttle, the private office of the great trust, the head of the [560] political machine and the editorial room are places of power surpassing the throne of Caesar or the sword of Napoleon in sheer might.

      But none of these centers of force are comparable to the potential might of the home, of the public school, of the Bible school and of the pulpit. Here is the central power-plant of the world of mind and heart. Here is where men must be energized for time and eternity. Here is where the destiny of men and of nations is decided.

      Bribes are given and taken; cities are sold; elections are bought and Legislatures are bartered; the police force of great cities is corrupted; boodlers and grafters get into places of power and escape justice; thousands of little children are cursed to a factory life; workmen are maimed and crushed; trusts are betrayed; foods are adulterated and thousands are poisoned thereby; men rob the State of millions of dollars of taxes; workmen shirk their work, and a thousand wrongs are inflicted on humanity, all because men lack moral fiber.

      They lack the "salt" of God, therefore they rot and spread moral contagion all about them. They have not the might of God, therefore they are weak, and sordid. They have not been trained in the workshop of God, therefore they make a botch of their job. We have unclean business and unclean politics because we have unclean men. We have places of power being used to oppress, to rob, to debauch and to kill, because they are not filled by Bible-trained men.

      There is but one man that is equal to the demands of to-day, and that man is he who has come into a living, vital relationship with God, through obedience to his Son, Jesus Christ, by knowledge of his word. Faith is still the victory that overcometh the world.

      There is but one man that is expert enough and sufficiently skilled to handle the giant forces of modern life so that they shall be blessings and not curses, and that man is he who has been trained by the word of God. Places of power must be filled by Bible-trained men for the welfare of the race.

      By Bible-trained men is meant more than the mere memorizing of names and "proof" texts and chapters; more than being able to quarrel over the authorship of the Pentateuch or whether Isaiah was twins; or whether Jonah was swallowed by the whale, and we are to swallow both the whale and Jonah; vastly more is meant than being able to glibly recite "the plan of salvation." Men who call themselves Bible-trained men have many times been only gnawing at the bones of God's word and snarling and fighting over them while the people starved.

      By a Bible-trained man I mean one who has comprehended, in some measure at least, the spirit of the Book; who has woven its great foundation principles into the fabric of every-day life; who has assimilated some of its truths; who is trying to live the Christ-life. A man may have his stomach full of food and yet get nothing out of it except the bellyache; so one may be able to quote much Scripture and yet be nothing more than a generator of strife, a maligner of his brethren and a stumbling-block in God's highway.

      Bible-training, as I see it, does not end with chapters and verses and authors, but leads a man into such fellowship with God, through his Son Jesus Christ, that he is the shadow of a great rock in a weary land; a tower of refuge to the oppressed of earth; a light shining upon dark pathways; salt to cleanse and to preserve; bread for the hungry in heart; a well of living water for the thirsty in spirit; strength for the weary and heavy laden; and a doer of good to all.

      A godless home is a menace to the national life. A Christless home is a community weakness. Reverence for marriage, reverence for the laws of the land, reverence for the rights of fellowmen, must spring from a reverence of God. But we can not revere God until we know him. We must make his acquaintance through his Son, Jesus Christ. We find Christ in the Bible, therefore it is imperative that our home-builders be Bible-trained. Great men [561] and great women come only from great homes.

      Next to the home, the public school takes its place as a center of power. Here the soil is prepared and the seed is sown for many a harvest. Here many a life is given its ultimate direction. Every public schoolteacher ought to be a Bible-trained Christian for the good of the land.

      On first thought, it might seem redundant to say that the corps of Bible-school teachers should be Bible-trained, but every man of experience knows that it is not. Multitudes are attempting to teach that which they do not know. They are ignorant of the most fundamental facts of Biblical history. What is far worse, they have not the spirit of the wonderful message they are supposed to deliver. "A Bible-trained teacher for every class" should be our ideal, in order that we may conserve and develop the most vital resources of our country, the boys and girls.

      Dare we suggest that that greatest of all places of power, the pulpit, should be filled by experts in the word of God, skilled workmen in soul-culture? Are not all preachers Bible-trained? The facts are contrary to such a conclusion. A divided church with its confusion and its economic waste and its helplessness in the face of many of the problems of our modern life, reveals a structural weakness.

      This is the "golden age" of Bible study. The libraries of the world are being searched for facts bearing on the ancient writings. Cities buried many centuries are being excavated with the hope that light may be found which will reflect on the Book of the ages. The best trained minds and the most brilliant intellects of the world are searching the records for new wealth of truth. All of this labor is due to the growing fame of Christ. Men want to know more of him. In their perplexities and exalted views of life they are turning to him for wisdom and power. And to the great, sorrowing, struggling world the Carpenter of Nazareth is still calling, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

[CCR 560-562]