VOLUME XX l l MARCH, 1962 NUMBER 2

L'ubli-kcsi niontbl?. rsccpt J II 11 c and A u r u 5 t CCNTRIBUTING EDITORS: I+? :11c fcc!ria:i.ira r i i Pr i l !e i la l~t Reicirnlcd Yuu:ig I'ruplr'r S<,cistits.

Hcv. Rnberr H s ~ b r c h T r u t h r s . Error ~ \ g s t l ~ n Luhbcr i C r i t i q u e

E X E C U T I V E BOARD: Rrv . Hcrm:<n Hoeksem:, Riljle Outlines H x : y I x ~ c r r ik . . . . .. I'rtsidi.~tf Rev. Richard Veldmall r u .~.. .. ..Vice I'rcsidc~~t From thepastor< Study

............... Tar: . f l cem>t~ .% Secittnr, I . C I .Se\y.i Editor Mar? Pxiruz~r . h t , Sccr~tar> 1'11.firIc: H . \ \ - c - t r ~ Currcr~t I u m ~ c l ~ t . . , r I . . . . . . . . . . . I r*~,i.ilrt.~. Edn: r~< l 1.a:::cr:lk . . . . . . :\3>1. 'L'rcw~lr-t Bonliic R> 1s:lr.t I.ibrai i.1t1

E D I T O R I A L STAFF: Davlrl Engrl-ma E~ l~ to r . i n .C l~ i r t Rev. A lv in h111ldcr Associ,atc Edjtor Lam 1.11hbers J1anng111g L d ~ t o r Sancy Liecm,tra - Finanvv Xlanagv:

C; STAFF:

31:cr> Uctb I.III~Iw! 5 . . ... .... Clerk Jl2r> l ' ? < ~ ~ u r . . . .\,>t. Clcrk R0:c.r I1;rt:n I

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All rnoteriol for prrblicxfion should be addressed to MR. DAVID ENGELSMA,

846 Thomas, S. E., Grand Rapids 6, Michigan. Grond Rapids subscribers please forward sub-

rcripticn ducs to BEVERLY HOEKSTRA 1346 Butler, 5. E., Grand Rapids 7, Michigan

Subscribers outside of the Grand Rapids area please forward subrcription dues to

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1Jo!1 11, tzcn l l \\.ir i i r r ~ i Ki-. l r ....... I Sitbscription price: S:00 Prr,\ti Rcarlzr.

J:*nct KIT:>? ne,el.I, Hock,I,,, . 1 S~~bscriptiorl hl.lnagcrs

Second Class Postage pald a t Grand Kapidz. Illichigan

LYNDEN 1 Re. R C Horbach

HYh*NS AND nOLLANDiRS 2 '*. ;. '.'.Id. - 3 0 0 K 5 -

The Uaward Calling. R E 0 Whtlr 4 ' Da d ~ r r ~ t l ' m I i . i. ' Lr

iHE '5-UPPECi2ON AND THE LIFE ( 1 1 ) 5 R r . R Veldrnon

THf EDSERTON SCdOGL SfS'E" 7 Dor-c I H. .%-

GEACON LIGHTS LITERARY CONTEST - THC VASE 9

L2 K-. oel 'HE 5-0:&,* 11

~ ~ o y L ,bb-,- TREE 12

J ,IT L Jar k _ r -ODAY> TRAGEDY

:-i..o.o Lora-r+ik RECLUSE

'.', D En;: rr : ANOINTING OIL

W nofr~ d Koot- THE PWYE? OF MID LlFt

Cr;. H ?i- ,ro T-KE n'E3 .;Inn- YOU HFAk

'r. ' C Ha-boc? OPEN iOKUEA Nf'.','j FRO,' FOP AND AbOUT OUK CllURCHES

Lo Y r b a d

featuring . . .

REV. R. C. HARBACH

The l'rotcstul~t Heformeel Cl~urc l~ in the City of Lylrde~~, \\'ashinpto~i, is locatetl in the Nooksack \';~llcy of \Vl~atcon~ Co~~nty . irt ;tlmut 15 mi1c.s e;lst of t h c t estremc norti- wesl comer of t l~c U.S.A., ant1 four 111iles sol~th of tllc Ca~latliiu~ I~ortlcr. Tli~. nrcii is ;I I~roatl, flat valley cstericlin!: from tltr bay thirty ~niles or so to thr foot-lulls, up agirinst 1~11ich t\vo of ollr f;~milics Iivc. Onc fi~~nil!. lives pnictically Ix~rallel to tht. Hritisl~ Col~~lnbi ;~ 1,ordcr. St;cggr.ringly I~eaut if~~l rno~cntai~ls are all arountl us on :111 sitle*s, c v c ~ ~ to tlrc wcst, \\-l~erc tllr mol~nti~ins of \'an- cotlver Isla~ld ;rtrcI t l ~ e mountains of islnncls ill tlre (:corgiii Straits nlny I>c scsell, so lhnt \vr ;ire ;iln~ost r*~~tircly c:nciosed I I ~ ;I svall of nrot~ntairls, c-xcept for ;I far northe;utc.m tlcmr 1111 i r l Can;~cla. Tl~is Incans that ~lsu;~ll\.. \vhc>li the: arctic winds s\s7rcp clown to\varcl 115. they strike tlre ~ n o u ~ ~ t n i ~ r s allove 11s ant1 nrc \lru~ttctl 0111 over Ielahe~ anel into hlo~l- t;rn;~. So that \\,it11 t l ~ e \vom~ air brol~gllt ill Ijy the Sortlr Y;icific C u r r e ~ ~ t fro111 Japan \vc I I S I I ; I I I ~ Iri~vc: niilcl \vi~ite!rs. 1311t \v1lc11 it11

arctic norih(.ast n1i11ci blows, it pours in throupli that door i l l the mount;rin ;ind \\-e I~avc* \\inter ;IS llad ;IS nny\vherc! 'I'llc nor- I I I ~ I tti1i1t.r ~\rc;~ll~er for 11s is ri1i11, ri1i11, so I I I U ~ I I rain t l ~ ; ~ t the groulid almost ftaeb lik:. cl~~ivksa~~tl undcr tire ;rntl foot. If we l1;1c1 the s p a c ~ ~ \\,I. cor~ld I~eco~lrc poetic a l ~ o ~ l l I I I I ~ .

rain!

Tllc City elf Lynclcn is, roundly, (11 2,500 popt~lation. It lri~s t\vo pr~hlic schools ;md Ibur C11risti;tn sclloc~ls, two of which nr,. gramlllnr schools, will1 one junior 11igl1 ;~nd ;I high school. l'herc arc four Christiiln Re- foniled Ch~~rchrs , t\vo Ilcfonnetl Cl~urchrs (of Amcric;~), tnw Baptist churr41es, ;I

hlethodist, an iisse~~ibly of Cod, a 1io111;rn C;~tholic, a Gospel IIall, a Kingclo~~r Il;i!I i ~ n d ;I C l ~ r i s t i ; ~ ~ ~ Scicncc ~.citcling roo111. Thcrc r15ecl to Ilc all u~lincorporatrd group calling itself "l'rotc.stant Rd'omicd," but \vhicl~ no

longer exists. I-lo\vcver, the Protest:uit Re- forrr~ed Chi~rch is still here.

Perllitps a word al,ol~t thc city is in ortler. There ale numerous note\vorthy buildings tliro~rqhc~ut to\\^^, such as, the \'F\V, Ca~rcl's Clul~, r21nrrica11 Idc~giori, \I;~bonic I laU, Eagles' Ilall, CiQ IIi~ll, \\.it11 police .mcI lire cle1,,~rbnrnts, local rnedical crnlcr, III.\\~S-

1);tper wctekly, I'ost Olfice, Chris t i ;~~~ Hctst Ifomc., City Park, Con~munity Swi~nlr~ing 1'001, anel air port (not for jch).

The m;rjor indr~strics in tile areit are d;tiry- ing, berry filmling ant1 chicken fnrnii~~g. 13ut in town we have t\veIve g;~s stations, fivt. I~ardwarct stores, three barber shops, tllrq: drug storcbs, i~ntl ttvo c ; ~ c l ~ of the follo\ving: stationery ant1 book shop, super markcts, bakeries, I>;IIAS. dry cleanc~rs : I I I ~

lumhc:r yards. Tl~ere is ;I dc-part~ncnt store, ;I t n ~ c h g concern, ;I five-&-ten, caftas, 'I'\' stort6s, furllitt~re atorcs, i t ~ ~ t o tle;llers. ;I J . C. I'enn)., a dairy, c;Lnncury . I I I ~ a Roribt.

011r ro~~gregr~lion nlcets in lhc. F.O.E. 1 I d . \vhich oripiually was the site of a nor- mal bchool, \vhich later moved to Belling- 11x11 at the prc-sr~~t location of the \Vestern \\'ashington Collegc. Five of our f;rmilies h.~\-e Lyr~den atldrcsses, a~ id tluc-c 11;lvc Slln~n\ addrcssrs. Our rncrnbcrshil~ I~iis fort).-o~c \CIIIIS ilnd hvelity C O I I I I I I I I I ~ : ~ ~ ~

nlrn1l1c.r~. Of the li~ttcr, seven arc t1:tirymc.n (two of who~n are still in high scl~ool). One 111ern1)cr is ;In :~ttto meclx~nic ;inel Ixrry f;lr~ncr. Anolh'r is :I gas s t ; ~ t i o ~ ~ opcr:~tor; nl~othcr a retired farr~rer and tvorkinp I~;mely- I I I ; I ~ : itntl still another is en~ploycd ;it ;III

al,attoir. Orlc of our members grarluatcd froin hig11 school I;tst Spring ;md fou~~t l cln- ploy~r~ent at thr C.F.11. in Gra~ld RapicL\. ;\licllijian. I4c.r mc.mhersl~ip II:E 1>er11 tmus- fcrred to our IIudsonville Ch~lrch. I\'(. have t\vo c;itechisln classes, a Y. P. c1a.s~ and an atlull class. Fourteen of our chilclren arc in Cluistinn scl~ools. \i7e 11.1vc six pre-school age children.

BEACON LIGHTS OIIC

The manse, \\ll~ere pastor, wife ;rrrtl t\vo children cI~\~\.c.ll in haply, often noisy. con- fusion. is a four bed-room house, \vi!ll :I

partially equipped cl;~ss-roonr in the I>;rsc- ment. The mtnsc is a beautiful white Irouse \\+th hlrquois roof arrtl sparkles like ;I st;ir anlong the Ilcst. Adjoining our property are spacio115 lots srhcre we h o l ~ so111c. cluy itr

erect our own cl~urch t~uiltling. Ours is a church \\here not the salvi~tion

of 111311, but the sovereig~ity of Got1 is first; ~vlierr 11ot conditional theoloyc)., I~u t cov-

c.n;rnt thrtllogy is taught; \\rlrcrt. not only tlre sc:irlct thread of atonement, but Scrip t~lre's goldcn tlrreatl of ;rbsol~rtc. ~redrstin;~- tion is prc;rched; where never conrlnon grace, 111lt gloriol~s particulnr gracc i\ procli~imed; where the Ileitlelbcrg C;rtecIrism is preached, titt~glit, 1ie;rrd and lovetl; \vlrerc the preach- ing is in Iinmrony \rid1 the Scripture ~rntl tile Rc.forr~~ecI Conftsssions, irnrl where, \rrc trust, snnre of God's eltrt in this part of IIis \~inr.y;rrd :Ire fed with the Brcwd of Life, ir1111 gro\i9 to spiritual ~ n a n h d in His grace.

HYMNS AND HOLLANDERS

r\ldlo~~glr I know the Ilyn~n rluc.stion is a \\,eighty tiratter \vith our younq p r v ~ ~ ~ l r , I an1 sonie\vhat \urprizetl :it the \ilence ill their r;rrh. Po5sibly ~ O I I .lrr just sittil~g by n\v;riting thc: appear;inct? of ;~nt~tller's position or perliaps S>iiocrs final clccisio~~? If so, let Iiie erlcotlragc. yo11 not to sta~rtl idly by but pen yotlr opinion ant1 p1111!isl1 it in Becrco~r Lights.

I In thc meantinie . . . .. Surely the introduction of I~ymns inlo ot~r

c l i ~ ~ r c l ~ services \\rould he sometlring alto- gether novel. Evrryonc knours tlii~t! I'nst dclxites at Classis ; u d Synotl at~tl pl.c!sent &ctssions in homes itntl on (Ire shec.1 rlc.:rrly esh~blish this f:~ct. This iloc.s 1101

i~irply I~o\\rc.\.er that we are necc.ssarily sar l~nfaniilinr \\-it11 1iy111ns. \Ve Irnve contitctctl tlic hylnnal in the Christi,m schools i~nel i l l

the homes of relative-s and friends. Religio~rs records ;uld ratlio progrilms Iravca, to SOIIIC

tstent, s\vept hymns into our hearts. Uc:- sides, special propr;uiis of some sort or :in- othrr have seen us hon~ewnrd I)ountl wit11 another hynm ringing in o ~ u car. .411tl occ;isionally muily of 11s have gi~tIrt:l.t!d to- gether a l ) o ~ ~ t the family pi;rno ;ind "liftc.11 !Ire litl": \vc sang hymn aftcbr hylnn lo ollr Irc.,uts contcnt. Yet I t h i ~ k it c;ur ~ i d t ~ l y I)c sirid that 1l)mna have not e~ljoyr-tl nu opt-n

pl:rce in our circles ;IS sc~ch. 'I'liey l~nvc: IJC~!II sorne\vliat t1ist;rsteful to us and \rle have \,ic.\vetl them rather suspiciously.

Even rxiorc so, tlic finill atloptit~n of lryr~ns t\lill I)r so~rretlring ;tltogetllrr ~~ro i~nta ino~~s . It will necessitate :unong ni;lny other things: thct i~ltc-ring of an article iu our Clrrlrcl~ Ortlcr, rrcnstitrg our prisc-book, ; ~ n d last I I I I ~ not least, convinci~rg ;I gootlly ~rnu>l)t~r of our people he value of :I Itymn.

One of our greatest co1rcc:rns s h o ~ ~ l d I)e !ltc "clia~r~e" to\vard Iiymr~s.

It nust not be forgotterl tll;it nrc Irave ;tlso made history \\-hen it co~ncs to this a~~l~jc.ct. 'l'lierc! arc tlefi~rite rc.nsolls \vlry sotric of our mc~~ibers oppose tly~rrns so forcefully. \\'ithout raising vye-l)ro\\~s pleasc ( ! ) I \\.otlltl likc to suggest that \ ~ t . ill !Ire piwt Ilavt. more or less frownetl on h~mns . .Ant1 \vh!.? H:rve \\.e jr~clgetl tlictn to be great tlc- part~tres from the "rml" song? Have \\,r consitleretl the111 tlre p rod~~ct of Armininns and r\rminian tho~~ght? \Vl,er~ other cliurcl?- r s atlopted, or c~rrtint~ed to atlopt hyn~ns, tlici \rre then i~n~iiediately cltiit~i this to l)c proof of ;I depar t~~re in the wrong direction? And this question yet: I1:lvc we perhaps tturght o~~rselves, hy i~nplication or sugges- ion ant1 then \\.itl~out clistinction, tliat Irym~rs were vnlr~c:less nncl prccnrious?

I for one ;urn not s q r i z e t l at forceful objections voiced against h e introduction of lr>rn~rs into our church scnrices; "echoes" al\vays hnve ;I \vay of returning. \\'c shpl?- liavc not lte.en n hymn-singing dcnomina- tion. IVhether this is praise-\vorthy or not is another matter.

Two BEACON LIGHTS

A~rotl~cr of o t~r gre;~te\t corlccLrns should t l ~ e "liy~n~l" introd~~cc~tl.

hli~y \vc ~nake ;I few co~nments on our I'saltrr'? Tl~is prrcious book has Iwen the objc.ct of mnch praise. It is a song I>ook \vMch contoins o111v u select ~\urnl~er of songs; ~ I I o s ( ~ I ~ fro111 I I ~ ; I I I ~ , 11ia11y S ~ I I ~ S ~ l ~ i c h i ~ t olle timc \vcrc aHni~t in tht. American cllurch-worltl, chosen 1)s a special con~mittee \vl~osc tiwk it \v;w to g ; ~ h c r singing material for 11sc in the \vorsl.~ip service-s. 11: is \vort11 rc.~ncrnhering tl~nt tliesc songs afloat in tllc* churchr\ tvcre I)asc.d on the Psalll~s of the Iloly Script~~res. Anti there werc. others of course! Co~lsecl~~e~~tly we are j~lstified hl \;tying that the so-cnllc~cl "P.~;ILII" c~cjoyccl wide spread use I,y tlic. people of God in I I I ~ I I I ~ sc~\tit>~l\ of tl i i~ country and otller I;~ncls.

Our opinio~~ of t l ~ e ['salter ;tlso Iias brcn tr;cditior~:~lly lrigl~, t:vell tl~clugh of Intc wc 'are csposin): snlne of llcr fr;~ilties: cllic:f alnong \vlucli is her lil)eri~l vc.rsification. ! takr this to Ille;ln tI1;tt the song-~vritcr took grwt lil)crty, s11c11 as colnplrtc tlcpilrt~~rc from thv test of scriptr~re ; ~ t times, in order to versify. flcncc! vrrsification quite nnh~rnl- 1y I)ri~~gs ;11>o11t 111orc-or-less of :I poctic com- nlcntilry of thc scriph~ws as \vibU. :i~~cl this rncans thiit the "l'saln~s" \vcS sing arc al\v;~ys only a ~netrici~l version of the inspired I'si~lms of Holy \17rit. Olrviously thcsreforc. ollr I's.cltrr'b \ongs ;Ire i~lrc*i~cly a clcp:lrt~trr. frclm the literal text of Gocl's Wortl.

\VIq. thcr~ insist on the Psalter? Of ccr~~rsc~. t l ~ c I'salter's songs are still sows based or1 tl~c. \Vortl of God n f l ~ i c l ~ \v:~s spc.cific;+lly usccl ;mcl di'signed for singing. 1 havc. always seen 1n11cl1 viilne in ~naintain- iag this, ;1nc1 this should give such songs tl~c. "eclg~!" over i ~ l l otliers. Xlany ch~~rcht~s. beyontl doubt, haw rccog~lized this I~asic ancl Ixautiful virti~e of tlre "psalms," in spitr of ~iiinor frailties. for no less tllan nint. .4n1ericnn a11d C~~lat l ian dcno~nin:~tiolis soi~ietimt. ago j~intly participatecl in conl- posing thr Psalter from \vIfich we l~rescntly sills in our \vorsl~ip services. .4nd aftcr it$ p~ll)lici~tio~~, scvcsral otl~cr c h ~ ~ r c l ~ gronl)z ;doptvtl it for 11sc in their cliurchcs.

: \II~ thc.11 t l~r re arc hymns, thonssnds of the-rn. They vary considerably in qunlity

and kind. Thr \ -a t majority are sirllply the product of s\vcet thoughts in a CI1rjstia11 heart. Some of tllesr convey cavdin;ll tloc- trines ti~ugllt in t l ~ c Christian cliurcl~ sucl~ as: redemption, creation, providrncc, s;cnc- tific;ction ancl glorification. Tllink 01 several! "\\'h;~t ;I frientl \vc. h;cvc UI Jesus." "l.low great Thou art" and "Take my life auci let it be." hnd h e r e are many special occasion songs, here are hvo: "D\vell in me 0 blessed Spirit" ant1 "FTe arose." N a h ~ r d y these songs do 1101 irtte~i~pt to versify t l ~ i . very t c ~ t of Cod's \\'ord, but they surely convey hrautiful truths \vl~icl~ stir the. rightcso~~s soul. \Vc [lo not sing tl~cse in 0111- \vorsl~ip scn.ices (nor :IIII I iisking that tllcsc- I>(. put on a list fnr that usr) hilt somc- of thc!~n e~npl~atically sped of doctrines energc.tici~lly tilltgl~t in o ~ ~ r churches. 'fhink for not. 1110-

nlent of thr coveni~nt realit?. esprc.sseci ill

that Song, "\\'h;~t n frierld \ve hare in Jezl~s," or the sunlc trutl~ in, "Dtcen it1 rne 0 I~le\sc.tl Spirit. gracious teacher, friei~rl Ili- vine."

Other li>-n~ns are prollabl>- more scriptural in that they espress exact phrases from the \\'art1 of God. Rrllect just ;I monic.nt on those I~cauticts: "\\'e I~ilvc. an anchor tl~at keeps the soul" or 'Thctre were ninety and nine." .\nd there are 111any nlorc!

Evcn if ;I goodly nu111l1c.r of prrserit-thy hymns esprrss ~ ~ n t n ~ t h s , this d0c.s not ;111d sl~ould not ruin the lot.

Co111p;rring "fnithful hynns" and "psitltcr songs," it sccrns ;xi if they essentially differ vcry little, escept ;IS earlier stated: tllr lat- ter are resting upon n portion of script~cro ticsigned for singing. Both attempt to rel:~y the test of Gml's \Vord, I ~ u t both tlepi~rt from that exact trkst \\711rn they versify. Conscqnently there is an clen~cnt of poetic coinmentun to 1)otIl hyriins ,and psal~ns. Is that serious? K;~turally not, for a song can- not al)idr otrly with t l ~ c very worcls of the Rilde ;lntl yrt bc a song.

Shol~ld we also find ronni in our sirigil~g for those I>eiiutiful hymns \vlucll eh-prcsa those rich ant1 glorio~~s tnths taught in orlr ch~~rches, even though these hyn~ns do not express literal portions of God's \\'orclf Of course. and let's also call these faithful I~y~nns.

Ko\v wllat Iiyn~ns would we be siuging in our sen7ices if our Synod approves of this

BEACON LIGHTS Three

change? \\'ell that is a gwtl question. i\s

things st;untl I I I I ~ t l~rrc ;1pIic:ws tc~ IIC ;I

~novemcnt in 21 b;~d direction. For in thc: fmt pl;~ce, it seenis stre \till definitcaly shy away fro111 the alrei~dy-existing 11y11rns - II>TIIUS cornmo~>ly sung in the clr~~rcll-world. And in tht. second place, it sccrns \\.c will lay much stress on ,i\.ing birth to 11yrn11s r ~ l ' our own. 1 111ny Ix mistaken in tliis j11d4- ment but tl~is seems to 11e t l ~ e tlircaction i l l

\r*hich the 111min 111attcr is rnobing. Of coursc this is a far cry from the. desirc of t l~c consistory \vIiich origir~lally o\,c.rt~rred (IIII.

S>lind (vi ;~ Cl;tssi!. Eitst) iu~tl esprc!ssctl, "i l l

recognition of the corr~rr~ort rise of 11y111ns 1,y our people and the often cspressed tlesirc. for their IISC in our church sc.rvicrs, \\res ap- peal to your body to consicler thee u~r~ttvr and itc!opt mrilstlrcs cn;~bling their use i l l

our churcl~cs" ( it:ilics ~rrinv: ;i.nr. ). Our o\vri h > ~ i ~ n s ?

I Iyn~ns itnd Hollrmdcrs! I do not. deny the possibility of ii t i ~ l e ~ ~ t

;~lo~rg tl~csc li~ics in our churchcrs, but this shouldn't move 11s to compose our on.11 'privc~te" songs of praise. And they \\.oultl I,e private indeed! This certainly \vol~ld be* ;I vtaql da~igerous v c ~ ~ h ~ r c . 'The FIollantlrrr, with exceptions, were never known to be I1y1nn-\\-ritcrs. I I ~ l i e v e a study of h?mn- o l o ~ y \\ill sl~o\\. t l ~ e pence-lovirrg Anglo- Saxons were gifted along tl~cst. li11c.s. This 11nic1ue talent wils theirs; wc: dorit hrive evcrytl~ing.

\Vh;it \\?ill happen? I supl,osc. er~ch of 11s hi~s his hopes . . . . his fears . . . . and 11is desire: to sh~g the pr;L.es of ZIOS.

rev. a. mr~lder

The Upward Calling R. E. 0. \CIIITE - Ecrtlri1;rns - 10" l)p. - $3.50

T11e C'ptcnrrl CuNirrg compl~*tes R1.v. \\'hite's trilogy, the other t\vo I)ooks 11ei11.c T l t ~ Strnt~ger of Gulflee (Bc.trcor~ I. igl i t ,~, Junc-July 1961) and Benerrth tlrr Cri~s.~ of ]esrr.s. One \vho has apprecii1tr-d [lie Baptist minister's stylish siniplicity in ~) re \* io~~s writ- ings will not be disappointed in this book. The gra~ltl topic of the Christian life is set forth \\it11 the clarity and poetic vigor \r~hicli are the genius of Regin;lltl Ern[-st Oscar \\'hitc.

Scripture's prc.sentation of the C1iristi;in life inclutles marly clen~ents n ~ ~ d :~spcscts. It views the bcliever ;IS an i~thlrtc, ;I pilgri~~r, 311d even 8s $1 sli~ve. The net\. Iil;m in Christ loves, hates, fights and enjoys. In :ill of this, the individual chilcl of Got1 is ci~llc:tl, \vitl~ ;I high calli~lg, to be holy i ~ r ~ d [:c-rfrct ;I.\ the Caller is holy and perfctct. \\'it11 un- compromising rigor hut \c.ith i~ivigoraling appeal, author \\'bite po i~~ts e ~ r l t I l c ~ \ c r 111at calling must he aussvered hy ;I 1ru111a11's life. JII ;I murvellous section on love, Ire \\-rites, "Love's thinking, in fact, rtrnol~nts to a rilrt.

i~~ tc l l rch~r~l charity, that will sicy to no nran contcnlptt~ously 'Thou fool!' . . . thi~t deliglrts ir: ciisc.overing Inorc. fi~vo~~rnhlc ir~terprcto- tion iincl m s p e ~ ~ d s its verclict urltil proof forces conviction, that searches out explana- tions that quicken sympnthy-\vithout excus- ing \vrong-and \vhcr~ the worst is known, is gcr~tlc. with hr1111;in failings, remembering its own." Here ns elsen.here, the Christian must \vince as that wl~ich ought to I,c rcve;~ls the pititill niiture of that which so often is. But the ~~l t imate vercfict upon the bigh calling ciin only be that it is, irresistibly, an up\vard olle. \\'ith love as wit11 the otlic~r virh~cas. tl~c!re is cndt~rance for '%by tlie unbre;ikablc p;ltience of Christ it never fails."

\lore clearly ~11an before, Wl~ite gives cvi- tlc.ncc, of basic wc~nk~~c~sst.~, I~o\vcver. I Ir speaks of the co~lditior~s of salvntio~~ \vhich "itrc \\ithin every marl's reach" and s11g- ~ t a ~ t s , :is the principle ilpon which \\.c b;~sc! otlr love to al l men, that "w~ch love.. . is the practical expression of our belief in the Creator of a11 men. . . who. . .become fel- Itr\\~-rncmIxrs of the body of Christ, breth- rc:n, for \vhon~ Christ died." Di.r.c riling rc.ad(.rs \\ill note that such infretl~~e;rl st:~te- 111ents directly contradict \\'hi e's own ;~\,owcd beliefs that the si1111er i, s;tvecl "~~evc.r l ~ y Iris own effort" ;tnd tl1;11 " : L- are those \\rho are pitrt of ;I "dyi.irry '..:irld," \\rhich c ~ u l d never be tlie case if Chr:.;t diet1 for 2111. d. j. e.

Four BEACON LIGHTS

REV. R. VELDMAN

THE R E S U R R E C T I O N AND THE LIFE (11)

"jcsr~s sclicl rct~to hrv, 1 (IIII tl~c, reslrrrec- too. 7'rttc.. Scriptt~re c11x.s tlot p r (4c~ to /ion n11c1 /Ire life: /I<. t11crl I>c,lic:cct/~ ir~ spc;tk of tllc "clratl" \vllrn rcfrrring to those Jle, thorrg11 Irc rcerc rleacl, !/ct sl~all IIC. who tl(.p;trted in Christ. !\'cbverthelc.s\. h e lire: :\rltl rc;hosoeaer licrtll crlltl br- Bil)le docs say: "thot~gh \ve \\.ere clentl," ant! liecetl~ it1 Ale sl~c~ll ~cc:~er (lit,. Rcl2ces/ Jesus Ilin~self says: "Lazan~s is dead." thotr tltis?" Ho\\.cvcr, it is lrtlC in only a very rvl;ttive

I%clic.vest tlrotl his? sen,?. tllat file tlepartecl s;~ixlts arc tlead. "I an1 the. rcsttn-ertion itncl the life." -1'0 .-\chtitlly, only thc body is dead. atltl the

!illo\v .\le is to krro\v t l ~ e Fal11i.r. To set! I>otly is only p;trl of man. \\'e are ~ O I I I -

\Ic is to src the Father. .dl that I~elongs poqctl of body ;ultl soul. \lorc~over. cvct~ of to life is it1 SIC. alone. I f you hnvc. Slc o or^ li;~vc life eve-rl;tsting. I ha\-r po\ver over dcittlr in c5vcry ;ultl ally fornl, hpiritrtnl ant1 I~hysici~l. I spca;tk, ant1 ;I throng tto lnan c:u1 1l11111lwr froln it11 natiorls and tril~cs a11d tongtles hear 111s voicc: unto faith ;tncl salvil- tiot~. I spt!:t!i ;tfinul at~tl all that ;Ircb in tile graves hear Sly voice ;ulcl come I'ortll. the zootl to t l ~ e rc~sttrrectiot, of lifc, thr evil io

tlrc resurrection of da~n~r;ttion. 13t~licvest tl1(111 ll~is? r\tld belic~vcsst thou t11i.r: "EIc. that Ix.-

lievcth in Slr, thougll 11e \rere tlcatl. yet

that I)ociy hvo tllingi n~itst he suitl. I t is de;td for only a short time. It \ \ r i l l 1101 rt:- mniu ill 111:tt ;Srllt*some. forl)iclditlg gr;l\.e. "Thong11 he \viare dead, yct shall ho livc." Henet,. it lies in that grave ;IS a seed t11;it Is sonn i t 1 the soil, and it is waiting for the day of Christ to I.c.;tppear in :I new. 11c:avc.n- I!., spiritual fon~l. That is the joyfrtl and rest-ci\.inq hope of all t l ~ c saints. Tllcre- fore tile Bible prcfcrs to speak aho~ct the cleat11 of the rigltteolrs as n "sleep" n ~ ~ t l the righteou~ tleacl ;IS those "\vha slec-11 in Christ."

shall he livc~: And \\fl~osoever liveth attcl In \ t i l l ;tnolhrr ;und v r n rc.i~l sensrs, ho\v- l~rlic+vefi~ in \It. shall ~lc~vcr cLic"? rvrr. tl~is ti not t n ~ r a1 itll . Tliosc. \vho

\\'e say of tl~cm \vllo tlepartccl i l l Christ: clcpartcrl in Je~u.; ;ire not tlc;~cl; they livc a:; IIr or she. 111s father or motl~er is tlend. That's tntr, of cottrsr. 'l'lic?y arc. )lo 1ongc.r wit11 11s. \\'r S;I\V thcir I)odics clcscc:~~tl intt) the firave. it prry to \vot~lls at~tl all t l : ~ po\vcr of di>solution. h'o longer C;III we eat anti tlrink wit11 them, \\1;11k atttl tiilk \\.it11 t1iet11. They ;ire gone, complelcly and for- ever gone, from home ;lnd work itntl chrtrcl~. The-y are dc;ttl. That's itccording to Ihc Bible

they tlcver lived I)c.fore; thcy are far Illore a h ~ ~ tl1i111 you : I I I C ~ I. JC~SIIS sikys: "\\'IIo- soelrr liveill and I)c.licveth it1 Sle s11;111 ltcver clie."

Eelic.vc.st tf~ort tllis? 0 0 0 0

"Ile tlt;rt believe-th ul Slc. . . . . ." If \ve some\vl~itt understitnd what fititll

re.dy is and does. shall also rmdcrstit~lcl

BEACON LIGHTS Fiae

that it is t l l r orlly way to conic to eternal life in J c s ~ ~ v Christ. F;titl~ is not ol~ly ;I heal~tiful \vny, as though there u~ight II~IVI. l~een another. It is thr only possil>lc way.

\\'hat is faith? 1s it mew assent of the nahlri11 ~ ~ l i l i t [ to

the t n ~ t l ~ , of Scripture? -n~ere i~~tt,llc-ctual iigreement \vitll the teachings of Iloly \\'rit? You believe that there is a God. You iire I I ~ .\theist. Does that 111:lke you ;I Iirliever? Yo11 belicvc that Christ livrd; t11;11 1 .1~ is the Son of God in the flesh; that I-lo sr~fferccl ; I I I ~ died, row again ;;uncl is no\v sc;~tc.d on the right hi~ntl of Gotl. Sow are you n br- liever? By I I ~ stretch of t l ~ e imagil~;~tio~~! So yo11 belicvt. d ~ a l thcrc is a C:ocl, and n Cllrist. \\'l~at havc you that the clcvil does not have? I helieve tli;~t tlus m3y well be stressed. Too many scc.111 to I);~se too niuch on Inere hratl-kno\\?ledjic rather tl1i111 ilu~cr life and the true experience of love. Heil will be fir11 of people \vho believed in tllat sense. You nlay knotv the Bible Ily heart i111d havt. ;I head full of Rrfor~~lctl tloctrinc and still I)c forever lost. Your Ilopes will have to rest on firmer grol~rld than that.

Is faith this: that I receive Cluist wit11 i t l l

my heart, cling to IIitil, trust in I1il11, 1c;t11 on Hini for time arlcl eternity? Yes, ol' course, thi~t is faith, that is bvlic.ving in Jesus.

Even so, Inore muht 11e said, lest wc set.

faith only as an activity of: lllalr i t l l c l attri- hute to man \\-hat belongs to Gotl ;~lonc.

In essence, faith is the spiritual Iiontl, the lifc of Christ Hiu~self ;IS it n1;lkcs us O I I ~ .

the Lord Jesus, like [lie br;ulcl~ i s I I I I I '

with the vir~c. In its operation, f i ~ i t l l is t 1 1 t s

spiritual ;~ctivity of that bond, the ne\v lifc in action, \i.hereby Itre cling to Cllrist and put all our confidence in Him i~lo~~ra. T ~ L I S we may spc-;tk of f ; ~ i t l ~ a~ id helievil~g I I I ~ I ~ I I ;IS tve speak of sight ; I I IC~ seeing, sl~icll ant1 smelling, scwd and growing plant.

.ind all of Cod fro111 beginning to end. IIe must gi\,e the life itself, the k~c~~lt) : , thc. power to I,elieve, the spiritual union \ i i l l~ Christ in regeneration, our spirihlal resur- ration from the dead. And He 11l11st Ixing that seed to gro\vtl~ ;IIICI fruition: thnt new life to conscious activity. Theo, and o ~ ~ l y then, do tve believe. In this w;~y Gotl re- ceives all the glory. In this way fz1it11 is not our act whereby we 111nl;e Christ ollrs, but

Ilis act \vl~c.reby He 111akes us His. Anrl tl111s f:litli is not in any \vay thc carlse of c.tc.rnal life, Iwt its f n ~ i t and m;l~lifcstation.

Therefore Jesus speaks xs He does: "\trho- soever livetl~ and believeth." Ilon't turn this ;wound. Believing is not first: living is Erst. You don't live beca~lse you I~elicvca; yo11 1)rlirve bec;irlse ymt live.

O O O O

\\'hat ; ~ I ) I I I I ~ those \vl~o live z~ntl 1)elievc i l l Jesus?

Christ Hi~nself says: tllcy "shall Ilever die." 'The Lord uses a doublc ncpalive here to express Himself in the strongest possible. wily. Shall nevrr not tlic! In 0111, I i~ng~~agc o ~ ~ l y the st~~picl or careless use doul)lc rlega- lives. Our tc.achers never weary of tellinq their pupils that a double negative makes ;I ~~ositive ;inti h a t they rnust, tllerefore, rlcver colnnlit this gr;t~~l~netic;~l sin. It cu~ulcl ;IS well be reasonecl, it seems to lnr, that a tlouble nrgi~tive is just twicc ;r, strong ;I.%

;I single negi~iive. Be tl~ilt as it In;ky, Jesus 11ct.e uses ;I double ~~c~gative. ' l ' l~~y shall 1lc.vcr never tlic!

colnfort as here we witlk through t l ~ c valley of tlarkness to\ \v~~d our tlivinely set rcntlez- \.clus \\,it11 cle;1t11 and gr;~vcl \Vc. sh:~Il never die! Hoar c;ul we? \\'e have "everlasting life," and c~verlasting Illcans unentli~~g, tm- I)roken, clocs it not? Conscious life \\it11 Cod is our portion witho~~t entl. 'l'Il:~t can ntsvrr be lost. On the contrary, \rre zo f r o ~ i ~ strength to strength, from lifc to life, frorll glon- to glory. until wr appear \vithor~t hpo~ or blelllish before our God in Zion. No\v \vc livr h>- faith i l l Christ. \\'hen \\,I.

t lir we enter at once into the preli~ninary fulfilment of our hope. I~lrtaltly! \r-ithol~t ollr moment of death, wherein \ve shall stontl unclotllcd. And prest~tllly \rfc sllall Ic glorified perfectly, accwding to body and \out, in the blessed day of our Savior's ap- pearing.

'I'herefore. too: "Tho~~gll he were dead, yet shall he live." In a sense we ;nust die, of coursr. This body nit~st be changed. The rl;~tural must becon~e spirihlal; the e;lrthiy I~e;~venly. Corn~ption ~ n t ~ s t put on incom~p- tion; ~nortulity irnmortnlity. However. that cleat11 is I>ut a moment. The hody is only t l ~ c seed that is sown. While it reposes in the grave, YOU \rill he in heaven, with G I ~

BEACON LIGHTS

;?lltl \\,itli CMst : ~ n d all the ;~ngr-ls nntl dc- pertcd s;rints. I'reser~tly your I,otly, too, \ d l I )c s raisctl to a glory it llever k r ~ ~ w or could Irirvc k~lo\\.n apart from the I~lcsseci \\:orcl 11~-eo11>c lIi*slr. * I ' l 1 ( 8 1 r ill1 tvill I)(. IiFc irrrcl l~lcsseclnrss forevc.r ant1 ever.

E 0 0 O

'Uc.lic~vcst t l i o ~ ~ this?" Xot, I>elievest thou? That is important

loo, of course. Ilowc\fc.r, tlrtit's not what Jrsus says. T l ~ ~ r c . conr~.s n ti111e when that should I,c estal)lislred.

Iht , I)clic!vest tl~ou tllis:-' Thirt Jesus is the res~lrrection ant1 the life. .Ant1 that thosc \vl~o believe in Ilim sh;~ll live, thoug11 they 11ca tlcncl; in fact, shall nctver tlic..

-Then \vc havc: comfort, do we not?

Colnfort \rith rc.,pcct to ntlr lovcd o ~ ~ r s . who hi~ve dictl in t11~ir Lord. It's ;I terrihlv thing, tvhcn the dc;rtl mtrst bury tllc deatl. Holvever, \vhen the living l)ury tho living t l~e 1):lsic notc s l ~ o ~ ~ l t l b r our rcs(~rrrc.tiol~ hope iuld joy.

T ~ L - I I , too, \\'c have comfort for oursrlvc.~, even in t l ~ e face of cleat11 and grave. Tllen we can look over and beyond these to the glory laid a\vay for us and rejoice with the church of wcry age in thosc mighty \vords of Jol,:

"I kno\r~ tllt~t 111). Rctlrc.~llcr livetll, ;111d that I-Ic shall stand i ~ t the latter tl;~>- up111

the c.nrt11: AIICI tho11g11 aftcor my skin I \ ~ O ~ I I I \

destroy this I~otly. scat in 111). flrsh sl~oll 1 see Cod."

PENCILS and CHALK THE EDGERTON SCHOOL SYSTEM

'I'he tir~lc i. S:OO on ;I cold \vi~rtcy nlorn- ing. Thc schc~ol l~llses liirve I)ccn ot~t for ovcr hvo I~ours picking I I ~ I the clrilciren from thc arcs s~~rrnul~cling Eclgerton, hlin~lcsota. l'11c.y no\cr dcI~osit thc41. precio~~s cargo at the vario~~s schools in tlic town. The l a s ~ ticposit is ill tlrc Frcr. Chris t i ;~~~ Scllool. It is s~r~ull, t\\,e~lty-t.iglrl pupils all lold, Ilr~t i t i. vcn7 prccior~s i111c1 mtiny sacrifices ~ t ~ u s t I)c 111at1c t l~ ;~ t it.; tlool-s nray rc-~niiin open. Tlrc! chilclrcm are rural; circh carries Iris o\vn 11111cl1 1,os. . , I hc. I I ~ I I I I C - , Frcx. Clrristii~ll Sd1oo1, t l e s ~ ~ r v e ~ an c\plantrtion. l'llc wort1 "free" n1eaIrs this school is frc-cs fronr cl i~~rch control. The scllool is gover~letl 11). a society of Reforl~~ed people. Prcsend)., all society 111e1r1bcrs are

Protesttint Refor1l1ecl; hence, all subject mat- ter is tdr~ght from ir Protestant lleformcd point of vie\\,. The prerequisite for being .I me~nber of this society is subscripti011 to the .l'hrec I'onlls of Unit)..

'The purlmse of my article is to csplain the Iristor>-, thc life, the ndvantnges, and fr~turc of the Free Christian School at Ed- zerton, .\linncsota.

Tlre history of the Edgerton school q-stc111 must Ije divided into two periods, namely, tlie pre-scllisnl and post-sclrism periods.

Thr pre-sclrism history .\tarted back in 1940 during the pastorate of the late Rev. \\'n~. \'erhil \vhen ti school society wtu fonucd by the me~nbers of the Edgertoll Protmtnnt Heformed Churcl~. During the

BEACON LIGHTS Seven

pastorate of Rev. Gerrit Vos efforts \yere put forth to erect a sclrool I~~tilding, 11111 the society muld not see its way clr;~r. In 1948 under the pasto~ite of Rev. Peter Ur Boer the society decidctl to 1)uild a scl~ocll. It i.s a brick building consisting of h i s rooms, i . ~ . , two classrooms, it11 office, :I ft~r~iitcc. rootn, ant1 two I~;ttlrootr~s. The right large lots surrounding the building nffortl more t11i111 adecluate playjiro~tnd. Ittstructio~~ is givm in gr;ides one tluo~tgh eight. Thr CUSI enroll~iletrt \\;is bct\r,c.r.n fifty ;~ncl sixty htudent.. A bus \\*as I)oi~ght to sol\lc trmw- portatiot~ probletns.

The itrstn~ctors fro111 1950 to 195.1 \vc.rta John \\I. \-is, principal, Beth Ilr Bocr ant1 Johephinc SIrs~nnn, the other teachers ill rcS>prcti\tc years. John \!'. Vis ;uld Joscphinr llesman taught the 1953-5.1 scllool tern1 a$ n ~ ~ m b e r s of the schisn~;~tic ch~~rclt. lhtt ii,,

I)i\.iue \\'ill ;~ffordetl, the mcn~hers of tht~ true Protestant Refornrcul Churcl~ 1i;ttl the majority of the votes in both the socicaty i~ntl ntl~iiinistmti\.e bot~rd. r\t thi5 time t l r c t 11;tt11c :tntl \\'hat it stiinds for had special signific- ance. Since our sclro~~l, its \vi~s pui~ttctl out above. is entircly free from ch11rc11 cor~trol; it could not be taken into the courts along \vith the \;trio~ts cht~rch properties.

The post-schism history sl~owed tnitny cl~ilnges. First. tllc positioils of prinuil~i~l iuirl tei~cher Iritd to l x filletl. Slrs. IIeniri~n \'eltl- ulan bec;~rne principnl, ;ultl Ilrs. Egllert Critters I>ecmc the otller tc.i~cher. Nest, the 50q reduction in cnrolln~ct~t had several 14fects: ( 1 ) the bus \\*as soltl hec;~~tstl it could no longer be ntn economic:~lly: i 2 ) the maintenance of the school \vas placer1 OII the sho~~lders of eigl~t F:lmilics i~~stc-;u! (11 sixteen; (3) the chilclren grol~pecl togcthi:~. :uld bec;itne as onc big happy fi~mily.

'Tile nest principal \\,;IS Hcr~nan \l'oudc~~- l ~ r g with Mrs. H. \ 'e lban as the other tc;~cher. Follo\\ving these t\vo were I1;tlc H. Euiper ;IS principal and Sylvia Brummel ant1 Evelyn Huize~~ga :ts the othcr tcncl~ers i l l

rc.spectivc yeiirs. The preset11 prir~cip;~l i s the undersigned \r*ith Evelyn Huizctrpa it>

the other teacher.

The life in ollr school is very siulilier lo t l ~ c life in the coimtry schoolho~~sc of year\ gone by. .is in the little eortntry scllool, ivc have four grades in each roorn. Also nU thc rlrildren conre from rural l~omes wllich

makes life ;it times very intcrestin~. Esirm- ples ol' tlris is s~tch corlvers;~tion: "Joey, Ilo\v Inany pigs did your dad's so\vs 11i1vr last night?" or "Say, Iliss Hnizcng;~.. tny pet cot\. Glorii~ had a calf last night," or "llr. Iluis- ken, I3ohhy won't be i11 school today Iw- cause Ile sprained his ankle wl1c.11 one of O I I ~ horses tllrew him last night." A fann i h

;I p1:ice of endless activity ant1 cluldrc*~~ being endlessly active. I ahvcr: \vl~ole- I~eartedly \vith the English Romi~ntic wlro sititl: "Evcry chiltl shoultl he 1)om i~nd rc.aretl on a fann."

This system of etli~eation has se\per;tl :id- vitr~ticge~. 'l'lie h s t and f:rr most importnr~t being that these cl~ildren llave Inore in- divitl~~itl help than in it t1ep:lrttnentdizetl systc.111. For rxa~nplc, in n tlcpart~ncntalizc.tl system the teachers I~a\*e ;in averirge of :lo pupil\, 360 minutes of scl~ool titl~e, givincr eilclt student 1.' minutes, 1)r.r rli~y. On tlre otl~er Irand, in a cotnbinecl gri~de hyste~n tile tcachcr has i11 ilverage of 15 pupiIs, 360 ~ t ~ i ~ t u l e s of school time, giving c8;tcll pupil 2 witinutes pcr day, pmcticallp tlo111)le tilt. titni. in tltt* depi~rt~~ient;tlizecl syslcm. '1'11:. nest is that the parents irtld the teachers have Inore rapport because of the smi~llnt*s~ oi tlrc gror~l) represt~nted i l l the school. ' T l ~ r effrctiveness of our recent P.T.A. conference. has well proven this fact.

Looking to the future no st of olir gri~du- ates have received or \\ill receive their Itiglr scl~ool diplon~ns. Scveral i r ~ the near fuh~rc. \\ill graduate fro111 college. Soon \IT I~opr, I).V., to acld the ninth griltle therchy taking the firqt step towartl adclin~: the Iirttcr thrcc. This year ~iinrks the t\velfth yr:lr of our cxistc~~ce - nine years sirlcc, the hcl~isrn. B I I ~ we rlo not forget, "All things work togetlrer for good for tllose that love Gotl."

DARREL LEE HUISKEN

DONATIONS ........... Hopr Choral Society Progmoi S17.Oi

.................... 111 hlctnory of Jim Jonker 10.00 ........................................ A Friend 10.00

Ilupe l l r . n~rd Mrs. Society ................ 25.M) Creston Prot. Ref. Church ................ 19.70

............................... Henry Heemstra 2.W

BEACON LIGHTS

-

FICTION

THE VASE Sl;u~;rret pr~ t d o \ v ~ ~ tlie ~nugazi~ic slic had

I)~nen rci~cling ant1 sighetl. Sl~c, l~arl I~ccn looking at tlic: recipes; somel~o\v, notlling ;rppe;~lc:d to 11c.r totl;~y. Tlir tempting tlihllrs seemetl too complici~tcd: tlre easy ones too tlull.

It wirs just onc. ol' tlios(. days, she said to I~erself. Ln spite of it11 tl~c. work she hat1 Ir i r t l to (lo tlli~t clay, slit: l1~1tl itccomplished ;tLnost notl~ing. Tl~t. ironing lay elainpc~nctl in ;I ~ l ; ~ s t i c hag. 'I'he 111cnding was piled on tl~r. setvirr~: nii~cliir~e, unto~~ched. Tht. disl~es \tPcrc do~rc., i ~ n d the bctls madc, to I)c. surc, br~l she wo~~lt l Ili~vc Ilad to brt positive-ly ill to r~cglect that di~ily rolltine. 'rlre ~norning liad I~ccn pl~~rctuat(.tl by ;I few phonc calls, Itone of them very i~nportant. She Iriit l sat tlo\v11 t\\*ice for a c r ~ p of coffec, itnd ri~clr ti111c- 11;rtl pagvtl ratl~cr ai~nlcssly tlrro~~gli a firsl~ion trragazinc, stretching her coflec- I~reak ;I littlr*. Aftcv 1u11cl1 slit- liacl trietl to nap, tlrinkirlg slrc. rniglrt wakt- up in n bctter mood, 1,111 she I~itd not even been nblr to clozc,.

She I~vd been troublcd all clay I,y a vilgie ~ ~ ~ ~ e a s i ~ ~ c s s . I t liatl startctl irt I,rc*i~k- fast tinre. Jell' hat1 been urrusuirlly qr~ict for ;I 11inc--year-nltl l~oy; a couplc r ~ i timcts, in fact, 11th hirtl lot :~~w\vcrc.tl Irer \vlren she Ilitd spc~ken to him. Iiis mind scc.med to be OII so~~ic*thinr: else, i~nd slrc wo~~clcrerl tvliat it was. Perlri~ps Ire was hirving tro~rhle tvith his scl~ool work, or 111iiyhe Ile \virsn't gcttiiig itlong \\it11 some of his fricncls. She allnost. i~sketl I~i~rr; then she dccitled to wait. If it \(,as i ~ ~ ~ p o r t i u ~ l e ~ ~ o i ~ g l i , 1113 woulcl con~c to her eventually and tirlk it over.

3rd place LOIS KREGEL

S l ~ c hat1 watclrc.d 11ir1i petli~l oft OII 11i\ I)icyr.lc a11tl had xone to bathe tlic- I,aby, disnrissing Jell fro111 her mind for the. tinic. I~eing. But occasionally thro~rglrout tlrc day ttat feeling of uneasiness hadcome hack to I~aunt her, .~nd 11ow it \\,as there .lgain. Prob- ably this tl.~rk cl~illy \\cather had helped put her in a mood like this, Slirrgarct t l ~ o u ~ l ~ t to Irrrself. Thr* \veatlrcr 1r1ir11 hail predicted tl~.tt the present rain \vould change. to s~~o\v ; it \vonlO be tht. first sno\v of the year, and s~rrely to be cupec~~t l , for it \\,as

alreatly mid-Sovc~~rber. Slrc yInncctl at tlie clock. Jeff \\,ol~l(] be

li011ie ;my ~~r i r~u te , irnd tlrc baby \\,as due to \~akc- up. She stood np rc*solntcly ilntl went to t l ~ c kitcli(~r~ to get a dust clotlr. She. \voi~lil ;it Icirst d11s1 t l ~ c living room, so that it \voulcl look ;I bit neater if sorneonc s l ~ o ~ ~ l t l mmc. to tlrc door. She \vhiskc.cl the cloth skillf~~lly ovt8r this tablt.s a~rd turnc-d to- ward\ h e ~nantrl. She ~);rusetl a moment before ciusting to itclnlirc. her fi~voritc v;~sc*\ on il. It \vi~s only turo \veeks before that slie had bought them in Cliicirgo, ant1 slie still cnjoyed stiintli~~g I~ack to \'e how p~c~tty they lookecl. Slrr liopctl tllis p.ir of vases \vould re111i1i11 \vliole. So Inany of her prt-tty cernnlicr I d become chipl~cd or 1)rokcn. The haby was jrrst lear~iiug to \\ralk. of corlrse, and hat1 little itlea what he should 11ot touch. Even Jeff \va\ not too ci~reful, itnd often I~n~shet l against a table, tic-arly upsetting her lan~ps. She hat1 ctiderl him for it, I,ut 11r liad \lio\v-n little i~~iprovcme~rt; \vht.r~ she hi~d bougl~t &I. new vases she Il21d ipoken to him vcnr sharply a b u t them.

BEACON LIGHTS

"1-011 arc to keep your hands olf from these, Jeff,' she hdtl s;iid. "I valuc~ tlreni v c n highly, ;end woul(l feel ju\t terrilll~. if they \r.c.re broken. Besides," she liad ;~clcled. a little crosly, "I'd like to lccp so~llt.tl~ing in o t ~ e piece ;~rou~id here."

So\\, \he \vi~lked up tn the firc*plncc. t l r r t l then h11e sa\v the white c .~~ve lo~c , wit11 ".\lorn" scri~\vlcd on the outside in Jeffs \r.riting. Thc uneosi~~c~ss in h<.r \uilclt.ril)- began to take forn~. She torr open t l l c l ell- velopc, her Itnr~ds tre~r~bling ;I little, i~tttl fountl t l~e note insitlr. "Denr hlom," i t s,~id. "In c;ise yot~ fir~d tl~c- piecc. o ~ ~ t ot p l t r vase Iwfore 1 crime I~olne, tlnn't \\'orry. 1 \rent to fintl ynu anotllcr one. Love, Jeff."

.\l;~rci~rc.t hl~rried to the tclrl~lronc~ ;urd tlialetl the number of Jeff's scltool. Slte rec- ognizc*tl his tci~cher's voice. "hliss r\r~lt.~n? Thi, i, JeKs motl~c-r,"

"0 yes, . \In. .\lnrstlcn, is Jeff ill? \\'r r~~issetl him totlay."

"So - no. 11e isn't ill. I mean - I ' l l sent1 a not(. tvith 11i11i to~iie~rri)~." \Lrithotlt \v.~it- ing for tlrc tei~cher's reply \Inrgorc*t pttl do\\-n tlie receiver. tlurriedly hllc \vokcs tic. ba11y and tlrc~ssed I~ini, i i t ~ c l slip11ccI iltte~ her o\vn coitt. Shr scril~l~lrd ~t Ilr~el noti. of e\pldr~ation to Jim, hvr husl~ilncl, in caw 11e sltould conic hon~c. Ileforc. 411e re- h~mecl, h e n picked up the 11:tl)y ~ I I I ( I iiu~ out to the car.

Surely she \r*ould fit~tl I~ilu, s l ~ e tlrc~~~g'nt, .IS she starlet1 do\\ft~ tlie drive-w;ty. 'i'l~c few tinies hc had gone shopping \vitll lier she hilt1 tiken 11in1 do\vnto\\,tr. $0 tlrtit lntrst be \\,here lit! \vent. She wottltl go to t l ~ c : gift slrops and ask \vlic.tlier n s ~ n d 11oy hat1 been there that di~y; after all, solllrclllr \i.o~llcl remember.

But her 11e;lrt \\,as poimdinr: with fear as sltc: drove. He l ~ a d b c c * ~ ~ gonc all cli~y. \\'hilt co~tltl he have becn doing ill1 thilt tiu~~c? \tThat if sonlcthing I~ncl hi~ppcned to him? She thought of a clozct~ pclssibilitics. Slrr cnllcd to mirrtl how sh;irplg s l ~ r liad sl~oken to I~irn, wnming him irbot~t the pair of v:c.\es, and she rc~)roaehccl hersc!ll hittcbrly, KO xvonder she 11ad given 1 ~ 1 the i~nl>rc*ssion that the vases \\-ere very ui~lmrtant to her. And so they were, h e ndniit~ccl tc~ Ilersrlf, n~cfl~lly, far too in~por tn~~t . Shc: hot1 treasttred thcn~ far too highly. Jeff had

sensed thitt she w o ~ t l t l be angry anti itn- hi11)1>)~ I>c.c.;iuse Irc liati I)roken o~~c..

In l ~ c r fear her thottghts ciitnc ht~~llding one 11po11 the other. Z1;td she Ijeen putting too 1n11el1 emplti~sis ott t1ti~tg.v for a long tilne? .\l;ttcrialism, she h d rciid in one of those cl~urch papers, wits thc spirit of the iigc in \vl~ich they were living, i111cl Cliris- tians sltotrld not d o \ v thernselvcs to Ijc rn- g~tlfecl by it. She I~ i~ t l bn~shecl the \\fords itsiclr ; ~ t the time sht! h;td rc.:ttl thcn~, but tie\\, they returned to plitgue 11c.r conscien~r.. Is t11;it \vhy sl~c. had heen so oftcm moody, tlisco~~tc!ntcd? Ilid shc have her 11e;lrt set ~ I I too Illany pretty things? I~ctmorscfuUy s l ~ e ittl~nittcd to herself that she Itad. itnd tllat this had let1 up to Jeff's prcLscnt predic- ament. I)es~xrittely she prnyvd, "Forgive tlte, Lortl, mcl I~clp me to finel I~iln."

.It thr Erst t\vo gift shops she~ rc.ceivc.11 the satile reply to her qot*stion. "l'e.s, thcrr \\?;IS

;I sn~i~l l I~oy it1 here this nior~linr:, lookit~g for a certain t7;tse, but I tlitlll't llavc \\hat he \vi~nted, and he left." She inrlt~irec! ftlrt1lc.r it1 the tlepart~~~cont stol.c's; she tricd t l ~ c florists. Solnr of ~ I I I ! I I I hatl scvn Jcif that rnorni~tg: others simply sltoi~k their 111-ads sym~)iitI~ctici~ll~~.

Fini~lly, on the far side of 1 1 1 0 shoppi~~g district she fotlnd a sl~op wlrere Jcff Ii;~d I~ec-~l scncrt~ arol~rltl noon. Yes. Ilc. hntl forlntl \\?hut 11e x\cit~tc.d, "tlrat vase ovcar there, but he tlitl~~'t havc enougl~ nloncy to pay for it. Ile s:liil Ire'cl Ilr back for it."

.\larg;~ret asked if she cor~ld usc the tclepl~ot~e ant1 dialecl her o\r,l~ number. hop- ing tltitt Jeff \voulcl l~nve rc!tt~rnetl, .l'hrre \v;L\ 1111 ;rns\vc-r. She titrned to go, \vIlcn the o\\miLr of the shop called after her, "You'd 11clttc.r get sotl~c! help in findi~~g that young- ster, I;~dy. Thih is no weather for you and the I>i11>>' to he out it]." .\lnrg;~ret glilr~ced out 01- tlre shop \vitltlow. l'llc rain hat1 t ~ ~ r t ~ e t l to a driving slret that \vas frrezirlg on tltc* airs ntid paven~ent.

Shc looketl at her wittcl~: i t \v;ih acnrly s h o'clock. I>isconsolately she. \vent back to the car. tier arms ;tched from c;~rrying Iohn~ry and thore \\,as ;I growi~tg frar tvithin her th;~t so~~letliing terrible 11i1d Ilal,pened to Jctll. She tttmed to\\-cud home, and in spite o f the slcrt her drivi~rg was :rlt~~ost :iutotn:ctic.

Thcan slir s;~\r- Ilin~, h i s heat1 bent slightly

BEACON LIGHTS

nC;~ii~<t the 5ton11, pecl;~ling slo\\-ly, ;IS if 11c- \\.;IS very tirtatl. Slle I )~~lled I I ~ l~c!l~incl I I ~ I I I , stoplwtl thc car ;~nd mu out. "Jeff-oh, Jclf," \vc~s all she c o ~ ~ l d say at first.. ils she* hugged I I ~ I I I joyf~dy. T~ICII, "Come i r~ thc car. son7 and let's go 1111lne."

"Hut nly 11ike -" "Scvc.r rni~~tl t l ~ c bike,; \\.1*'11 I~nave it nt

this @IS stiitior~ ;un(l pick it r ~ p tomorrow. J~lst gc.t in. l'ou'rc! ; t l l so~~kctl ancl f reczi~~g coltl."

0 1 1 the ~ i ~ y 1111111e ]I:K snicl, ".\lorn, did you firltl n ~ y I ~ O ~ C ? 1 11iei111- 1 t11011gl1t \vl~i.n yo11 dusted you 111ig11t ~~oticc, the \wse l1i1C1 a chip out : ~ r ~ d so I tlio~~ght I'd l~ctter c\- plain. Johnr~y clin~lwl I I ~ \ ~ I I ~ . I I 1 \vas 51111- po'ed to he w.~tt.hing I~im, and w1it.11 1 ~.rul,hetl it out of his har~d I L~~ockrtl it against the corner of the ma~rtel."

"Oh, Jeff. nev1.r n ~ i ~ l d about t l ~ c vasc," 5lnrgarc.t rcpliod, "lt doc.sn't 111attrr."

"But, .\lorn, I kno\v ho\v mucl~ yoit likrtl it ant1 cvc.rythi~~g, i~ntl I found or~c. ill51 liLv it, and 1'11 save. up Iny allo\\*ancc anti get it for yon. It tritatl to find some oiltl jol, to do after I h~a l ly found t l ~ c right vah(., but e\,eryonr si~id I \\'as too ~ I I I ; I ~ ~ , and sh~~illd 11c in school. Then I sorta got lost, and had to ask solneonc thc \vay I~omc. Rr~t I'll 5liU gct it for you."

.\l;~rgnrrt lookctd ;it t l ~ . bally; hi! \v.~r. sou~rtl asleep in his c;ir scat. Shr stoppr~l the w r at tlre c~lrl), ; I I I ~ t i~nled to hvr- small son.

"JcdF," s l ~ e saitl. "I 1111lst l~avc led you trl think that the vase 111eant more to mc t11;111

you did. 'I'hat was \\.rang of me, ancl 1'111 sorry. 'Set your ;~ffc*ctions on things ;111ovc,' G I ~ tctlb 11s. \\'ell, I gucss I've I ) C ~ I I for- gettir~g t11;lt for 11 long time, arid nec~clecl ;I lesson. Sow let's gro home."

POETRY

The skies above are dark and gray; It had been a dreary dcry; Coming would be a dark night, No moon or stars to give their light.

Slowly the rain begins to fall; It seems a shower will be all, But then the winds begin to rise, Blowing clouds across the skies.

A flash of lightning cuts the sky; A clap of thunder rumbles by. But for long it does not last: Very soon the storm is past.

JUDY LUBBERS

Up above the skies are clear; The moon and stars begin to appear. The winds are calmed; only a breeze Whispers quietly through the trees.

BEACON LIGHTS

POETRY 3rd place JIM JONKER

The Tree Gnccrled, twisted, writhing snake, Snow-shod 'neath a winter sky, Putting on the feathery flake, Only then to lay it bye.

Standing bleak and bare, alone - Leaves have drifted to the ground; Cheerful, chirping birds have flown; The howling wind's the only sound.

Stalwart, staunch, and strong it stands 'Neath the vaulted roof of sky. Fearless of cruel winter's hands; It will live again, although it die.

May we too stand straight and sure, Even 'neath death's troubled sky, Knowing that by faith secure We shall live, although we die.

NON-FICTION 3rd place ED LANGERAK

In thr ptst, co~rsitlcrablc intcrcst anti clis- cussion ha\,r centcred rrpon rncn~~ingful phrases. "I lo\-e you," probably rallks as . . most popul,u, for ol~\,ious reasons. 1 111, poc.1 \\'hittier says that the saddest \\.orcls of tongue iu~d pcn arc tllesc.: "It 111ig11l I~ilvc* hewn."

Today another phrase must concorn 11s. .\ltbo~lgh we all use it, it is not a plcasanl one, in fact, it is most 1nisera1,lc ant1 dis- q~stiug. It is not so repc~bive i l l itsclf. but ritther. it is the :tttih~de that is rc.pr~lsivc.. The p11r:tse is "I don't citre." The i~tlilutltt portrayed is one of indifference. Rc-cause

thi. iittitiltle underlies the phrase, we w d l concern ourselves with the attitude.

Ix t us first consider sornc of the giks that otlr Crci~tor ginre us, \\,hioh clistinyish us, ;I> I~umi~n beings, fro111 the rest of t l ~ c ai- iln;~t(: crmtion. Do they not include the q~li~lities of rationality and moralit!., the aljilitics to think ahout our thoilghts and to I-l~oose 1,ctween right and wrong? Included ill these, \vonld be the splendid gift of sei~sitivity, t l ~ c ability to love and to feel colnpassion. .And as from Gml ~ l ~ o u l t l \vet not llse tllcln as 1nuc11 11s possible, in thc l~est \vays possible? Carrying this t h o ~ ~ g h t

TlG&?ltX BEACON LIGHTS

to its logical conclusion, \tre cornct to the stark renlizatio~~ that f a i l ~ ~ r r to propcdy employ these Gorl-give-n powers is not only a sy~npton~ of 11 lazy ~ X ~ S O I I 11iir111ing 11in1- self, but iilso n real tlepreci;~tio~~ oS the tlif- fercnce brt\\.een marl :~nd 11cvst. Of sucl~ ;I

nature is i~icliIT~-rt~nc(~. The poem, "The Sl;~n \\it11 thc IIoe," by

Ed\vin \ l ; t rkha~~~, tlcpicts vcsry vi\,iclly the sarl state of a soul in slavery. \larktuc~n writc.s ;il)out thc ~c:rril,l(. tr;tgc%tly of clict;ttors blowing o t~ t t h c . light of intrlliger~cr of tl~cir subjc~cts a11d milking tllem I1rot1ic.l.s to t l l c !

shunned os. 111 this country, tqdi~y, tlwrr artn 110 I I I O ~ C

dicti~tors, I~ut t l l e . trngcdy i.; still with us. IIo\vc.ver, it5 callse is not forcrd slavery, hut rattler, t l ~ c \villing \elf-su~renclcr of our zensitivity. Ho\v n~uch \\,orsc., t l~is i\!

most rl~~~cricarrs? Is i t rlot to 111:1!ie Illore mo~~cy, to "it~crcasc our forty itcres to eighty?'' Curl S;lndbtlrg S ~ I I I I S up our ;kt- tihrrlc in thehe ivortls; "I cart1 my living, 1 lnakc c:rror~gh to g1.t I)).. and it takes all Iny tintc. If 1 11;ttl lllorc tinre, I coultl do Illore for 111yself ;ind ~nnybc: for others. I could rc;itl n11t1 s t ~ ~ t l y itntl t:ilk t l ~ i ~ ~ g s ovcr itntl fincl out i~l)out thing>. If 1 only had the tinnC," 13ut \t7r (10 not c21rc C ~ I I ~ I I I ~ I ~ to givr our time.

Totlay A~~lerici~ is S;~crcl \\.it11 tlnca forn~id- ;eblr ~ O I I I I I I U I I ~ S ~ challcngt-. By 197-1, the com~nr~nists esp~!ct to I,e in full control of r\nicrici~. \\re [lo not like this. 'I'lncir gains evrn bot11c.r us so~~~r\vliirt. I3ut it \r~oulcl be very troul)lesolirc~ to try to correct somcb of the I~lrtntlcrs of ollr foreign policy as tle- pictrtl in the iJg/!/ I\IIIP~~C(III. It is n i t ~ c l ~ easicsr to tilke tllc lint of leaht resistance ant1 try to cliini~r;~te tllr prol~lem by Iwing inclifferent to it. Ant1 \vc so often (lo t l~ i~ t . \trhrn we come I I ~ against so~nething which is tlitficitlt and fn~s t r~~t inc , son~etl~iilg that \\.ot~ltl reclc~ire solnr rc;~l applicittion, we qet rid of the troul,lC by telling OII~SCIVLX~ tl~nt we illst don't cilrtA. It is ;I lazy way out and can only result i l l our Ijecon~irlg social ptr-

111 the cl;tsaroc,~n, tllc i1c11tc8 \c~rioe~silcss of thii problon nlay be rci~dily realizctl. \Vl~ich s lu t l r~~t i\ it th:tt thca teacllcr fintls 1n11st e~aspcrating? Is it the one who disagrees

wit11 \rliat is taught, or the one \vho tloes not care 1111out tlr;~t \vhich is t;~ught? T1.1115, it is not so pleas;~nt to be [net \\it11 resist- ance, bat i t is do\\nright nnt~seating to Ile met with nu apathetic listlrssness.

Ornr rhurcl~es :~lso must gu;~rd ngiiinst tl~is dead life. It is 11istoric;rl fact that in tin~t.s of persecution ant1 opln>sition, the ch~ircl~ is strongest sl)iritn;~lly. I t is in it time like today, \vInrn no resistnnce I I I I I S ~ I)(- ovcsr- comc., that is most tliing.rc.rons. I\'(- sooil losc interevt in \vl~;it we believe, and often do not cvm knou. \\.hat that ih, and \vc. care less. \ire slry m7ay from so-enlled "rloctrinr" serinons. \Ve beco~nc, in effcvt, a group of non-bc*lieving hr~lirvers.

This intlifferencct to co~nrnunis~~~, this itpathy in tllc scl~ools, and tl~is p:l.;sivity in the churcl~~ts, arc. all esamplcs of toc1a)~'i tragedy. And this tragc-dy of today [nust be elin~ini~ted. Our minds and sor~ls must l~rcak ont of this prison of intliffere~lcc. :inel \\.it11 renewed purpose, strive for those tn~ ths that rest on universal I~ones. The emptiness can no loncrr linacr, which threatens to tl~ro\v 11s into c;r,irit~tnl 1irnl)o. \\'e h;lve h:ld enouch "tl~~rnh driven cattle." \Vc nerd "11eroc.s in the strife." \\re neccl people allo clo care, people \\rho care enough to give themsrlves. give to 1)r teachers. civc. to he anl1,assadors. ministers, ~nissionarirs, and ill1 fields of endeavor. Thr all-important thins is tl~at \ve again learn to care eno~lgh to ,give o~~r.;el\.c,s. The Errat ci\ilizations of t11r Creeks an~d the 13onlans died just hccan~se they had too inany takers and not enough givers.

-1n1c-rica is on the same road to rn~in. Tlcr every ~ ~ o u p is intcrestc~d only in helping itself. The unions protect onlv the unions. the intlr~stries profit only thc industries, and the \iTar Vcterans help only the War Vet- erans. Our selection of a political canrlid:~te is based largely on how much he will give us. \ire, as yet, cannot understand how it could he more "l)lrssecl to give t11;rn to rc- ceive." But soon, one \vay or another, we will r~nderstnncl this. are at the cross- road, and the may \\*e choose \rill make ill1

the difference. If \rre hccon~c people who care enough, our culture \\-ill re:lch nc\v heights. Bi~t if today's tragedy is toleratctl, our \\,hole civilization will become tomor- row's bitter memory.

BEACON LIGHTS

POETRY honorable mention Mrs. D. ENGELSMA

POETRY

POETRY

RECLUSE

He built a wall around his life, Hate mortared every stone, Enclosed from taunt, from scorn, from strife, His boast:

I'll dwell alone. The tines of hate which he employed Impaled the love of friend and hn , The darts of foe did not destroy . . .

He rotted from within!

WINIFRED KOOLE

ANOINTING OIL

The flame is low Upon the wick, So pale its glow. Dark shadows flick And slov~ly lick U p light, the foe.

Sharp tongues of men Expose the quick, Lay bare each sin. No oil to slick, And iauIts are thick When lcve is thin.

honorable mention C. H. WESTRA

THE PRAYER O F MID-LIFE Dear Lord, I see old people; Wrinkled, Gray, Forgotten People.

When I am old May I be TNrinkled, And gray,

.. But not forgotten.

Fourteen BEACON LIGHTS

TAKE HEED WHAT YOU HEAR! Our last ttrticlc: chargc.tl, "T:tkc heed how

yc Irenr." .A rnorc I~asic d(5111i11ld is t l ~ t ;ippt:aring in the title, ;a ccrtaidy more f~~~~t lamcntn l it is t~.hnt yc hei~r t11;ln hmr yc: Ilc;~r; just ;IS \\.hat yoc~ c:it is marc. un- portant t l ~ i ~ n ho\v you c.;~t. Wlrat n~attcrs it so I I I I I C ~ I 110\\~ y011 c i~ t if yo11 C ~ I ( 011ly crcanr- pc~fl's ancl ~ ~ ~ e r i n g ~ ~ c . ? \Vhi~t nlattcrs it ;it 1111 ho\v yo11 [!at if ~ I I I fced \ I I I I I ~ ) ~ I I O I I S I ~ 011

poihon? Or t\vlint 111atter that yo11 know [low to eat as soci;tlly ;~ccept;tl>l>- as Enlily Post if there is n o t l ~ i ~ ~ g to (.;it? So, \vhat you hc.;~r is I~;~sic to 11o\\' yo11 hear. IVe mt~st, inticed, I I ~ trained ho\v to hear, hr~t Illore i ~ ~ ~ p o r l ; ~ r ~ t , \vc n~usl 11;cve home- thit~g to hear. \Ve ~ r ~ u s t Ir;trtt to 11car cli~criminntc.ly, hut one ci~nnot (10 that ml- lcss there arc gootl as \rfc-ll as l ~ ; ~ d so~~ntls to distin~ush. Sot much cl~oice prevails if. for csaniplc*, the car is inccss;~ntly I,or~l- bartlcd tvitll littla c~lsc tl1:ln the nrrve-jarring rc\.erberations of "rock-'n-'roll," the idle gos- sip of shallow associatcs, or, ;IS in n room \vitl~ television on, n t t c ~ ~ ~ p t s at conversi~tion amount to liartlly marc. than thc cu l t~~red gnmt of plcistncrt~ic man. He~lce, nlore to the. point \r.llnt ycb hear than 11ow ye hear. T n ~ c , to Ilc strictly lopic;~l, \ve sl~ould have considerecl thr: f o r ~ ~ ~ r r I)cforcb the I:~ttcr. Sc\.erthclcss, ''Ti~ke heed \vh;~t ye hear: \vitli nhilt ~nc;rs~~l.t: ye tl~ete, it shall be nlc:~s~~rctl to you; ;tncl unto yo11 that hear ~11;111 more l)c .gi\vr~" illk. 424).

VS. E R REV. R.

R O R

C. HARBACH

Just, SO, a Ilo~nilctical course in serni~l;~ry on "-\\.hat to preach" is fo~~t~tlational to "ho\\. to prc.;ich." The lhcological sh~dent ilnd tit(*

minister. then, must "take heed \\.hat !Y preucl~." If they at-c deficient hew, it 111i1t- ters little or ~~oth ing how efficient they ;trcS in Ilo\\r tllcy preach. For the pulpit is not to bc c o r n ~ p t ~ ~ l to n clothes-line \vllt.re ol~i- niom )nay I)c aired, or to ;in empty lna~lgcr where the s h ~ e p ma). be f c ~ l on \vincl. 1h1t nest in i~~~portatlcc is the 111;11ter of /ist~~t~ir~!,' to t l ~ c pre:icl~ing: 'T;tke heed \\-hat ye hair."

Thcsc \\,ortls of Jc.sus arc still ;i ti~~~rl!. ;~dmonition. .An adnronition is not only ;I

com~~~;und, but an irtjr~nctior~ \\-hich gives us fair \vi~ming, ~>ut t i t~g 11s on ollr pu:tr~l against dmgc-rs. For there :ire definite, lurk- ing tllr~iits to OUT spirituill \rrell-l)c~i~ig in wlut Inny Iic heard. "Takc heed what l~ear'. is then not a s~~ygested motto, not ;un open cl~~estic~t~ for I>l~ilosol~hical di~cussio~~, nor an optiotl;~l or clectivu course in thr sell001 of life. It is a divinely imposed direc- tive \vl~ich \tfc! neglect ;kt our peril. A~~ynnc \vho co~lfidently affirms therc is no clanger ill

this respect is either a liar, 3 dccciver or both.

Sincc \\;e arc hidtlm to care \\hat \vtb

Ilcar, \v11:1t s11otrM \rTc hear? .is tnc~nbers ol the catholic C h r h t i ; ~ ~ ~ church \ve arc con- cerned \\it11 hi.;tring that \vllich rmanatc.s from thc truo churcl~, namely, the preacl~i~~l: of the pure tloctrinc of thc zospel. I \\risli th;~t my Funcl;~~nentalist bretl~ren \\,ere 111ol.c:

BEACON LIGHTS Fifteen

rro~lsistent in h i > . Tlrcy often confess their part itnd lot irl the t r ~ ~ c c l ~ ~ ~ r c l i , I>ut 111ake not c~nouqh of that rssc~iti ;~l tticrrk of the trcle cllurcli - tl~c. purc p reac l~ i~~f i oI' tllc* \\'orti of Cad. For altl1011g11 they iue "fund;~mental" to a degree, tlicrc~ :Ire cc.rtili11 fi~nd:r~nent;ils of the faith \vl~icli tliey , .I I I I ~ O S ~

in\~;iri;~bly omit. T h r one grc:lt Il~ndiu~lenti~l ~~r inciple of CIiri\tian faith and life is that of the* i~bsolute sovereignty of Cod ill every r ed~ i l , nithlre i ~ n d grace! Funtl:~mrl,lalizt?;~~~l;~li~ts llavc. all too little. to s i ~ y of this 111ost funtl;~- ~~lent;t l of ;a11 Christia~l principles. 'They I I ~ I I S I

re:tlizr th;~t the scarlet t luei~d of reclenlptio~~ \\-hich runs a11 through Scriph~re is inter- t\\-inctl \vith thr. co-estensivc golden chorti of Cied's sovereignty. If <;od is truly sov- e re i~w in the do~ninioll of grilcc., thcll an- other great, 11r1t neglected, fii~~tl:~rnctrlt:~l of the faith is the 11luc11 ~ilist~nderstood, I I I I I ~ ~ I

~~~is-rcprrsc.ntctI doctrine of al~solutr pea- destir~:~tion, \vitlr its t \ \ ~ parts, (?leetion aiitl reprohation. So f~~ntlamental, for esi~lnplr. is the doctrine of ~~nconrlitional e lcc t io~~, that \\ritho~~t it therc is no atonement. So I.ln- cinmc.t~tal arc. thr Five Fnntl;ui~entals of Cal- \.inisi~l that \\ithout limitc*d ato~lr~menl thcl-c. simply is 110 atonemer~t a t all!

"Take heed \\hat ye hci~r." J ~ ~ t l g r \ \bi~t you hear in thc light of our glorious ant1 s L i ~ ~ ~ ~ l i ~ t i ~ i g c-o~lfessions. 1s \r.l~al you lieiir' in hannony \vith thct Christian life so I I ~ ; X I I - tifully dcscribrtl in the Ileidell>erg Cl t r - chism? Hon. docs wllat you 11c;lr uncba:urc: IIP to the pure theology of the I3elgic Con- fession? 1Io\r. will \\,lint you hear s t i ~ l ~ d 1111 undrr tlie se~ircllligllt of tllt, Ca~lons or Dor-I ( thc Five Funtl;~mentals nlcntioncd ;111c)ve). togetlrer \vitli the Rrjrctio~l of Errors? 'fhcsl! are only rliBerent ways of itsking, IIow clo~.s tllc \\'ord of Cod, as in these slandi~rels so perfectly srt forth, cvalu;tte what you hear? Hear die truth. Sllun 1111 fi~lsca cloctrini.. "11y sheep hear my voice . . . a str;u~ger h e y \\ill not follo\v, I I I I ~ \\;ill fir-c fro111 I I~ I I I : for they kno\\. not the voice of s t r i~~ lge r~" (Jolln 1 0 ) .

T l ~ c r e is littlc enol~gll trutli in t l ~ c worltl to be Iieclrtl. Slilke sure you he;~r y o ~ ~ r shart: of it. For the l~eliever's ear today is tlinnttl v i th the clasl~ing clii~nor of the Iic~rrtic~~l sects, strange ccl~lts, iund now in tllis country, Hintluisni, 1-ogisin :uld Sloh;i~~~~nccl;~~~isrl~. To these religions, as \\-ell as to the inl-

posing Romi~nism, the Biblc. is ;I sealed b(~o!i. '1'0 tlic~n all. the revc1:ltion of God i\ pr:ictically unkno\vn and unwa~~ted. So t ~ h c Ilt.c.tl 18-lint yr hear. Il~~nlnic.ry, trumpcog- ancl superstition are not for the people of Cotl. But tllesc tlitngers arc. perlrnps 11r.t the worst, being rather ;~pparrlit. There- is Iuclre trc-nch(.rons danger to I'rotesti~nts ill tlli~t sirr.n, Ar~l~iniit~lism. I-Ierr, too, Funcla- mt~~ltalists. \vllc> strivc so h;lrtl to he I)il)- liciilly so~md, nu st takc herd \vIiat they prt.;ich i111c1 \\,hat they htwr. tlli~t thry prei~clr not, I~eecl not Am~irianism. Then tvhy is Furlda~i~cr~talisn~'s vocab~~lary cluttered \\,it11 s11c11 .4rnliuian and r~nbil>liwl e\-prc.ssior~s as "illvitation" and "nee-pting" Cl~rist? Sever - ;IS a concordance \\*ill slic~\r. - tloes the f3il)le usc these \\,ords as A r ~ ~ ~ i n i a n s do. It is legitimate to use "invitc" 01. "invitatio~l" espressi~ig relations behveen Illnrr iund Illan (as the Bible tioes), Imt not to indicate ;in act of Cod toward Illan. For God does not "i~~vite" tlie sinner; He bids, ec~rnm;~ntls ancl culls Iii~n. \\%y use. Iailg~lagc tvhich in~plics I11iln of hii~lsclf ccrtr come to Clui>t, \\!lien Scripture teaches hc cannot (Jolln 6:44)? \\thy misuse the- tern1 "ncc~.l)t,' '\vl~ich ill Scripture refers to the I.ord accepting nl;ui. 111)t IIIZIII'S accepting the Lolrl? 111 f;~rt. nl;~n's ac~ep t ing the h r t l Scriphlrc regards A\ an ~ ~ ~ i h e u r t l of thing (Jol) 13:H)! .\I:; mcitning is tliat even when you hr*ar your o\\,~r voice, you nwst t,rl\c. l i ~ ~ c d \\?hat yon llt.;~r. That is, let no corrupt comm~~nication proceed out of your mo~~t l i . I.cst eve-ry word 1 ~ . receptive, and rcconstnlctive, of God; \\'ord.

T;&c heetl \vhat ye hc.ar! \\'Ilat hrar ye? ii Cotl-centrred ministry? S o t tlic more popular miill-centered l ~ r r a c l ~ i ~ ~ g ! 'I'he Bil~lr is Cod-ccntcred; so is the gospel. 111 of CIiristit~nity is thc~ocentric; : I I ~ its subject ~nat ter is of Gotl, t h r o ~ ~ g h (;od ;1nt1 1111to God. hloder~l religion is 11011-tloctrin;tl, tclls its 11e;trers lo thing more tlliui \\,hat tile!- ;tlrci~dy kno\v, rc~nincls tlleii~ of \\-lint tlioy ciumot possil>ly forget, ;tnd 113s no higher ol>iec~tivc tll;rt rn:ui. It is so~ne\\,hi~t piolrs- s o u n d i ~ ~ g to say, \\-e preach Christ; and tllc Christian faith is Cllrist-ccnterecl There is a sccond;ir). sense in which this i5 true, for tve Lilo\v 110 Cod save tlic u ~ l c rcvr;iled ill imd th ro~~g l i Christ. Clrrist is the Ix-

BEACON LIGHTS

ginner :111d ro~i~plcter of our faith. All authority llas been given into 1li111: ;dl his- tory revolves itbout Him, and He in I~Ii~nself gathers togetl~er in one* all thi~~jis ill heaven ant1 on earth. But Christ is centrill lxtcausc Christ is God. "l'he 11cad of evcry 111an is Christ . . . and the he;rd of Christ is Cotl" ( I Cor. 11 :3 ). 'I'he cent~:r for nlan i\ Christ, and the cr~lter of Christ is God.

ticar that which is Cod-honoring. There is :I kintl of discoursca wllich I1itttt.l.s tllc flesl~, inflates tllc ego, arid c;~ndics the strict prirlciplcs of Christ to ~ ~ ~ i l l i e ~ I I C I I I p;~latable to the natural mild. Ji~ck-it-ca~~dy "evan- gelists" nppe:tl to IIII. kno\\rlt.tlge of tlic rnas- ses ( ;I 14-yci~r oltl I~.vel), nttcmual~! tl~c: sharp accents of God's co~llr~til~~d~nrnts. bll~nt the sharp edges of tlicb ~ ~ I T ~ ~ I I K , divicling S\\rord of the Spirit. tllc \\'orrl of God, nr~tl in effect close, tht. mouth of t l ~ i i ~ 1)crfect doctrine of salvation, the Hcfor~~~cd Faith, so t l~at \\.hat \ve :Ire: made to 11e:tr as osten- sibly coming from the C;ospel is so~nethirig else. \\re hc;tr th;tt ni;u~ is vcry far (not wholly) gone fro111 origiual rigliteousness; that election is c.o~npletc itnd clrcisivr be- causc8 of not only forcscen Iititl~, but forc- seen perseveriincc: unto the end, both ot \vhicll itrc left u p to Inrun. \\.'here is thc scriptural doctrine. that elcction is ctc.rnal, sovrrcign, ~mconclitional, not based on forc- sight of fnitl~, 1 ~ 1 t OII t h ~ : decree of God; ant1 is inf;~llil)lp unto s;tlvation? \Vhy (lo \vr hear that the cleat11 of Christ \\,i~s for ;dl irtc.11

;tbsolutely and \ v i t l ~ o ~ ~ t csception, ant1 the :~tor~crnt.nt not ;in i~ctustl saving I,o\ver, but provision of si~lvi~tion for all? \\*lrc:rc is tht. scriptural doctrir~c that Christ died for His peoplc alone? \Vl~y tlo \vc 11e;tr that man can resist Gotl's gr;lCe so as to prevent en- tirely his regc.~ler;~lion, si11cc6 it r c n ~ a i ~ ~ s ill his power to bc regeneritted or not? \Vhcrc is the. truth that \vl~om Gotl prc:destinates He also calls, and regcnttr;ttc.s, O I I ~ givez faith, or~tl j~~stifies, sanctifies iintl glorifies? \Vhy f nu st we hear t l~at 111:in 113s the pci\vt.r to persevere to tlrc cntl if IIC \vill o111y tlo his cl~~ty, yet tllnt 111% call fall fro111 gr;ir.cL anti be lost fort:ver? IVherc is thc oltl, old m ~ t h that it is not I)y 11is 111crit.; or strc.ngtll, but of Gwl's free rnercy that elect III:III tlocs not totally fall fro111 fail11 ;1r1(1 gr;~ce? \Vht.re is the preacl~ing \\,hich givcs its hearcrs ;I com- prehensivc present;~tion of "all thc col~nsel

of Cod": one tlnt withholds nothing profit- able to men?

Listening \vitllout &king, many fill tlie~n- sel\res wit11 thc. husl;s wllich the swinct eat! They spirih~i~fly impoverish themselves. They go clotvn to Egypt e v e n Sabbilth to feed on intellectual leeks and lettuce! No\v can they csxpect anything hnt spiritr~al ale- ~nia? So\\. chaff a~ltl stones ; ~ n d t l~e 1i:11vest cannot 1)~. \\heat end bread. Sow spi~ringly ;tnd you reap ;~lso sparingly. So\v 1nuc11 ;lntl yc~u reap 11111cll. \\%at you Itear ;mtl heetl is sotvrl ill thr heart and passes into life ancl clraracter. Hciir and heetl the. do~iblr- nlindcd, and do111,le-n~iodrclness \ \ p i l l be 111ras11recl to yoc~. Give l~retl tci l~ear \vll;~t is profital,lc, and you \\.ill be be- corn(- profitable iu (;ad's church, :u~cl ;~lway\ be pro6tal)ll- rc.\vartlcd. Hear the best ;tntI you \\.ill have the 1)cst. "\\'it11 \vhat meitsure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." "Unto you tllict (so) l ~ r a r shall more I)c giwn": more dcsire for Gotl's JVorcl, wort. capacity to 11c;lr good doctrine, more undcr- standing of \vl~i~t yo11 do hear, more cortvic- tion of tllc tnith ltcnrd, Inore grace to con- fornl to Christ, more opport~~nity to profit spirit~~ally. Has the. Lord given you somc- tlung \vortll Ilearing? Is \\hat you Itear \vorth beetling? Thcn \\!hat Ile hils given is ;I Ita~uler of truth. IIeed it 11y displaying it (1's. 60:4)!

Rev. H. Hoeksema will g ive a lecture in First Church dur ing t h e last

week in April. H e will lecture o n the

topic "The Calling of t h e Christian in

Regard t o Culture."

This lecture is promoted by the young people; however , everyone is

urged t o attend.

BEACON LIGHTS

OPEN FORUM

t l ~ c t t open letter to Rev. A. Mulder

I sincerely hope the Rev. H. C. Iloek- semn is not offc.udctl when I rcfusc, to 11larc. in Beucon Ligl~ts a letter addressetl directly to him. (Our readers \\,ill rec;ill I t ( % : ~ t l -

clreswd s11c11 a letter to the u~ldersignc.cl in the I;eb. issue of this paper). Tllc.rc i~ro rc.asons for thih action on my part: (it) I><! 1 1 s never spoken to nlc (tllerc wrrc c~ccasioris) nor \rrritten a pcrso~~;~l notc LI;

me regartling this entire matter. This to bc. surct i \ il lack of conlmon cor~rtesy ~ I I I ~ I I I ~ S ~

contucting collrag~es to say the least. Ant1 ( b ) his cry, "rctri~ct . . . . retrilct" CI~ISCS the tloor to thh. This cry is intc~lc*rill)lr: especially in t l ~ e light of his car1ic.r esaggeril- tions of nly nlihsio~~ presentation, and of 111y evalutions of our I'rotest'mt Reforluetl ~uis- sion endc;~vors.

But as I pron~ised earlier. 1 \vill rc:ply. As I ],age throl~gli this 1ell1.r ol tho

I~rother I begin to wonder if hc allows ;III-

other free e.q~ression of opinion! I ~rotict. IIC tasprcsses i~m;w.emcnt ar~tl I~ewiltlcr~nc~~t a t 111y reply. This is strange to say tlrr~ leiist! Did 11c not espect a clc:fcnct! fro111 me? Any conscientious reader \\~oultl 11av1. granted lnc tllc right of stem :~nd srrio~~!. rtply, especi;~ll>- when so nlercileasly at- tacked. I3r1t let me go OII \\-it11 niattcrs in this letter.

( 1 ) r\l)out that title "missions clefc~~detl." It \\,as nebither a slip of the pen nor a ski11 of tl~ouglrt. It \x70s deliberately chosen ant1 doul)tlessIy will not untlcrgo tmy correction or ;dteration. Unless! Anyone \rho l~ns the courage to criticize nic for citing t l l c a mis. rion ~nandate, deserves to I)e re~~lintlccl of the cause of missions ;IS st~ch. And I \\.as criticized when the 1)rother wrote, "It is all ve- \\'ell to use at] eye-catching pl~r;~sc, and to cite the so-called 'great missio~r,' f'c~r which, by the may, the tern1 'nlissior~ man- date' is rcully ;I misnomer. Hut if our lxol>lc. ;ue to be '~nission minded' in the hellthy,

Refor~ned sense of the word, they muqt br i~rstn~cted. Evcryo~~e in olir clay cites this great con~n~ission." .U in all I \\~oultl say 111y title f o ~ ~ n d its place to roost. So\\- if my colleag~~e \vitl~tln\vs the ahove para- gri~ph (ant1 several other cluestinns) fron~ llis "reflections" then nah~cilly n ~ y title xxi11 fall 1)y t l ~ c way side.

( 2 ) About that tcrm schis~~~atic. Here 1 \vould like to monopolize a littl(. space in I ; I~~COII Ligl~ts. For txvo t h i ~ ~ g s 1 ;III~ \per). sorry: ( a ) that the Rev. f1oekse111;t dicl not c!c~~nonstrate to us the good tllirt c o ~ ~ l d co~uc out of its use; ; ~ n d ( \ I ) t11;lt Ire tlitl not sub- stantiate his "right of 11s~" of that ter111 \vitli ougltt froln the \\.orcl of Cocl. Its, I kno\\., many of' my re~n;~rk., he noticc.c~bly bypasses, 11ut far more seriot~s is the fact tlrtit the Bible is left out of his letters. Sc-riot~s o~liissio~rs! l;ro~n out of t11c. ~nir~tttes of our niiijor assemblies (classis and synod) 11e quotes. \\'orsc yct, into my pcrsoual \,ocabulary hc pns. .\nd I nlu\t use that term ;&o he c l ;~ns! T l ~ t is, unlrss I can sllnw us (it11 of us: cl~urclrcs, consistories, classis ant1 synod) that its llse is \\mug. I3ut allout this I have I I I L I C ~ I tcj si~y.

I arn not having ;i rpl;lrrel \\.it11 our synod, rlassis or consistories. I prctscsntetl n l,r~blic rotest st against my colleag~~e i t ~ ~ d friend. 'This I have the perfect right to tlo without hav- itlg rcgistcred "ccclcsiiasti~ prote\t3' ill ;my cliurcl~ asseu~l>lies. The pul)lic prote\t is sinlplc notification of t1is;tpprc~val t11 p1111lic correspondence or conversation. And then: \\rhc11 anyone lrns a public bit of correspond- ence directed clirtctly to nlr or re\rol\in~ about nlc, I ht~rre 1111 the r i g l ~ ~ in h e world to resist and react.

Kcither do I have a cluarr~d with brother I4oekscrni1 about the FACT of schism. I react against his use of the term "scl~isrn- atic" as a NMIE. ar~d tl~cri in writing \vhic11 many, man>- come to rend. I can easily un-

eighteen BEACON LIGHTS

derstar~tl that the ~ ~ ~ i n u t c s of some major asscml~ly have in them the tcl-III schislr~;itic .since t11c.s~. rcclesi;lstical bodicas ~~i~tnrol ly 1;1y the sin of schism at someone's cloor. Oncc again, with this I hi~ve no cll~i~rrcl - ant1 please don't try to l,nt 1110 in cotdiet \\'it11 our r ~ ~ i ~ j o r nssetlll,li~~s! But 1 I~it\'c~ :~versio~~ to spbslring this KAXIE on tllc l>iljitlS of oilr Beaco~t Lights, c.specially wI1c.11 the cor- respontlcnce conccbrns me. Ant1 certainly, simply I~c.c;insc a CI:~ssis or S y ~ ~ o d used t l~i- teriu, this surely is I I ~ licensc. for our frec use tllcrt~f, nor 111iu1datory tlsc thereof. 1 ;tm sure Synod ncvc.r Incant that this tcnn must I,c continu:~lly on our lips ;tntl come const;~lrtly fro111 orll. pens!

In tl~r* tncwntitl~c Irt m e c*splain more clearly the real clistinction I ~ c l \ v ~ c n FACI' and S:\ILE \vith rc.sl,cct to sill. I woultl like ~nyseli u~rtlc~-s~oocl. Sul,l~c~scs ;I 1,rotlic.r in the cl111rc1i c o ~ t ~ ~ ~ ~ i t s ~ilrlrtlcr iind beinc cor&r~c*tl Lo jail rc.m:lins an ~uuepent;u~t man-sl:lyer. Of cot~rse, hy fact he is ;I

niurdcrcr but w l ~ c . ~ ~ I refer I I I him I don't call hi111 "the ~n~lrtlt:rer." S I I ~ ( . I ~ t ~ o t \ I J ~ C I I

I visit lri111 in his cell ( to bring i~llout repent- 'mce) or when I \\rite a lettrr \rhicll he hi~s access to and \\ r i l l conic. to rc;td. Oh! all of us src this! Bt~t tlicl Rcv. I.loc:k.\e~na usc this ter111 olll!/ as :I Siict? I sl~oultl say not! Purely as a narnc, i ~ n d then 11ot its a name that clistingnishes t11(: De I\*olf' group (notv dishantled) from 11s. I ~ u t 21s a Ilitllle inclcccl. This I)rir~gs unneccs.wry an(;~gr)nis~n.

Now I~o\\l about it all? \\'ell n;lhtrally much evil colllcs n t~ t of it. A rcsponsil~lc, professional person, in all 11c tloc.s, makes policy for many, I I I ~ I I I ~ follc)\\~t-rs. TIIC: 0111-

come: orlc hears Illore of t l ~ r tc8rtn Scl~isl~l- atic than of the S;tvior.

No I~rother! it's 11ot only a nlnttcr of "truth and fi~ct" bllt I I F \rfisclor~~ ;uitl c:l~i~rity. The little-st chiltl of C;IICI ci1n sees this. I think in the. past thc Hcc~cor~ Lights has I~cen rather free from t l ~ ; ~ t name, i~ntl I, ;IS ns- sociatc caditor \vo~~lcl like to kcel, it such.

Besit1c.s it's 11ot c4\.cn I~c i t~g consistent. Paul d(.sikmates t l ~ r enelllies of Christ ;IS

"clops" in his Epistle to the I'l~ilippiart ( i an1 not ilnplyinp ;II all thi~t tllc: T)e \Volf peoplt! \\v.rc: clogs, i l l fi~ct, I r:ollsider thc111 Christie~ts too) I I I I ~ ~reitller \vc, llor he, just com~nonly and co~~sistcntly use this term when \rre rc~fcr to s~lch wicket1 itl~out, 1n11c1i

Iiss \\,hen we speak in their Ilearing. Oh no! let's not I)c nasty.

Ancl ~ne! Retract? Before Cod, brother Hoeksemi~, b u v your dem;tnc\ in your OWII

hoson~! 1 write this in love! :\ncl my lo\,c or charit). does marc. d1;ln call sin to one's attention (a5 yo11 S ~ C I I I to imply is its reill cl~aracter) but also seeks, struggles with a11t1 often finds. It is s\veetness, softness ant1 kindness. IVitho~tt which, P:1u1 tells thc. Cor in t l i i :~~~~ in his 13th cllaptrr of the first epistlc, \vc iue NO'I'I~IING.

\Vh;~t do 1 wish to call thv Dr \Voll' group? I think the ;1ns\xrer is no\v known.

(3) :\bout ;11l tl~ose other ~nattcrs. To be sure I \\.ill try to I,r brid, I,t~t I~ecaust* of the nature of tllir~gs stated 1 will hnve to write ;I f rw inore \vords al>out n~atterz hitherto concluded in my esti~nntion. All along 1 think 1 proved my poir~ts. Intl(.ctI I chrific~l ho\r. that Rev. Hoeksc~n;~ inflatctl ancl esitpgerated 111y state~nents. 1 (lemon- str.itid cviden~ys of tlrai \vhicl~ is notllillg but insi~~~~ii t ion thro~~ghout his i~rticlc. But let ~ii(. jusl cite ollt8 c.s;unple, ;I prize o~lc! Re\-. Hocksenla \\,rites in his "reflections," "Or docs the editor hnve in 111il1d i111 over- balanced and over-c~nl~hasized ~nission pro- gralrr, s t ~ c l ~ as, fnr csa~nplr, t l ~ c . . . . latinchctl on Gunm . . . .?" Kow it rll;~kcs 110 differcsnce whetl~er one \\rites in que \ t io~~ for111 or in declarative lauji~~age - thc nho\.c is an insinuation of t l ~ c bad sort. M t ~ c is mny concrete proof once again, n11tl m). charge remi~ins: i~lsinuations! Contrary i \ this to Christian ctl~ics.

I silpgnse it only \vise or~cc agail~, to prove concrclcly, the evitlcncc. of grosx esagger;~tion. The rcader \voulcl clearly kno\v I proved this in my forn~cr article but lef lnc cilr again t\rVo apparently innocent qucstic~t~s. Fro111 "rc~flc.ctions" I cluotc agiti~~, "Is it fitir and just to our chi~rclles to cl;~s- s& vnciincies and clearth of lninisters as 'only escr~se'? . . . . \f'ould it Ixt :~ccorclil~g to the will of Gocl, clo you tlii~~k, to t:tk(: two or three or four Inore of ntlr ~l~ir~isterr and put them in the mission field?" I s11l1- mit: are these really only ~~uestions? I knoiv better, for the entirc contest clearly sho\r,s that Iloc~scmn \vo111d impress I I \ : xo wilh Ilnlder.

I nevc.r thought it \\.oulcl he necessary to

BEACON LIGHTS Nineteen

i ~ g ; ~ i r ~ ohsene please, I never used or~l!, tlic- phrase, "only cscuses." My cdilor:~l's fu l l ex~rcssion \\as, "by and large. only t.scuscs." To delete suclr vital bvords just prcbccedi~ig is "liftinz entirelyv' out of contest. I'lvase \top this for it frightcr~s the very c o ~ ~ c ~ ~ p t in- trgrity.

1 am sorry to have to poit~t 0111 tl~est. thinm.

In the liglut of all the ithove 1 ;Im toltl in tlrc lettc-r, "l~nless yo11 can prove- coy- elusively thiit your charges are true, \vithout either tearing t l ~ e ~ n o~ut of context or i~rldin:: yor~r o\rn i~naginary itaint~ation iuntl chvil u~ggestions to them, you s h n ~ ~ l d ri.tr;~ct."

Hetract i~g;un? \iTlnat for? 1 ;im convinced the cause of missiotrs can

rlt.vcsr 'live" in the atnrosphcre of sr~ch in- tolerance. I lere\xith I cotlcluile i t l l cnr- rcspondrnct- with Rev. Hoekscn~;~ of ~ l ~ i s score.

nut for no\\- I \vo~~ltl like to c11.;11 wit11 the concli~tling part of the letter. Poi111 1 i\ ;~tnazing. I iim ;url;~zctl that t l ~ ~ * r c \V;IS

sonrething \\'it11 \\.hiell Iny critic ;tgrc.c.el. Ole surely \vouldn't kno\\, it from re ;~ t l in~ "re- flcctiota." Hut to\varrl tile end of tlic Iettc~ I notice the oue thing witlr \vl~icl~ ~rry col- Ic;lp~e agrec!tl \\.as the nr;lttcr of otlr clrr~rcl~ pinpen not hnyinq enough about I I I ~ S S ~ O I L S .

\\'ell, this is ;I big concession! I f this is mhsing it2 somenrhat like hating tl~c. c'ngine 1,111 not tlrc- iiuto. T lue~~ who gocss ~)l:iccs? 1 cvnld ask Inany quc-stions now Ix~t 1 will :rot do so. Just one: if there is scarcely nothing in our church papers about ottr mis- .\ions as s11c11, ho\v will olir 11o111c:s know thereof and kcep intercstecl?

Xo our rnisbion propi~nr is not without criticism, s;tys he; but don't you tlarc. to mention on(. of these, says me!

I'oint .' is \\,e.arisome. I \\,ill only innkc ;I

feu- statenicnts. Yes, Hrv. H o e k s r ~ ~ ~ : ~ is oi~ly asking questions - therc \\.ere many, man?; of these. I indicated the suggestivc.~~css uf ;I

fen- earlier i~nd now ;tgnin \\-o~tld only rt:- mind hinr: there is ;un ethical ;~sgc:ct to all cluestions as \\,ell. The csplanatior~ of all these questions, as Ire gives it, is no1 sn5s- factog- or justifying to thc reader u.11~) ~ui- derstands t l ~ i ~ t words 11i1ve meani~~g. IIo\r innocent they arc nradc to appear! I con- cede there were purely i n n w c ~ ~ t clucslicns, ant1 these c111estions \Yere ann\reretl.

About a11 those qt~estions! I wo111d have t11ta I,rodler ji~~o\r. that I intended itntl could joyfully lravc penned some & ~ e tl~ol~ghts \vithont being tutored I)y him. 1 often \vondered \vhy he so prcs-maturely strppcd into m\- editori:tl plan to \\-rite sonle on ~nissions. (Something unl~e;trtl of for years.) No\\- I kno\\.. It \%-as to help me along a little - give a puding 11;intl - for he now writes, "Xfy third reason for asking questions wi~s that I I I O ~ C C ~ to s t i n ~ ~ ~ l ; ~ l e further, \\-cli- gro~~nded tliscnssion of otir mission d i n g :~ntl missiotr nrindedness." IIe co~~l t l very \\,c,U hatre written an ir~tlepc.ndent ;rrticlc. if tl~is be the case.

Finally, ;ilthongh I ;~grce tl~erc. is ;I real clifirence in spheres \\rl~r.n it comes to etluc;~tion and missions, nevertheless prac- tically speaking dl of 11s know thitt \\'l~othcr i l IIC the tnission field or the school room, I)oth (and nl;lrl>- other cilllses ) arc. firnancecl fronr the salnc purse. I ;it11 d l not s\vayecl f ~ o m my fonner clainr: ditnes to tloll;~rsl 1 ill11 slill rather convincecl tlrnt t111: item of rnissions on tlrr ling clot^^ 1111tlget is some- ~vlri~t like unto the trleplror~e bill on any fil~nily's general budget. Som, not s\v;iycdl hlore serious however is this: the coml,arisorr 1)ic:tllred in the letter doc*sn't say n111.cl1 for ~~rissions, no\\. tvhen nry Bible so c\plicitly ci~lls us, "Go ye into (111 t l ~ e \\,c~rlcl. ;~nti prc.:rch the gospel to every crci~tnrc.."

In conclusion, norn1111ly I woultl take it t11:1t a confession shoulcl I)cr forthc.onrinr: fro111 Iny colle:ig~~c.. but certainly 1 ;(In not asking for this. Sor do 1 intent1 to tell lri~n \\?hat I wnnt in tlrc: ;ma of rnissions. FIc kno\\.s \TI-y \yell. i~ntl \ve all tlo, t l~nt I plc;~tlctl for nlorc enthusi;~sm and interest - not for a ncw7 prr~granr. I hatre nc.vc5r intc~~~tlrtl nor ~)lat~ned to set things in order nor pattern a tvliole lle\tr plan for our ~r~issions. I Ic: knon,s ~ I I ; I ~ , and tl~ctt \vhy press Ine so? I'lri~se. I ;IIII not popisl~!

Yo\\, 1ct 11s all hope tltat the very thougl~t or ~nissio~~s \\,ill be restorccl in our ~nitlst and l~as sufferctl 110 harm I)y \vhnt ! tloleft~lly con\idcr a violent stonn.

Rev. A. 1111lder

111 kecl~ir~g t ~ i t l ~ tlte cditmil policy of Beacon Lights, this concludes the prrblic c o r r c s p o ~ ~ r l ~ ~ ~ e on flw rr~crtter.

- ed.

Twenty BEACON LIGHTS

NEWS from, for, and about our churches

LOIS C. KREGEL

Our Schools

"To you, Gorl's covenant ci1iltlrcm, IIe II:I.< ~ . ' i v c ~ ~ tl~c! ~ ~ r e o i o t ~ s gift ol' lear~ring. He has not given to all equally, howe\~cr, h ~ ~ t i ~ t

love IIv givcs to c:;~clr the tlIp:rsurc due to I~im. 011r He;~vr~nly l i ; ~ t l ~ r r in wisc10111 giv~.s to His cliilclren tl1:1t \\,hie11 is I~cst for them. In giving you this ability I-Ie rspects and r cq~~ i rc s th i~t yo11 llsr it in t l ~ c I r s t \vay pos- sil~le. n:id in honor of His Holy Name." So wrotL: hliss fIl1t11 I)yl;str;~ of our Ac1;11ns St. School in drr. A ~ ~ r ~ o t ~ t ~ c c r . Slre was coln- mentin: on thc report cards recei~~ecl I,y the students uporl cclmple~ion of l~alf of t11~ scl~ool ycsar.

Our South Holla~rd-Oakl:~wn scl~ool sc l~rd- ~thtcl :I confc:rencc. night for J;unuary 15.

Srmi~~ariart Davitl Engclsma spoke on "Closer Co-operation Betxveen I'arents a ~ l d School" a t tlrc. ~ l ~ o s t rcccnt meeting of Hope's P.T.A.

The L:rdies' .411siliary of Sout l~ Hollancl- Oakla\vn Scl~ool \itas to put on a srnorgls- hord dinner on February 16.

Hopc Scl~ool's hlotl~ers Circle. prc.garcc1 u soup uncl spaglrc:tti sllppcr ; ~ t I-luclsonvillc Cll11rc.11 on Fel,rt~;uy 2.

Radio News

The I'rocrnm Committee ot ollr Itc~formc.3 \fritnesr Hour has furnislrecl 11s wit11 ;I fwv filcts ancl figure\ \vllicl~ \trc> I,clicve \\.ill prove cluite intrr'sti~rg to t l ~ c rcsatlcrs of thi. pap..

Item one: About two niiles of recording t,tpe i \ r~tilizcd m r h \vrc*k to 1)roadcast our progranl ovrr t l ~ e various radio stations.

Item t\vo: The tape that is mailecl to l lontc Carlo. llonaco, iind hc:in~cd to the Ilritish Isles over Trans IVorlcl Radio h.;~\el\ more than 8,000 ~rliler before the tape is ;teain in the rc%cording room of t l ~ c Rcforlued \\'itness Hour.

I t r n ~ three: Did you h ~ o \ v that to put our thirty-~ninutr- program on thc air cacl~ Suntlay, ;I total of approsirl~ately eighty hours of \vork is c.spcndcd I I ~ the minister. choir n~c~rnl~rrs , and members of the Radio Comn~ittce?

Item four: Each tapc, enclosed in its mail- in% carton (total weirht, 13 ollnccs), rc- quires only a four ccnt stamp \\-hen niailed to our statiorls in t l ~ e United States.

Our Servicemen

D ~ ~ a n c .\lenscl~ entered the senice in Januarl and is at Fort Knos, Iientucky. \\'c llopr to have his aclclress later.

Homer Teitsnra (Southeast) ancl Tom Dc Yries (First) llavc r c h ~ m e d honie fronr tllc. service.

Bill Huber (Lovcland) has bren in thc hospital \\it11 tonsilitis ancl pneumonia. There is a clianpr in his address:

Pvt. Tlrn~. D. 1411her 1W 17606781 Co. 1-1 2nd BK. I1.S.A.E.C.R. Fort Belvoir, Virginia

BEACON LIGHTS Twenty-one

JOHN Z A N D S T R A J A N I 1 . BOX 206-8 CHICAGO tIEIGHTS, I L L I N 9 I S

W e d d i n g bel ls

rang on January 22 for Virgiuia 1leemstr.t and John H. Doughty (Southeast).

M e m b e r s h i p c h a n g e s

Slr. ant1 Slrs. H. Kaniphuis and eigl~i children triuisferrcd to Ilope fro111 Grancl 1Iavcn.

l l r . .ultl Slrs. 51. K;~nlps . ~ n d fo111 c*l~iltl~c-i~ joincd I Iopr, co~ning f ~ o m Hut l sc~~~\ illr.

Xlr\. Gary Lltbl~ers c n ~ n c to our iiud\cl:~- villc Clit~rch f1o111 Sherman St. Chr. 1lc.i. Church.

Cal led H o m e

Sir. H. lltllder of First C h ~ ~ r c l i at tll: age of 78 years.

Future c o n v e n t i o n e e r s

.% I)oy. born to Slr. ;tntl llrs. Jalnc-\ Uyk\11;1 (First).

A girl, horn to Slr. and Slrs. John K ~ ~ i p i 1.

( Hope ).

,A cirl, 1)r)r11 to \lr. i111cI Sir,. Ccr~lcl \lic~clc- Ina ( Hudsonvillc)

A Iwy, lwrn to Slr. ant1 llrs. \\'III. Boot11 ( First).

.A girl, born to Slr. and Slrs. S. h y c n g a (First).

.A boy, horn to Slr. anrl Slrs. John IIok\- berpen (Hull).

A l~o).. born to Slr. i ~ n d hlrs. Lirni Lubbers ( Creston).

N e w s N u g g e t s SIr. aud hlr,. Jollrl Sl~ytlcr (Iiirst) cele-

1,r;ttccl their goltlen wctlt l i~~g ;~uni\.ersary on her birthday, January 28.

'I'lrc congregation of Soutlr\\~c.st colnnie- moretetl wit11 Hev. Sl. Schipper. their p;15- tor, the hvcnt).-fifth annivcrs:rry of his (!I)-

tering the n~iuistry. They met togethrr on Febn~ary 8 for n IIostess St~ppc~r :rnd pr11- grium and presented Hcv. Schipper with a generous gift.

The Reformed Action Socic~ty of the \\'clt sponsored a si~~gspiration on I~c.l~r~~;try 9 in Doon Cl~urch. The 1;ttcst p:l~nphlct p ~ ~ b - lished by this uxliet?- is "The Sh;~pc of tire \Vorld" by Rev. G. \'an Uitren.

I-Iull's Ladies' Soricty pliins i~ S l iss io~~ Night for Friday, Slarch 9. I1c.v. L~rbl>er\ trill speak 011 the tlie~nc. "The \\'old of God is not I3o11nd."

First Ch~rrch receivctl :In 11rKcn1 request for summer clothing f ro~n cl~urclles irl Jamaica \\.ho have I~een eorrcsl>c)nding witlr Rev. I-Innko, ant1 are intere:;lc~tl in 0111 doc- trine; these i l e ~ ~ ~ \vc.rcs collvcti~tl tl ic- 1:lttc.r p;~t-t of J ; ~ n n n ~ - .

BEACON LIGHTS