show great, so this street scene shows the
presence of that "something" which intensifies the difficulty of winning
the Castes for Christ. Each unit is weak in itself, but in combination,
strong.

"A forlorn hope" we have called the attempt to do what we are told to
do. The word is a misnomer; with our Captain as our Leader no hope is
ever "forlorn"! But our Leader calls for men, men like the brave of old
who jeopardised their lives unto the death in the high places of the
field, in the day that they came to the help of the Lord, to the help of
the Lord against the mighty. A jeopardised life may be lost.

Christ our Captain is calling for volunteers; here are the terms:
"Whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel's the same
shall find it." The teachers' life may seem "lost" who lives for his
college boys; the student's life may seem "lost" who spends hour after
hour through the long hot days in quiet talks in the house. Be it so,
for it may mean that. But the life lost for His Name's sake, the same
shall be found again.

CHAPTER XVII

If it is so very important. . . ?

"Let us for a moment imagine what would have
happened on the Galilean hillside, when our Lord
fed the five thousand, if the Apostles had acted
as some act now. The twelve would be going
backwards, helping the first rank over and over
again, and leaving the back rows unsupplied. Let
us suppose one of them, say Andrew, venturing to
say to his brother Simon Peter, 'Ought we all to
be feeding the front row? Ought we not to divide,
and some of us go to the back rows?' Then suppose
Peter replying, 'Oh no; don't you see these front
people are so hungry? They have not had half
enough yet; besides, they are nearest to us, so we
are more responsible for them.' Then, if Andrew
resumes his appeal, suppose Peter going on to say,
'Very well; you are quite right. You go and feed
all those back rows; but I can't spare anyone
else. I and the other ten of us have more than we
can do here.'

"Once more, suppose Andrew persuades Philip to go
with him; then, perhaps, Matthew will cry out and
say, 'Why, they're all going to those farther
rows! Is no one to be left to these needy people
in front?'

"