With Our Fighting Men: The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great WarSellers, William E.
History
With Our Fighting Men: The story of their faith, courage, endurance in the Great War
Sellers, William E.
Great Britain. Army -- Military life; World War, 1914-1918 -- Religious aspects
What a picture these letters present of Christian life upon a
battleship! We could multiply them indefinitely, but must condense
instead.
One young Christian sailor on a battleship tells of a Bible-class and
prayer-meeting, held every Thursday, conducted by a naval lieutenant.
Another tells of a Methodist class meeting on board conducted _twice_
weekly. A third sends home the minutes of a meeting held by several of
the men, at which it was resolved to hold a meeting every evening to
be devoted to Bible study, except on Saturdays, when the hour would be
spent in prayer. The Bible study, it was resolved, should begin with
the Epistle to the Romans. We wonder if these sailor lads found any
difficulty in that difficult Epistle. It was further resolved that
every Sunday evening a Gospel meeting should be held, and that every
Christian brother should be expected to take part. And, finally, the
men's correspondent asks that Christian people at home will pray that
he and his comrades may witness a good confession, and that they may
tell forth "God's wonderful story of Christ's redeeming love."
A naval officer who is a Wesleyan local preacher says: "We are still
going on well--class meetings in the cabin and meetings on the Sunday
night. Wouldn't it be fine to have all the Service local preachers you
could get for a service in the Central Hall after the war and the
platform full of Methodist sailors and soldiers?"
Here is a touching little letter from a torpedo boat. It is full of a
simple trust in Christ, and pulsates with sweetest fellowship in Him.
"The winter has been rather a trying one for us in this tiny little
craft, but really I never knew the companionship of a present Saviour
so thoroughly as I have since hostilities began. It would seem almost
as if I were His only care, and that He made me a special study. The
wonder of it all is the more marked when I remember how poor has been
my service to Him, compared with all the great benefits with which He
daily loads me. In answering my prayers, in subduing the storms just
when they were at their worst, in giving me a thorough victory over my
usual weakness, and in a thousand other ways He makes me to lie down
in green pastures, satisfied and at rest, contrary to all the seeming
laws of warfare. These things I tell you, not from any conventional
compulsion, but because they really are so, and because I should be
thrice unworthy of His name if I forebore to tell out what great
things He has done."
I will quote one or two sentences, this time with reference to
Salvation Army work. A lance-corporal on board the _Centurion_ writes:
"The chaps on board H.M.S. _Centurion_ expect much from us
Salvationists these youthful days. There are five of us on this ship,
and we are not only engaged in cheering up each other, but we are
distributing as much cheer as possible. Our ship is called the
'Hallelujah Ship.'"
Another writes from the same ship: "We have had some glorious
soul-saving times."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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