World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- Young Men's Christian Associations
But although one may not preach so dangerous and misleading a doctrine,
it is nevertheless possible to realize that many a man is unconsciously
more of a Christian than he knows, and that in the last day he may say
with surprise: "When saw I Thee an hungered and fed Thee?"
We may turn to "A Student in Arms" for his interpretation of the feeling
of the common soldier in this crisis:
"Then at last we 'got out.' We were confronted with dearth, danger, and
death. . . . They, who had formerly been our despair, were now our
glory. Their spirits effervesced. Their wit sparkled. Hunger and
thirst could not depress them. Rain could not damp them. Cold could not
chill them. Every hardship became a joke. . . . Never was such a
triumph of spirit over matter. . . . If it was another fellow that was
hit, it was an occasion for tenderness and grief. But if one of them was
hit, O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory? . . .
Life? They did not value life! They had never been able to make much of
a fist of it. But if they lived amiss they died gloriously, with a smile
for the pain and the dread of it. What else had they been born for? It
was their chance. With a gay heart they gave their greatest gift, and
with a smile to think that after all they had anything to give which was
of value. One by one Death challenged them. One by one they smiled in
his grim visage, and refused to be dismayed. They had been lost, but
they had found the path that led them home; and when at last they laid
their lives at the feet of the Good Shepherd, what could they do but
smile?"
It has been well said that there is much natural religion in the
trenches, but that much of this religion is not Christian. What is the
attitude of the men to Christ Himself? Most of them associate Him with
all that is highest and noblest in life. They link Him with God in their
thought, and with themselves in their time of deepest need. Although His
name with that of God is sometimes taken on their lips in profanity,
there is often a deep reverence for Him. Thousands have seen the cross
of Christ standing among the ruins in the villages of Belgium and
Northern France, when all about seems to be battered and wrecked. The
old skeptical theories and captious criticisms of pre-war days are little
heard during this awful time. Generally speaking, the facts of the
gospel narrative are not disputed. They believe in Christ as the
revelation of God. They have no difficulty with the doctrine of the
divinity of Christ and do not doubt that He is a living reality and has
power to save. Their only difficulty is with their own sin. They do not
know how to break from it or are unwilling to give it up.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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