was all I could see on the black bosom of the darkness. A
little later I found that that light was shining from a window in my
own home. A little later still I found my anxious mother behind that
light waiting for the home-coming of her boy.

Now, I did not have much light to begin with. It was pathetically
meager. But as I followed it it led me home. Thomas had but little.
Bushnell had but little. But they were willing to be true to the light
that they had. And being true to it, they found the fullness of the
light. For it was true then as it is true to-day, "if any man is
willing to do His will, he shall know."

II

THE GREAT REFUSAL--JONAH

_Jonah 1:1-3_

There is doubtless not another book in the literature of the world that
has suffered more at the hands of men than the book of Jonah. It has
been tortured by its enemies and wounded in the house of its friends.
We have been so prone to give our attention to the non-essential in the
book rather than the essential. We have had such keen eyes for the
seemingly ridiculous and the bizarre. For this reason it has come to
pass that you can hardly mention the name of Jonah to a modern audience
without provoking a smile. Thus Jonah, coming to us as an evangelist,
is mistaken by many for a clown.

Now this is a calamity. It is a calamity in the first place because
the book of Jonah is one of the gems of literature. There is not
another book in the Old Testament that is more fragrant with the breath
of inspiration. There is not another book more radiant with the light
of the divine love. It is a wonderful gospel in itself. Therefore it
is a great pity that we have turned from its winsome wealth to give
ourselves to the unedifying task of measuring the size of a fish's
throat.

Did you ever hear of the hungry men that were invited to a feast? When
they came within the banquet hall they found the table spread with the
viands of a king. But the table was a bit out of the ordinary.
Therefore, there arose a discussion over the material out of which it
was made. These guests began heated arguments also over the method of
its carpentry. And they argued so long and learnedly and well that the
food went utterly to waste and they went away more hungry than when
they had come.

There is a story of a prince who loved a beautiful peasant girl. In
spite of his royal blood he determined to marry her. To seal his
pledge of marriage he sent her a wonderf