rors and overwhelming afflictions, and at the
same time outwardly the world slanders us as heretics, laying her
hand to our throats whenever possible and putting us to death.

THE REWARD.

Such marks, or scars, for Christ the Lord, Paul admonishes all
Christians to exhibit. Thus he encourages them not to be terrified
though they suffer every conceivable wrong, such as our brethren here
and there have suffered now for several years. But brighter days are
in store for us when once the hour of our enemies and the power of
darkness shall come. Our adversaries annoy us now with malignant
words and slanderous writings, and indeed they may take our lives. So
be it. We must in any event suffer if we are ever to attain true
glory. But what they will secure by putting us to death they
certainly shall experience.

11. In Paul's reference to the glory that shall be revealed in us
there is a hint as to the cause of man's unwillingness to suffer:
faith is yet weak and fails to descry the hidden glory; that glory is
yet to be revealed in us. Could we but behold it with mortal vision,
what noble, patient martyrs we should be! Suppose one stood on yonder
side of the Elbe with a chest full of gold, offering it to him who
should venture to swim across for it. What an effort would be made
for the sake of that tangible wealth!

12. Take the case of the adventurous officer. For a few dollars per
month he defies spears and guns, exposing himself to almost certain
death. The merchant hurries to and fro in the world in a frenzied
effort to amass riches, hazarding life and limb, apparently careless
of physical cost so long as God's mercy preserves to him but the
shattered hulk of a body. And what must not one endure at court
before he realizes, if he ever does, the fulfilment of his ambition?

In temporal things man can do and suffer everything for the sake of
honor, wealth and power, because these are manifest to earthly
vision. But in the spiritual conflict, because the reward is not
discernible to the senses it is very difficult for the old man in us
to believe that God will finally grant us glorious bodies, pure souls
and hearts of gladness, and make us superior to any earthly king.
Indeed, the very reverse of this condition obtains now. Here is one
condemned as a heretic; there one is burned or in some other way put
to death. Glory, wealth and honor are not in evidence now. So it
seems hard for us to resign ourselves to suffering an