ike riches and fine clothes, and nice
food, and friends, and adventures in the world, so as to love Christ
only, and follow the adventures of the spirit to which He will lead His
loyal soldiers. While still a boy Martin decided that this was the life
for him, and he began to long to leave his comfortable home and go and
join the hermits who lived in caves. So you can imagine that when his
father began to talk about his starting his military training he was
very much dismayed. Being a frank and honest kind of boy, he looked his
father bravely in the face, and told him straight out that he wanted to
be a Christian and give up his whole life to it.

Martin's father was very angry indeed. He stormed at the boy, and when
he found that was no good, he thrashed him. But nothing could make
Martin change his mind, and at last he decided the only way was to run
away from home.

But I told you God meant Martin to become a leader. To have run away and
lived with the hermits would not have given him just the kind of
training he needed, and the chance of showing he could stick to God
through real difficulties. So God let the next bit of His plan happen.

Martin's father told the Roman officials that his son had come to the
age at which all boys had to undergo their military training (though he
hadn't, really). And as Martin would not go and "join up," a kind of
press-gang lay in ambush one day and captured him, and he was led away
in chains and forced to take the oath of military allegiance.

His father being a Colonel, Martin was given a good position in the army
straight off, and had his own horse and his own servant. Of course,
nearly all his companions were pagans, and the life of the army was of a
pretty low standard. But Martin stuck faithfully to the kind of life he
knew was pleasing to God, and tried in his dealings with his fellow-men
to do things in the brave, kind, generous, unselfish way Christ would
have done them. Of course, this made all the soldiers and his
fellow-officers love him, and they must often have wondered why he never
got angry, or cheated, or grumbled and swore at unpleasant things; and
why he was so very kind to his servant, and always ready to give up his
place or any little privilege to other people. Though no one knew it,
even his pay he gave away to the poor. And yet he was not yet a baptized
Christian, for in those days people used to wait a long time and prepare
themselves very carefully for the