Christian Action League
December 22, 2022
The following was found in One Hundred Great Texts and Their Treatment, by Frederick Barton, 1914:
Urging men to face the New Year in dependence upon the unfailing Christ, Rev. R. P. Anderson is credited with the story of a man who accompanied his friend to the door of his home to say goodbye. It was night when they stepped outside, and both lifted their eyes to see the starry heavens.
“It’s a grand sight,” said one.
“Man, it’s just dreadful,” replied the other, who was very much a pessimist.
“The same feeling of awe in the presence of immensity made the Psalmist, David cry out, ‘What is man?’
“As he looks out upon infinity and views the whirling worlds around him, as he marks the swift and irresistible surge of time, he [humanity] feels like a fly on the rim of a gigantic wheel, forever staggering on the verge of tragedy.
“How different is the sweet and happy attitude of Jesus! He looks not at the smallness of man compared with the vastness of creation but at the greatness and kindness of God. These diamond worlds! God made them. This swift-moving stream of years! God rules it. And God is my Father!
“Go into the New Year with the mind filled with your insignificance, and despair will lay its icy hand upon your heart, and you will cry: ‘It’s dreadful! What is the use? What is man?’
“But face the New Year with the joyous cry, ‘My Father,’ on your lips, and with your eye fixed on his pitying love and unfailing tenderness, and your soul will be flooded with sunshine, courage, and faith.”
Happy New Year from The Christian Action League of North Carolina!