In one of the great New York daily newspapers some days ago I read
the following announcement:
The Kaiser's Cup which belonged to the winner of a trans-Atlantic
yacht race has been sold for the benefit of the Red Cross and was
publicly broken into pieces in New York City. It was supposed to be
made of solid gold and to be worth five thousand dollars. It was
really made of pewter with a thin gold lining and was valued at about
forty dollars.
"Things are not always what they seem to be," said one of the wise
men of the other century, and the famous Kaiser's Cup is another
illustration of the truth of that statement. When I was a child I
read in my old blue primer the story of a great dance at which time
two children appeared on the floor dressed in gay attire and danced
to the great delight of the assembled people, who greatly wondered at
the skill of two such small people when suddenly some one rolled an
orange across the floor when the two little dancers stopped their
fancy dancing and made a mad rush for the orange; they fought for it
to such an extent that they tore off their gilded robes, and lo, they
were only two little monkeys. It was the story of the Kaiser's Cup
dramatized on a ballroom floor. Don't let a bright exterior dazzle
your eye, remember the cup may be made of pewter, not gold.
To illustrate this truth, secure two boxes; one should be covered
with plush, the other, just a common wooden box. The plush box should
be empty, the plain box loaded with beautiful flowers or other
valuable things. Have these two boxes on the table in full view of
the audience. After you have told the story of the Kaiser's Cup, turn
to the two boxes and say: "Look at these two boxes on the table
before you; which of them do you think is of the greater value? I
think I hear you answer and say, 'The beautiful plush box, it looks
just like a box containing jewels.' You open it and find it contains
nothing. It is the truth of the Kaiser's Cup in wood. Gold on the
outside, pewter on the inside."
Then open the plain wooden box and show it to be full of flowers
which you scatter about on the table or distribute among the people,
"Things are not what they seem to be" is as true today as when the
saying was first uttered. Learn to see things as God sees them; man
looketh upon the outward countenance, but God at the heart.
Remember there is coming a time when the Kaiser's Cup will be broken.
We call that time the Day of Judgment, the Bible gives it that name.
When that day does come, then all that is hidden will be revealed;
then our cup of life will be tested by God's word. Will it be pure
gold or will it be like the Kaiser's Cup?
A little girl surprised her father by asking him the question, "What
is God's address?" The father, wishing to teach his little child a
lesson, said, "1421 Grand Avenue." It was the number of their own
house he had given. He meant to say to her, "God is living here with
us." Both God and the little girl had the same address. The cup of
their home was gold inside also. Martin Luther had the same thought
in his mind when once a stranger knocked at his door and said, "Who
lives here?" Luther replied, "God and Martin Luther." If we can say
this of our hearts, "Jesus and I live in the same heart together," we
shall be able to stand when the great day comes when evil things will
be opened up and broken up.
Remember the Kaiser's Cup.
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