Oh, girls and boys, if you want to make your mark in the world, choose a
great aim, endure the work that brings it near, and then go at it and
stay with it!
It was one of the most wonderful mornings of history when was fought the
battle of Vimy Ridge, that helped to turn back the German hosts.
I had a friend in Vancouver who stood at one end of that fiery line, at
the early zero hour that day. He said it was the most majestic sight he
ever saw when, in the early gray dawn, three thousand artillery opened
at once and belched forth fire and shot all concentrated on one spot.
He said it was so terrible that he could hardly think of even a pin
being left on the ground.
It was a clean sweep, that barrage that prepared for the bayonet charge
of the Canadian Brigade.
All victory is won by that concentration of purpose.
Do you not want victory?
I am sure you do not want to be defeated in your life. You want to make
a bull's eye. If you do, take a definite aim; form your plan and fire
in that direction.
Do you know that one of the Old Testament words for sin means "missing
the mark"?
You and I are not made to hit the target of life on the outside edge.
We are made to hit it in the centre.
Therefore, young folks, be a rifle with a single aim, and make your
bull's eye!
There is a poem by a great man called Goethe. It is a little hard, but I
believe you can understand it if you study it out, and it is worth a
little study. Here it is:
"Are you in earnest? Choose the very minute
What you can do, or think you can begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated.
Begin, and then the work will be completed."
*XXVII*
*THE SOLDIER'S OUTFIT--THE BELT AND PUTTEE*
Nearly every girl and boy loves a uniform. I am not sure but that
grown-up people do too.
Now, a uniform has to be neat. If it is not, it looks the opposite of
attractive.
And two things help to make it neat and trim: One is the belt that holds
the tunic in, and the other the puttees that fold up the trouser legs.
They make the soldier smart-looking. As the modern small boy says,
"They are classy!"
And they are so useful.
To-day, golfers and outdoor sports, even women, put on knickers and roll
up tight things that are loose, because then they can do better work and
play.
The belt and puttee make the soldier firm and strong, and fit for travel
and work. They brace him up, hold him together, give him support.
Now, one of the Bible messages is, "Gird up your loins." The loins are
the centre of your body, where you are apt to get weak or sore backs.
Perhaps you have had that feeling come, as though you were going to
break in half. It is because you have not been strong enough in the
centre for the strain.
1. Why should we be girded up? Well, of course, in Bible days, and in
Eastern countries, the very clothing made a hard journey or a task
needing exercise very difficult. They wore flowing robes with wide
sleeves, like a college gown. Now, nobody could do a trail ranger's
work within that dress.
When a racer runs a race, or a boxer enters the ring, or an athlete goes
into a gymnasium or on to the field, they take off all that is not
necessary.
Even the Eastern people wear girdles and sashes to hold in their loose
clothing.
You need to be held tight together if you want to be able to swing
yourself. You can't be free in garments that cling to you, and wrap
themselves about your legs and arms.
The same is true of your mind. It won't work if it is not held in.
Nor will your soul.
Jesus, in His parable, says we must have our lamps lit and our loins
girded, because only then will we be ready for the chance when it
comes--and it may spring on us unannounced.
That is the purpose of school and work and lessons and exercises. Life
is not an easy job.
If you have read "Tom Brown's Schooldays" (and I hope you have or will)
you will find the author saying that "life is no fool's or sluggard's
paradise, but a battlefield ordained from of old, where there are no
spectators, and the youngest must take his stand, and the stakes are
life and death."
If you go to a hockey match or a baseball game, you can sit in the
grand-stand and look on; but there is no grand-stand in life, and no
looking on. We are all in it, and, therefore, we need to be ready.
Now, being ready is just girding yourself--gathering yourself together
so you can make an effort. And if you do not make an effort, you will
leave behind no mark, any more than you do when you put your finger in a
pail of water and pull it out again.
2. The puttee is to make us tight and strong and ready to march; but the
belt is also to hang things on.
That is the worst of life--we have to carry a lot of burdens. Some of
them, of course, we make for ourselves. We often tie things on to us by
silly acts and sins. The best thing to do with them is not to have any,
or get rid of them as soon as possible.
But there are real burdens that God sends. They are His gifts to us, and
we need a place to carry them--duties and tasks and home calls and
troubles and sorrows. Oh, there are a lot of things to do, and if you
have no belt, where in the world are you going to hang them all?