Hungarian Church Press, 1950 (2. évfolyam, 4-13. szám)

1950-07-15 / 12-13. szám

-13-Hungarian Church Press

Prefessor Dr. Alexander Makkai:

WE REMEMBER WITH THANKSGIVING

On the fifth anniversary of Hungary's liberations, representatives of Hungarian Protestantism published a booklet commemorating this event. The following article by Professor Dr.Alexander Makkai is taken from this publication.

If we walk in faith, we recall with gratitude all that has happened to our church since the end of the war. This period has been the greatest outpouring of God's mercy since the time of the Reformation. I am fully aware that this seems to be an exaggeration, or even a preposterous statment to many. And this must be really felt so, unless wo take the Christian viewpoint of thankfulness to survey and judge the events of our history• A mentality that is alien to the Gospel, even if it claims to be churchly thinking, is prone to dwell on-those shadows which really have no other significance than to emphasize the light spots in the picture. Yet the lord says:

"He that followeth me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. /John 8:l2«/

let us recall, in the spirit of thanksgiving, our condition and position five years ago; let us see those large and fearful shadows which were enlarged, by out lack of faith, selfishness and ignorance, to awful dimensions, and let us also see how the light of our new life has dawned, upon us, from among these shadows, by the .grace of Him Who declared of Himself: "I am the light of-the world”.

This light cast its rays on the way of deliverance, thus fulfiling the promise of Christ; ”Ye shall know the truwh, and the truth shall make you.; free”. /John.8:32./

What is this truth? Nothing but the truth of God Himself which reveals itself in the life of individuals, peoples, and of the church. Not human half-truths, but the full truth that "all things work together for.good to them that love God, to them who are the called.according to his purpose"/Romans 8:28/

In the spirit of grateful rememberanoe we say today that all things have worked together and will work together for good to them, individuals and congregations, who really love God. But those who truly love God will not weep over things which, for our good, have been judged and destroyed by God. On the other hand, these men will discover those things which, to them, did not reveal this judgment of God, or, on the contrary oven appeared to be the good gifts of God Himself. It is the method of God Who, through Jesus Christ, raises the dead, to bring forward those things which were held in disregard or even in contempt, to lend these new dignity and significance in the eyes of the believers, and to make those the sources of the church’s renewal. It is only from this point of view that we can sincerely give thanks to God for having brought forth, through the great happenings and