Magyar Egyház, 1980 (59. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1980-01-01 / 1-2. szám
8 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ MAGYAR CHURCH STANDING UP TO LIFE Text: But Peter continued knocking. Acts 12:16 This is the story of a man who tried and failed, but refused to give up. He was one of those rare individuals who addressed himself to a specific task. He struggled hard to reach his goal, but when he arrived the door shut in his face. Through circumstances beyond his control and which he could never foresee, his mission failed. What he set his heart upon faded away like an old soldier. But when the door closed he refused to give up and was determined to see it through. That lesson is stretched across this story of Peter’s imprisonment. It was early in his ministry of witness to the word. With great zeal and utmost devotion he gave himself to preaching the good news of Christ crucified and risen again. He went up and down among his countrymen bearing witness to the power of that Gospel. Soon he found himself enmeshed by hostile forces and in the end he preached himself into prison. Prayers were made for him continually and one night an angel came; the chains fell off his hands, the guard fell back in a stupor, and the doors of the prison opened. There is here an interesting aside. The angel said to him, “Put on thy sandals.” It seemed strange that the angel which could break his chains and open prison doors could not also put on his sandals, because time was of the essence. But he was called back with the admonition, “Put on thy sandals,” as if to say, “God will always do for you what you cannot do for yourself; but God will never do for you what you can do for yourself.” You can almost see him go out into the night, hiding in the thick shadows, to the one place where he knew he would he received and where he would he safe. It was one of those moments when every split second counted. When he came to the door a maid saw him, shook her head and walked away. You read, “She opened not the door.” Peter did not fly into a rage or become hysterical. There is no evidence anywhere of panic or fear. The very next sentence reads: “But Peter continued knocking.” That was Peter’s finest hour. All that has meaning and significance for us. Let no one suppose this book is antiquated. H. G. Wells once remarked that we should either have a new Bible or that it should be brought up to date because it has lost touch with our world. Well, every page of this book has its relevance for human life in this day and every day. So it is here. There are times when we address ourselves to some high adventure, undertake some great resolve or give ourselves to some holy cause. We hold nothing back. We give ourselves to it in great devotion, utterly unconcerned about ourselves. But in spite of everything that we do, nothing comes of it. The harder we try, the more do we become entangled by defeat and despair. One day you knock at the gate of ambition until your knuckles are raw, but no one opens the door and nothing comes of it. You go out in search for health; you obey all the laws and regulations to achieve it, but the door remains closed and nothing happens. Or again, you knock at the gate of happiness, for it is the one thing you want above all other things. You hear voices and laughter in the house of mirth, hut no one opens the door and nothing happens. How often we meet that in life! Robert Browning once said that the reason why men fail is because they are unwilling to pay the price. That is only a half truth. Columbus wrote in his diary that he could have accomplished so much more had those upon whom he counted played their part. You cannot evade experiences like that. All of us have our closed doors. In hours like that it is so easy to walk out on the vision or turn your hack on some high commitment. Many settle back in some grim frustration, shrug their shoulders and say, “What is the use?” Others will pin a crape on their arm and feel sorry for themselves. There are those who are seized with panic and become hysterical; others are overwhelmed by cynicism and become embittered. Here is a teacher who with great devotion gives herself to her little group; but the children are listless and indifferent. It is so easy for the teacher to say, “Why should I care if they do not care?” Here is a businessman who holds standards of high integrity and honor. He turns neither to the right nor to the left; but all around liim are those with lower standards of integrity who
