Bethel University - Spire Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

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14 THE BETHEL HERALD makes for the spirit of resignation an,d patience, that knows no discontent or lack of control, for whatever comes, when one's life is a part of God’s great plan, is best as a Caroline Atwater Mason aptly puts it: Whichever way the wind doth blow, Some heart is glad to have it so; Then blow is east or blow it west, The wind that blows, that wind is best, Life in this path is making its largest contribution to the fulfillment of the Divine plan, the accomplishment of the Divine program and thus, in the light of Him who knoweth all and doeth all things well, life is making the very most of itself when serving the purpose which He, its author and upholder, lias set for it. Nothing but the highest and best is what we covet for each graduate of Bethel and none the less for every undergraduate. STADET Jag stannade en afton in.vid smedjans dorr, Och horde stadets sftng vid val avslutad dag. Jag s g p golvet slaggor, som jag sett dem forr, De gam la slaggor, slitna utav rens slag. “Hur m nga stad har du val haft, min van, Att slita, nota dessa slaggor ut?” “Blott ett”, sad’ sraeden, men tillade se’n, “Du vet, att stadet gor pit alia slaggor slut! “Guds Ord”, jag tank-te, “stftr lik stadet n, Av tvivlets slag i sekler det berorts, Likval nar ljudet av dess slag dott ban, Oskatt star st det — slhggorna forstorts”. (Efter engelskan av E. Schmidt). + + In the still air the music lies unheard; In the rough marble beauty lies unseen; To make that music and the beauty needs The master’s touch, the sculptor’s chisel keen. Great Master, touch us with thy skillful hand; Let not the music that is in us die! Great Sculptor, hew and polish us; nor let Hidden and lost, thy form within us lie! —H. BONAR. “The human anatomy is a wonderful bit of mechanism,” observed the Sage. “Yes,” replied the Fool. “Pat a man on the back and you'll make his head swell.” —Cincinnati Enquirer. OUR Bl'RDEN BEARER The little sharp vexations and the briars that catch and fret. Why not take all to the helper, who has never failed us yet? Tell Him all about the heartache and tell him the longings too. Tell Him the baffled purpose when we scarce knew what to do. Then, leaving all our weakness with the One divinely strong Forget that we bore the burden and carry away the song. —Phillip Brooks. He died in harness, poor chap.” “Yes, and by the way. did you ever notice how much like a harness life is? There are the traces of care, lines of trouble, bits of good fortune and breaches of faith. Also tongues must be briddled, passions curbed, and everybody ha6 to tug to pull thru.” —Onward. + Maud—Can you run a fliver? Beatrice—No, indeed. Maud—Why, I thot you graduated from an Automobile school. Beatrice—So I did, but I only took the Classical Courses. —Life. Blessed is the man that does not expect anything, he is never disappointed. —Pope.

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THE BETHEL HERALD 13 Making the most of my life By G. ARVID IIAGSTROM The approaching Commencement season, of which the Annual Number of the Bethel Herald is an unfailing reminder, is like its predecessors one of mingled reflections and emotions to both faculty and studen.t alike. The year just closing is rich with meaningful import. Has it been our best or could it be improved for each of us? Has our service been helpful to him who ministers as well as to the one ministered unto? Browning says: “A poor man served by thee shall make thee rich, a sick man helped by thee shall make thee strong; Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense of service which thou renderest,” and Again “all service ranks the same with God.” Whatever be the message of the year it will not fail of its purpose if it enables us to attain a greater degree of efficiency and to have contributed something to the enrichment of other lives. To the student who graduates as well as to him who continues the problem is how to make most of one’s life. To many a young person, yea, even to the maturer ones, the first and often the most dominating element in making the most of one’s life consists in. getting the most one can. that is getting rather than giving, receiving rather than contributing. This, however, is a mistaken notion for it is in, giving that living consists rather than receiving. The beauty of our faith is that it can be successfully lived. It works, and it works better than anything else offered. Some one has said: Faith in God. faith in man, stands behind the words “I can. When you have faith in God nothing is impossible for then what is God’s is yours to draw upon. An unknown author has expressed this thought in the following lines: The sun is forever pouring its gold On. a hundred worlds that need to borrow, To give is to live. His warmth he squanders on. summits cold, His wealth on the homes of want and sorrow, Its joy is the joy it freely diffuses; The flower shines not for itself at all; Of beauty and balm it is prodigal. And it lives in the life it freely loses; No choice for the rose but glory or doom, To exhale or smother, to wither or bloom To deny is to die. The seas lend silvery rays to the land The land its sapphire streams to the ocean.; The heart sends blood to the brain of command. The brain to the heart its lightning motion, and over and over we yield our breath Till the mirror is dry and images death. To live is to give. Dead is the hand that is not open wide To help the need of a human, brother; He doubles the length of his life long ride Who gives of his fortunes to help another; And a thousand million lives are his Who carries the world in his sympathies to deny is to die. The talents of life, its opportunities for the use and investment of the same for the help of those around us to lift them to a nobler realm and help them catch a clearci vision of the higher ideals in life is to be imbued with the mind of the Master who came not to be ministered unto but to minister and give His life a ransom for many.” Who like He has made the most of His life and. being so, it will be possible when permeated by Ilis spirit we catch His vision, walk in His footsteps and do His bidding. Kipling says: The tumult and the shouting dies, The captains and the kings depart: Still stands thine ancient sacrifice, an humble and a contrite heart. This is not only the way to fruitful and acceptable service but is also the golden way by which the talents and possibilities deposited by God in the human heart can reach their highest development arid hence in no other way is growth assured. This

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THE BETHEL HERALD 15 The value of reading By EMIL T. CARLSON We arc living in an age of refinement and culture. Schools and colleges are annually turning out vast armies of men and women of refined taste and manners. The illiterate person is a back number in any walk of life today. In our nation, the great melting pot of nations, only 7.7 percent of all its inhabitants are unable to read or write to some extent. In the northern countries of Europe, such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark the percentage of illiteracy is even lower, varying between 2 and 3 percen.t. The condition of the people of these countries is greatly superior to the ignorant and illiterate people of southern Europe. Although we are enjoying these privileges and have access to multitudes of books, yet how few really know and understand the value of reading. A person may have command of one and even more languages, and yet not gain the value from reading that lie should. Ruskin has very ably divided all books into two classes,—the book of the hour an,d the book of all time. These two classes may both of them again be devided into good books and bad books. A book is the product of the man or woman who has made a life study of that particular subject he lias written about. What it has taken them a lifetime to find out through sacrifices and hard labor, we may find out in a few hours by reading their books. The first thing essential for us is to know what is of value in literature and what is not. Just as an efficient goldsmith mu6t know how to distinguish pure gold from alloys and imitations, a reader, to be an efficient reader, must know a book of value from a book of no value. At first sight one may be as attractive as the other. It is through the rigid test of furnace and acid that the genuineness of the pure metal is proven. Our souls may be likened to the smelting furnace, our learning and wit to the acids and tools. It is not enough to have found a good book. After we have found it we must learn to read it. We must let the author’s life become a part of our life. It is not the number of books we read that makes reading valuable. It is the accuracy and thor- oughness with which we read that counts. Men who wrote these books spent years of their life investigating and analyzing these things. Every word and every thought is a gold mine in itself. We must dig anjd we must work. The more we dig the more we find. Books bring to us the best society of all ages. We can associate with men and women of the past better than many of those who live contemporaneously with them. By reading the biography of Lincoln, and his stories wc probably know more about Lincoln than many who were personally aquainted with him. We know more about what Jesus taught and practiced by reading the four Gospels than many a Jew living in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. The book is the best of the author’s life. Milton said: “A good book is the precious life blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on, purpose for a life beyond life.” Every man’s life has its drawbacks and faults. Most of our geniuses have been more or less eccentric. But whatever may have been their faults we know this: their books are the best of their lives minus the faults and failures. Books are the stepping stones by which we are to attain our ambitions. They are the inheritance of our fathers. The world today is better than, it was two thousand years ago because our forefathers have forged a way. We study the life and works of Lincoln. Washington was Lincoln’s comrade during those long winter evenings in the log cabin. Washington, in turn fought the great battles of Breitenfeld and Lutzen in company with Gustav Adolph. Through the Bible we can associate with the partiarchs of old and God’s men of all ages. We learn by their mistakes, we profit by their faith and patience. This is no doubt what the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews wishes to tell us in the eleventh chapter of that epistle. In the reading of good literature we are then getting the experiences of our forefathers, handed down to us. They are the bridges for us to use in crossing the marshes and dangerous rivers of life.