Eastern Mennonite School - Shenandoah Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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Page Ten Ambassadors for Christ There is a rather long list of things which should characterize a student who is being graduated from an institution of learning. The diploma which he receives on commencement day of course represents many of these things. It shows that he has passed a prescribed course of study and has made an acquaintance with various fields of knowledge such as the sciences, mathematics, literature, and languages. But the graduate must have learned more than that. Knowledge such as we have just mentioned is simply the tools. It is necessary for the student to have learned how to use these tools. The heart as well as the head must be trained. Some one has said that the quest for truth should bring one repose of mind. We might call this the satisfaction of studying. Keen delight is also found in study- ing. The pleasure of seeing new worlds through microscope and telescope has made many a heart throb with joy. It has been said, however, that the touchstone of edu- cation is sympathy—to have a feeling of kindness toward the unfortunate and to be sincerely helpful. A greatness of soul is one of the best marks of an educated person. But there is yet one mark of an educated person that we would mention. We trust that it is a mark that characterizes each member of our graduating class. That mark is simply this: The pursuit of a great purpose. The class of 1938 has chosen for its motto, “Ambassadors for Christ.” To engage in ambassadorship for Christ, we believe, is pursuing a great purpose. It is also an old purpose, this business of representing Christ, for it was to this task that a small group of men devoted themselves almost two thousand years ago. To be ambassadors for Christ has been the desire of thousands of lives since those early days of Christianity. And there is associated with these lives a nobleness of character and a peace of soul that comes only by devotion and service to Christ. We are happy that we too can follow this same path, confident that the same devotion and service to the same Christ will yield in our lives the same fruit. To be ambassadors for Christ means a great deal more than applauding the ideals and aims of the Christian faith. For a youth, or anyone, to serve Christ means to serve Him and no one else. To be an ambassador for Christ—-the kind of ambassador Christ would have one to be—calls for a severe attitude toward oneself. “Let him deny him- self and take up his cross and follow me.” The talents of Christian youth are solicited everywhere for non-Christian purposes. The temptation for a Christian youth so to use his abilities is strong. It can be overwhelming. In nothing does a young Christian need to guard more carefully than in the choosing of a life’s work. We repeat, to follow Christ means to follow Him and no one else. But let it be remembered that the same Christ who requires us to deny ourselves is able to give us the needed courage and vision to do so. Vhere are within the Mennonite Church unlimited opportunities for “Ambassa- dors for Christ.” There is a desperate need in our Church for greater spirituality. Here is a life-long challenge that is best met by a daily living that is quiet, consistent and sympathetic. Within our Church, however, 1 is a growing missionary spirit. It is expressing itself in a general expansion of missionary endeavor, such as the found- ing of new mission stations and the conducting of summer Bible schools. If we can serve as ambassadors for Christ in any such enterprises we should consider it a privilege. As ambassadors for Christ we must serve Him in the way that He desires. If | we would build for Him it must be according to His design. “Except the Lord build | the house, they labor in vain that build it.” His message of love, His redemption for mankind, can be made known only by those who are captured by His spirit and pos- sessed with His grace. i For each ambassador of Christ there is that strong assurance, “Lo, I am with you.” | In the confidence of such Presence we can be equal to the tasks ak today and measure ' up to the responsibilities of tomorrow. —Grant M. Stoltzfus. I | — | |

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Page Nine The President’s Message to the Graduating Class The class of 1938 is to be- congratulated for having reached its goal. This was accomplished through continuous effort and application. Some of you haye spent a number of years in this Institution while others have only been with us for this one year. You have the distinction of being the largest class to graduate in the history of the School. Perhaps the most of you will leave this Institution never to return as students. You will enter the various walks of life; some will take up the teaching profession; others may respond to the call of the mission field. A number will return for further study. Regardless of your course in life be a student wherever you may be. Whatever the Lord may have for you to do, be sure you do His will. Carry with you constantly the conviction that to be in the will of the Lord is the highest attainment in life. It will bring to you peace, contentment, and the greatest and most abiding happiness in service. Determine by the grace of God to be a living witness for the Christ who suffered and died on Calvary and rose triumphant from the tomb and who now lives at the right hand of God the Father. Loyalty to God and truth in the midst of conflict will be justly remembered and rewarded by our Saviour-Judge when He shall appear to claim His own who have owned Him in the midst of the generations in which they lived. Should the Lord tarry, may it be said of each one of the class of 1938 as it was said of King David, “After he had served his generation by the will of God, fell on sleep.” —John L. Stauffer. Class Adviser's Message Dear Members of the Class of 1938: I am counting it a happy privilege to bring you a little message. Our friendship together has been rich indeed. Our association during the past two years has been the source of much genuine satisfaction and joy. You have wrestled manfully through problems; in your decisions you have exercised good Christian judgment; you have been ensamples to your fellow students; you have proven yourselves as possessing noble aspirations. For all these traits and many others let me give you highest com- mendation. From the first that “Ambassadors for Christ” became our motivating principle some of its challenges have gripped me. I want these challenges to take hold of you as well. The literal meaning of the Greek word translated ambassadors suggests one having age and consequently the dignity, seasoned judgment, wisdom, sagacity, and tact of experienced manhood. This does not put old heads on young shoulders, as the saying goes; rather it suggests that you as Christian youths are willing to exercise the poise and bearing of old age. In temporal affairs an ambassador holds the welfare of a nation in his hands. As he succeeds or fails to pacify nations that are ready to break into the awful horrors of war, the lives of millions of souls are at stake. The ambassador stands up in manful courage to represent his people. All his strength is summoned and brought to bear on the task of reconciling differences. As Christian ambassadors we will need, as Paul observed, to speak boldly, for we are indeed entering a conflict. God is willing and ready to forgive, but men are not willing to come back to God. Something of what is required of ambassadors was experienced by the same Apostle when he spoke of himself as an ambassador in bonds. The daysman himself may suffer at the hands of estranged man. In the case of Paul the ambassador in bonds became the ambassador in blood. His King died in order to make reconciliation; Paul also poured out his own blood as a final testimony in which he besought men, “Be ye reconciled to God.” The ambassador Paul passed on. Have we caught the inspira- tion of his dying testimony? The challenge is ours, by His grace let us meet it. A fellow ambassador, Chester K. Lehman.

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