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Page 26 text:
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Pago Twenty-two Gotfunestce+ne+ti Addlsiebi Condensation of address given by Professor Eric G. Hawklnson at the Twenty-fifth Annual Commencement at Minnohaha Academy June 3. 1938 Mr. President, mombers of the board, mombers of the faculty, members of the graduating class, and irlonds: Several centuries ago our Great Master said to a low Imperfect men. Go ye out into all the world and make disciples of all the nations.” A few years lator one of His greatest followers said to a few very Imperfect Christians in a town called Corinth, The world is yours.” What an amazing profession that was, and what a fearless word! Yet it may be confusing to some to say that the world is yours. The word world has so many connotationr. Wo speak of tho material world upon which we live, our litlle globe, as the great univorso. We speak of an eastern world and a Wostorn world. Wo speak of a cultural world and a world of idoas. We spoak of a world as organized apart from God. and it is necessary that wo define rather carefully what wo mean when we say the world is yours. Furthermore thoro are many attitudes toward the world. Some say tho world is totally evil; somo say the world is totally good. I think neither of those statements Is true.. I grew up in a rural community where it was a joy to bo neighborly. One day one of my neighbors asked me to do an errand for her because I happened to have an automobile—such as it was--an old. decrepit Ford.She asked mo to get the Christian Science practitioner for her boy who was dying. Well, I objected a little to that, but finally the mother persuaded me to go. The journey out to the home from the little village was rather uneventful. I was a timid country lad and had little to say. I waited patiently at the house for the practitioner to come out—aver an hour —and finally he came, and wo started our journey back home again. 1 felt 1 had to break the painful silence to say something, and so 1 said, It is too bad that Mr is so ill. Ho said, Young man, you are mlstakon; he is not ill. If his parents would only lot him get out of bed he would be a well man tomorrow. As a matter of fact he diod the next day. Well, that was failure numbor one. But I still felt I had to make a contact with that man so I began to apologize for my automobile. To mo it seemed to be an honest thing to do because it was a pretty bad car. and when I had done that I apologized for the road. It was an old. oiled road, but there were many ruts in it. He said, Young man, this is a fine car and this is a splendid road!” But then my Swedish ire rose a bit and I thought to myself. Well, if you think this is a fine road 1 will see if I can hit all the chuck holes! I didn't say that to him, of course. I put the throttle down as far as it would go and aimed for all tho chuck holes, and I am a pretty good shot with an old Ford. Wo finally arrived at our destination and the practitioner got out. He even tipped his hat to me and said. Young man, thank you for this splendid ride.” Now. as a matter of fact, both ho and I were wrong. It is a mistake to say that everything is good in our world and it is a mistake to say that everything is evil. That is not a Now Testament teaching, that extreme teaching. Rather would I say this evening, the propor attitude toward the world is this: look upon it as raw malarial out of which, and in response to which, we reali23 our personal destinies and tho destinies of our world undor God and His eternal Christ---that world is yours. Thoro is a lot of pious talk about the world which is not true. Mr. Emerson, the transcendental idealist, is reputed to havo answered a man who rushed up to him and said, The world h coming to an endl” Very w?ll, wo wi'l get along without tho world. That sounds very line, but I don’t think It is true, for undor tho prosent conditions wo heed the world and Jesus Himsolf did not pray that wo should be taken out of the world, but that wo should be kopt in it. I need the world myself. 1 don’t know what I would do if suddenly the globe slipped away from mo and I was loft hanging in space. I don't think 1 would got along vory woll. I don’t know what I would do without the people who are reaching their hands up to me from below and saying. Holp me, and I don’t know what I would do without thorn any people above mo who aro reaching their hands down to me and saying. Lot me holp you up to higher ground . I need tho world and so do you; it is yours. Tho world is a raw matorial out of which undor God wo shall realize our souls and our destinies, but it is a potential possession. If we are to realize our possessions wo havo to live wisely. First of all I would say, graduates, look frankly and inclusively at the world with your own eyes as much as possible guided by the experience of the generations, and yet frankly looking at as much of the world as you can with as open eye as you can look. Thoro is one thing I am afraid of in our Christian education, and that is that wo blindfold our young people and that we don’t show them all of life. I thank God for my teachers who have led me up to tho shining hilltop of life and have said, How easy it is to believe, but I also thank God for ray teachers who have led me down in tho deep valleys of life and have ieft me in tho rain with the parting words, how hard it is to believe, and as I have stood alone in the rain I have heard the birds singing. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course. I have kopt tho faith.” Young people, let us see all of life, nor bo afraid. I thank God for North Park College that took me, a green country lad. and introduced me gontly to a world of ideas. I thank God for tho Presbyterian Theological Seminary that led me on a little farther and lot mo hear at times the rumble of skepticism that I have not heard at North Park--believe it or not, and I thank God for tho University of Chicago that uncovered for me the most fearful of all volcanoes, the burning heat of atheism and unbeliof, and I thank God that I can still say I believe God and in Jesus Christ His only Son. my Lord and Saviour. Having seen the worst it is more easy to believe the best. Don’t grow up as hothouso plants, and Christians, let us not rear our children in hothouses so that whon they come out into life they are swept away by unbolief and temptation. Look (Continued on Pago Forty-two)
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