Steinbach Bible Institute - Star Yearbook (Steinbach, Manitoba Canada)

Page 16 text:

In the medieval ages man was greatly exercised by the question, What must I do to be saved? Heaven and hell were very real. Man was constantly reminded of the horrors of hell by grotesque drawings of the condemned. Martin Luther attempted to re¬ solve this problem by entering the monastery. Man is still asking the same question today though expressed in different words. Today the anguished cry is not, What must I do to be saved? , but rather, What is the meaning of life?” Modern man fears, more than anything else, the idea of living a life which is purposeless, drifting along aimlessly on the tide of time. The question of the ultimate meaning of life was answered for me by Christ. It is He who has been able to satisfy all my longings and has given my life purpose and direction. My experience af¬ firms the statement once made by Augustine when he said, man’s soul is restless until it finds its rest in God. Christ has taught me that life becomes meaningful only when self dies and Christ has the pre-eminence. Such a life expresses itself in loving service of our fellowmen. It is aptly summed up for us in 2 Cor. 5:15, And He died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but Jor Him who for their sake died and was raised. is my desire that my life will be lived in such a manner that other people will also come to experi¬ ence the true meaning of life, in Christ. Edwin Plett I ' w ( 12 I was born and grew up on a farm in Southern Manitoba. I first made a profession of faith in Christ at the age of twenty. However, the joy and victory accompanying this experience eluded me for some time. It was only when I allowed myself to become more personally involved in the concerns of the Lord that the Christian walk became meaningful. The experience for which I am deeply grateful is the year I spent in a small Indian village in Northern Manitoba. Being separated from the home church and Christian friends helped me to look more fully to God. It was here that I experienced the Lord ' s presence and realized that joy and victory comes as a by-product of service. I decided that henceforth my life was in the hands of God and I would willingly serve to the best of my abilities. As a preparation toward this end it was my privilege to attend Bible School and College. This year was the first for some time that I was not a student. With its problems and trials has come a certain sense of accomplishment and joy. Although at this point I am unsure what the future holds, I trust that God will lead. Stan Plett

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Far from the maddening crowd. . . . . isolated, removed, just by our comfortable selves, we once more this year developed a small society of our own. Our activities took up most of our waking hours, occupied most of thought patterns in one way or another, limited our contacts with people mostly to our fellow-students and teachers. We chose this recessed environment for study, for work, for spiritual and academic development. Many a dagger has been hurled at the private school because of this apparent attempt of removing students and teachers from the maddening crowd and placing them in an ivory tower where reality or the real world is non-existent, and an illusory, idealistic world is created, only to become obsolete the moment we are again in the real world. Whatever the charges are, we, who are connected with this school are quick to rise to the defence. The students did not come here to be brain¬ washed. The school does not exist to produce social misfits (that can be accomplished more effectively by less painful means.) The teachers did not look for a cloister when they accepted positions here. None of us openly claim to be hermits. On the other hand, a continuous effort is made to meet the public, to face reality in the various avenues of practical work, to analyze the outside situation, and to take issue with it. The entire purpose of this school is and shall remain, to train and equip men and women to more effectively fulfill our Lord ' s commandment of preaching the gospel of repentance and peace to all, whether through the means of teaching in the schools of our province, through the means of nurs¬ ing, through the means of any other profession or work. Henry K. Friesen And can it be that I should gain An interest in the Saviour’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! how can it be That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me. The unfathomable love of God for me, a love that gives without demanding anything in return, is my daily experience. As I contemplate the love of God I realize that His love is real because it result¬ ed in action: God SENT His Son; the Son DIED on the cross and ROSE for our redemption and eternal life; the Son intercedes on our behalf at the Father ' s side. Amazing love! My only legitimate response to God ' s love is, again, love in action. First I am commanded to love God with all my soul, strength, and mind: then follows the command to love my neighbour as I love myself. This love becomes concrete in the time, the consideration, and the help I am willing to give. O Love that wilt not let me go I rest my weary soul in Thee. I give Thee back the life I owe That in Thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller, be. Doreen Reimer

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What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitist him? Ever since the psalmist made this statement, and likely even be¬ fore, man has been seeking the answer to this search¬ ing question. Some are of the persuasion that only science has the true answer; others seek to find their answers in philosophy. Although both science and philosophy have much to say about man, it is left to Christianity to provide the answer. In the book of Genesis we are told that God created man in His own image. Paul takes up this same thought in his letter to the Ephesian Christians when he points out that God not only created us but also chose and redeemed us with a definite purpose. This purpose, he says, is that we should be to the praise of his glory. ” What is man and why all this attention focused on him? He is a being created and redeemed by God for a purpose--to be to the praise of his (God ' s) glory. I am thankful that I have experienced a rebirth in my life; that God visited me by his Holy Spirit. It is only as I focus my life on Christ that there is meaning in existence. After all, were not we created solely for his pleasure and glory? Henry Hiebert Faith Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. These words of Jesus were preserved by the early church in the story of Thomas who doubted that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Thomas on this particular occasion could resolve his problem by stretching forth his hand -- Jesus was there! In the twentieth century, from the human side, it is through faith that Jesus becomes our contemporary. The critics of Christianity contend that believing does not make something true. Furthermore, the critics are likely to say that faith or belief is really make - believe. Perchance they would agree with Emily Dickenson who wrote, possibly tongue in cheek; Faith is a fine invention For gentlemen who see But microscopes are prudent In an emergency. To this kind of critic the Christian replies that faith is by no means the projection of a wish. Faith must be founded upon reality, the solid reality of fact and history, or it is not faith at all. Unless it is grounded upon reality faith is creduality. The M Christian faith rests upon personal knowledge which is profoundly more than an intellectual grasp of the Bible or an understanding of various creedal state¬ ments that have been formulated from time to time. Saving faith is an act of trust and commitment based upon confident love, and this confidence and love is inspired and sustained by a personal knowledge or relationship with Jesus Christ. Jake Peters