It is so in all great epochs; God calls one man to stand for
him. As Robert Browning says:--
"In life exceptional,
When old things terminate and new commence,
A solitary great man's worth the world.
God takes the business in his own hand
At such time."
But the experience is not that only of great souls; there come times in
the lives of all who are living faithfully and worthily when they must
stand alone for God, without companionship, perhaps without sympathy or
encouragement. Here is a young person, the only one of his family who
has confessed Christ. He takes him as his Saviour, and then stands up
before the world and vows to be his and follow him. He goes back to
his home. The members of the home circle are very dear to him; but
none of them are Christians, and he must stand alone for Christ among
them. Perhaps they oppose him in his discipleship--in varying degrees
this ofttimes is the experience. Perhaps they are only indifferent,
making no opposition, only quietly watching his life to see if it is
consistent. In any case, however, he must stand for Christ alone,
without the help that comes from companionship.
Or it may be in the workshop or in the school that the young Christian
must stand alone. He returns from the Lord's Table to his week-day
duties, full of noble impulses, but finds himself the only Christian in
the place where his duty leads him.
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