of purity, uniform divorce laws, proper regulation of marriage, and proper housing.

3. For the fullest possible development of every child, especially by the provision of proper education and recreation. 4. For the abolition of child labor.

5. For such regulation of the conditions of toil for women as shall safeguard the physical and moral health of the community.

6. For the abatement and prevention of poverty.

7. For the protection of the individual and society from the social, economic and moral waste of the liquor traffic.

8. For the conservation of health.

9. For the protection of the worker from dangerous machinery, occupational diseases and mortality.

10.

For the right of all men to the opportunity for selfmaintenance, for safeguarding this right against encroachment of every kind, and for the protection of workers from the hardships of enforced unemployment.

II. For suitable provision for the old age of the workers, and for those incapacitated by injury.

12. For the right of employees and employers alike to organize for adequate means of conciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes.

13. For a release from employment one day in seven.

14. For the gradual and reasonable reduction of the hours of labor to the lowest practicable point, and for that degree of leisure for all which is a condition of the highest human life.

15. For a living wage as a minimum in every industry, and for the highest wage that each industry can afford.

16. For a new emphasis upon the application of Christian principles to the acquisition and use of property, and for the most equitable division of the product of industry that can ultimately be devised."

So in attacking the social evils of the non-Christian world, such as caste, child marriage, seclusion of women, the opium traffic, in softening racial antagonism—in the whole field of social relief and reform in those lands, the Christian Church has been preeminently the leading force.

In the matter of international peace the Church has already created a body of sentiment, but must continually take a larger part in this great world question. Dr. Gulick has said: "Without the contribution which the Church has to make world peace is unattainable. The Church membership includes hundreds of men and women already committed to righteousness and justice. They live in many lands and belong to many In principle the Church is a world peace society.” The Church of Jesus Christ is thus the mightiest force known among men for national betterment and for the establishment of a truly Christian order.

races.

V

The Church stands for Christianity, for Jesus Christ Himself. It may fall away at times from His principles; it can never hope to be absolutely perfect according to His standards in this world; but by its own profession it may ever be called back to loyalty to Him. To become a Church member means definitely to ally one's self with Christ and the Christian cause. The Church has persisted through the centuries, and as it has embodied the spirit and message of Christ, has been an abiding influence in conserving the best elements in our modern civilization, in holding men and women to their allegiance to Christ and in satisfying the deepest needs of the human soul.

The Church is a divine human fellowship. Christians meet around One Person with a common aim to realize His wishes in the world.

The Church opens up the possibility of united action. Cooperation alone can secure efficiency, continuity, and permanency in any great movement.

The Church, the Body of Christ, with her heritage of more than nineteen centuries, makes possible "the communion of saints" through our entering into spiritual solidarity with Jesus and the holiest men of all ages. By participating in the hymns and prayers, the sacraments and worship of the

Church, and by the observance of the anniversaries of the Church, our lives will be strengthened, enriched, and hallowed for life and service.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THOUGHT AND DISCUSSION

Would you be willing to live in a community without a church? Why or why not?

In a practical way, what place has the Church filled in the Kingdom's progress?

Why did the Church come into existence?

What contributions has the Church brought to the world's progress? Is it likely that these would have come without the Church?

What has the Church saved for the world? How?

If the Church had not been divinely commissioned and of use in the world, how long would it have survived?

To what extent has the Church been more than an organization? What is the heritage of the Church Universal? What is the mission of the Church in the world today? If Christianity were just being started, do you think some such institution as the Church would be wise?

Has a religion ever been successfully propagated without organization? To what extent is organization essential?

How far is an organized institution like the Church necessary if Christians are to solve such problems as class, race, and national rivalries and antagonisms, poverty and dishonesty, spiritual unrest, etc.?

In bringing in the Kingdom, is the Church needed today? Why, or why not?

CHAPTER IX

THE CHURCH'S SUMMONS TO THE

DAILY READINGS

MEMBERS

If the Church, then, is the supreme agency for bringing in the Kingdom, what opportunity does it offer for individual service? Is there a place only for a few specially endowed individuals, or is there a chance for everybody?

FIRST DAY:

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now they are many members, but one body.—I Cor. 12:

I2-20.

The Church is a living organism pulsating with life. It is this that suggested the comparison of the Church to the human body. The Church is a body in which the individuals are members. The ideal is that the abilities of everyone be

utilized, each member in his place doing the work for which he is fitted.

Has the idler in the local church ever really looked for something to do?

SECOND DAY:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.-John 15: 1-8.

The members of the Church, through their vital unison with Christ, are the means of bringing the spirit of Christ to bear directly on the life of humanity in errands of mercy and in promoting righteousness, justice, and peace. For this each has his own endowment, his own place. Gifts differ, but the responsibility for the faithful use of gifts differs not at all.

Think over the various talents that a local church can use to advantage. Are there any that could not be used?

THIRD DAY:

Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.