THERE must have been many times in the life of Jesus when he found it necessary to shut out the tumult of the crowd in order to listen to the divine revelations of Truth. There were occasions when the crowd milled about him, pressing him on all sides. But being in the midst of seeming turmoil and confusion did not affect his reflection of God, good, nor stop his effecting cures.
In these days of strife, when at every turn we are confronted with lurid descriptions of conflict and disaster in the press or from the radio, it sometimes seems almost impossible to shut out the tumult of the crowd. And yet, this is just what we must do if we are to lend our aid to a distressed world. To read exhaustively of the havoc wrought by the carnal mind, to listen to audible evidence of the supposed power of evil—is this knowing the fullness, the glory, of the Christ? Is it lessening the evil of war to imbibe the propaganda of the lie and then strive to agree or disagree with the views held forth?
No doubt when Jairus, one of the rulers of the synagogue, came to Jesus telling him that his daughter lay at the point of death, there were some in the multitude which followed him who felt that it would do no good for Jesus to come to the child. Yet when word came to Jairus that his daughter was dead, Jesus quietly assured him, "Be not afraid, only believe," and continued on his way to the child. So great, however, was the tumult of those who mourned her that Jesus asked, "Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth."
