than can be found anywhere else on earth. It must be this, or agnosticism, or theosophy, or who knows what, for the old faith is going. 3. The problem of the 65,000,000 outcasts, the most depressed, the most unmoral, the most hopeless people on earth to-day, calls us as never before. The Christian awakening has touched them, and the people who have been without hope are beginning to hope, and in their hope they are coming in villages, in towns, and in cities to the Christian leaders and asking to be taken in. It is true that they do not know what they want, but they do know that they want; and this want of theirs must fill our hearts with gratitude and a desire to help them. Wherever the missions can provide leaders and teachers, the custom is to take them in; and the results have proved that this is wise, for it has been found that under proper guidance and teaching they make faithful Christians and grow steadily toward the best things. When there are no teachers and no leaders for them, the missionary is compelled to say to them, "Wait," which is sometimes equivalent to saying, "Go back and stifle your first desires and let hopefulness again give place to hopelessness." Some of the depressed classes are turning to the Mohammedans. 4. A moment's consideration must be given to the 1,300,000 who are literate in English; these include many Brahmins, and also some of all the classes just named, and they are increasing at the rate of 100,000 annually. This great class of educated people has been made possible in India largely through the Christian philanthropy of the West. Unfortunately, great as has been this Christian philanthropy, it has not been great enough to go the necessary length. In every Christian high school and college, opportunities are failing to be realized because government-supervised curricula, and the desire for education on the part of Indians, so taxes the strength of the teachers that they are unable to give proper time to spiritual instruction and fellowship. If the Christian students of the world would arise to-day and enable the Churches and missions to increase fifty per cent. the teaching staff of the Christian schools and colleges in India, a large proportion of the annual increase would unquestionably become Christian leaders. If this is not done, ten years hence Christianity in India will be confronted with a mass. of intelligent men whose minds and hearts have yet become hardened against the teachings of the Gospel. 5. There is only a moment's time to mention the 5,000,000 religious fakirs, sadhus, and religious mendicants, the greatest stream of enthusiasts ever poured forth in any country in behalf of a religious ideal. Unfortunately, the ideal tends toward the impoverishing of India. While in some cases it makes beautiful the individual seeker, as a whole it impoverishes the land. If this living stream could be turned toward Jesus Christ and sent out in His name, might it not become the greatest stream for the enriching and uplifting of the world in the history of our race? 6. In conclusion, our attention must be given to the 4,000,000 Christians in India, the greatest Christian host in any so-called non-Christian country to-day. It is a host that during the past ten years-not taking into account the increase of population by the ordinary means, but only by baptism-has increased more by 1,000 a month than the whole number of Christian missionaries in the empire, and that gives to the Church every fortnight the pentecostal number of accessions, 3,000. Among these Indian Christians are some of the choicest Christian leaders in the world. But there are many who have come from the depressed classes and whose need of Christian friendship, sympathy, and help is great. If the Christian propaganda is to be successful in India and Asia, the Christian Church must keep faith with the 4,000,000 Christians in India. For these 4,000,000 Christians are the most critically observed Christians on earth. They are responsive to teaching; they seek the light, and they avail themselves of all opportunities for acquiring Christian character and Christian outlook. If the whole mission force in India to-day could be set free to work for them, they would speedily acquire a place where, in hygiene, moral interpretation, and intelligence they would be the peers of any in the land; and in spiritual inspiration, and in the sense of obligation to their brothers, their superiors. If this could be done-but, alas! it cannot be done.. But it is in the power of the Christian students in the world to double the missionary force in India and thus to make the next best thing possible. Then perhaps in a decade the Church could realize its opportunity in India, and India in our generation would be known. as a Christian country. We will turn from those critical and immediate problems and consider for a moment the greatest problem of India-its spiritual thirst, as a whole. This can best be done by asking you to add to your vocabulary two words that are typical of India's spiritual thirst. One day a missionary traveling among the villages of his district observed a woman at a distance, alternately standing up, then lying down and measuring her length on the dusty road; she would stand up and walk a certain length, and do the same thing again and again. He spoke to her kindly, and after considerable. effort learned from her whither she was going and what she wanted. Dust-covered, blistered, and worn by the sun's heat, she had only strength to whisper to him and say, "Uska Dorsan! Uska Dorsan!" which being interpreted is "To see Him-to see His face." She had already come four hundred miles and had yet a long journey before her to Kangra. If she should finally reach Kangra, would she find Him? No, she would find only a cave in the hill-side and a blue flame. This woman is typical of the fifth of the population of the world that are dwelling in India to-day, who not in this way only, but in thousands of other ways, physically, intellectually, and spiritually, are seeking to see Him. Shall we who have seen Him, face to face, as it were, and know that He has healing and benediction for the multitudes, hear this call in vain? Great God and Father of us all, when the Macedonian call came to Paul he was compelled to go and help; help us as we hear the whispers of the hundred million who are weary and the shoutings of the hundred millions who are strong-"Uska Dorsan! Uska Dorsan!"-to make haste with the furda ("curtain"), throw wide open the casement, and help them to see Thee, our Lord and Master, face to face, knowing that when we have helped India to see Thee, we, too, shall have a clearer vision of Thee, for we shall see Thy face in the faces of our brothers whom we have helped. |