New Highways for the Gospel
Every discovery and every invention should be used and may be used for the glory of God in the progress of his kingdom. Already steam, electricity, photography, printing, and innumerable other modern discoveries have been employed to harness the powers of nature to the chariot of the Lord. When missionaries first sought to carry out the “great commission,” they were at the mercy of wind and wave in long and perilous voyages. Now the highways on land and sea are “prepared for the Lord” by railroads and steamships, which carry the ambassadors of the cross with their “good tidings to all people.” In Asia the railroads are now binding the nations together with bands of steel. The transsiberian road has already carried missionaries to their fields of labor in China. The journey from London to Shanghai can be made in six or seven weeks, at a cost of about two hundred dollars, including all expenses. In Asia Minor railroads are progressing, and so will make it possible to go from Constantinople to Busrah on the Persian Gulf. China is also being “gridironed,” and India and Japan are already railed. Two other great projects deserve to be mentioned, as they will greatly facilitate missionary journeys. One is the proposed line in Africa, connecting Cairo with Cape Town, and the other, the “Pan-American” road, connecting Mexico with Colombia. Already the Uganda railway is in operation between the eastern coast and Lake Victoria, and others are approaching this point from the north and south. This opens a large section of the Dark Continent to commerce and travel, and helps on the great Nile irrigation scheme supervised by the British government. But, above all, this railway will facilitate the healing of the “open sore of the world,” and aid in banishing from that territory the horrible traffic in slaves. On the west coast of this enormous continent, Germany has set about the gradual abolishment of this evil. Not content with stopping slave trading, the Germans are determined to end domestic slavery. Masters are compelled to grant their slaves a third of their time to work for themselves, and are to care for them during their sickness and old age. And the slaves themselves are permitted to purchase their freedom. For these decided steps forward we thank God, and take courage. The American intercontinental link is still “in the air,” but will doubtless materialize in time. These modern inventions should not be monopolized by the devil and his servants, but claimed for God.—The Missionary Review of the World.