AGES ago, the prophet Amos sounded the slogan that has found a worldwide echo in the present-day "preparedness" cry; and because the children of the world are wiser than the children of light, they have given heed to the immense possibilities contained in that word. As a result, men stand in amazed awe at the power of the great military machines of the day.
Let us study the message of the prophet Amos. Three things need to be considered in the program of "preparedness" for the nation or the individual that contemplates future success. They are the links in the chain that connects the present with the future: first, the time for preparedness; second, the material needed; and last, but not the least important, the constructive work.
The future is oftentimes mirrored in the present, for "coming events cast their shadows before." The all-wise Book says, "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself." The view that is needed is not the downward view that beholds only the confines of our own little world, but the broad vision that looks out and beyond the present time to the great crisis that faces humanity. The time is coming when men shall seek for God, and shall not find Him; shall search His word for salvation, and find it a closed book to the eyes of their understanding.
"Prepare to meet thy God." When? Surely not when we are in the vortex of strife and commotion; not when the enemy of mankind sweeps down on us with an avalanche of temptations; and surely not when the door of mercy has closed on an impenitent world. When? There is only one safe and sane answer to that question — NOW! — And that word "now" covers every moment and hour of to-day and all days to come.
Wrecked by a Flaw
PROCRASTINATION is as ancient as the hills; and as an inoculating germ, it has found a hiding place, to a greater or lesser extent, in every member of the human family. There is only one preventive for it, and that is preparedness; and the sooner we forget to put off, and remember to put on, the greater will be our efficiency. Therefore preparation now is the bulwark and fortress for the conflict to come.
In defensive resistance, the question of material plays an important part. Shall I make preparation by selecting from the old material that I have so carefully gathered in the days that are past and gone, the experiences that were once so full of life and power?
The cost of a modern battleship is from eight to ten million dollars, and its lifetime of service is comparatively few years. The best material and workmanship are used in its construction; yet notwithstanding such tremendous expenditure, no nation will settle down, and after ten or twenty years, point to its obsolete hulk, and say: "I am prepared for war. Behold my navy."
The material used in the preparation for a future life should be the best possible, the work progressive, and each day and each year should see new ships of experience launched on life's sea. Each hour should prove the material of our souls to be trustworthy. Many a ship has gone down to destruction because of some small flaw in its construction, many a soul has been defeated unto death because of a neglect to prepare every joint of its armor to resist the enemy's steel; for a ship is no stronger than its weakest timber, and a chain no more powerful than its weakest link.
Let us make sure of our work. A little child came to her teacher, lesson book in hand, and announced confidently that she was ready to recite; but the testing time revealed a hesitancy and uncertainty which showed that the lesson was not "quite by heart," and the confident "I thought I knew it," melted to tears when the book was returned with "the mark still set in the selfsame place."
Studying the Blue Prints
THE work of preparedness must be minute in detail, and the blue print of the Master Workman must be carefully studied and followed, always with the thought in mind that the strongest will be needed to stand the storm, the best to endure the testing time. "I thought I was ready" is not an acceptable excuse, and may mean eternal loss. True preparedness insures triumphant victory in the crisis of battle.
The message of preparedness has sounded from the heights of heaven to earth's remotest bounds: "Get ready, get ready, get ready." Will we listen to the warning, or like some of the nations of to-day, wait until the storm breaks in all its fury, then vainly seek to gather our forces and materials for what can only be a feeble, futile resistance? We cannot test our material too often. We cannot be too careful in selecting it. Do not wait until the battle cry is sounded to be sure of your armor. Prepare and inspect it now.
