Those Who Triumphed

Driving along a road not far from Cheltenham, I caught sight of a school-crest with these words engraved– Vision, Venture, Victory–the school motto, and a very good one too. This, I thought, is a motto of life. Let me tell you a story.

Very many years ago men thought that they would like to fly and had visions of themselves soaring up like birds into the blue sky above. Some people thought them crazy, and said it could not be done, but you and I now know that it wasn’t so crazy after all.

About 900 years ago, there lived at Malmesbury a Benedictine monk named Elmerus, or Oliver, and he believed that it was possible for men to fly. So he built himself a machine with wings and, in order to put it to the test, he climbed a tall tower, faced the wind and sprang into the air. After gliding for a short distance, lie lost his balance and came crashing to the ground, breaking both his legs. He had not yet gained complete victory of the air, but he had certainly ventured.

Some hundreds of years after, two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, had this same vision and ventured to put it into practice. They went out into the wilds and lived in a hut, and there carried out their trials with a tiny petrol-engine which they had built. “Day after day the peasants crowded outside their hut and jeered at them and their weird-looking ‘planes of canvas, wood and wires. But Wilbur Wright could see something these folk had never seen. Soon the day for which he had waited so long arrived, and taking his seat, he shouted “One!” The crowd jeered and shouted back “One!" “Two!" he shouted, and “Two!" they jeered in reply. Then “Three!" he shouted–but they jeered no more–the weird machine was up among the clouds and his vision and venture had been turned into victory at last.

This was indeed a great victory, but in tlie Bible we read of a victory which is infinitely greater, it is the victory of faith. Read about tlie great heroes of faith in Hebrews, chapter eleven, and see what triumphs they achieved. Without faith it is mi possible to please God, but with faith we can do exploits for Him. Do you know the chorus?–

"Make the Book live to me. O Lord,
Show me Thyself within Thy Word,
Show me myselfand show me my Saviour,
And make the Book live to me.”

This is the vision we all need for victory;–of ourselves as sinners needing a Saviour, and of the Lord Jesus able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him. Then we shall be able to sing–

"Sin shall not have dominion over you.
Oh, what a glorious messageand it’s true;
God has said it, it must stand,
Pass it on, it’s simply grand,
Sin shall not have dominion over you.”

J. A. Oram

SEPTEMBER COMPETITION

It is sometimes very difficult to know what new competition to set, so this month I am going to ask you to help. Prizes will be given for the best suggestions received from those under and over twelve on 1st October. Send your entry, to arrive by that date, to Mr. T. J. Lawson, 148 Greenway Road, Taunton. Of course, it will have to be of the kind we can put in our pages and it will have to be ready to put in; so it will be no use sending just a vague, general idea, or something that requires elaborate, printing. But see what you can do, and I hope we shall be able to set the best of your entries in future issues.

T. J. L.