CHAPTER IXTHE KING OF INDIA
Onceupon a time a boy was born in a manger in Bethlehem. When He was still a child wise men from the East came to worship and to lay gifts before Him, because they had seen a star which guided them to His cradle, and they knew that He was born to be a King. The wise men worshipped the child and returned to their homes in the East, and the child grew up to be a man. And when He had reached the full age of a man He went about in His own land, andtaught and healed the sick, and there gathered around Him a band of men who walked through the fields and villages with Him. And as they walked with Him, it came to be known among them that this man was no other than the Son of God, that He had come to live on earth to save mankind from sin, and that He was indeed the ruler of all the peoples of the world. By and by wicked men put Him to death on the Cross, and those who had walked with Him were in deep sadness. But on the third day they saw Him again, and they were glad, because they knew now that He was greater than death; and they knew, what they had only guessed before, that He was indeed God. These men thought that their own nation was cared for by God more than others, but after their Master had withdrawn Himself from their sight, He taught them that all the world is beloved of God, and that in each land He must reign. So it came to pass that as these early followers of the King wandered hither and thither, when they came to countries that they had never seen before, they said each to the other, the men of these lands too are the servants of the King, though they do not know Him; let us tell them of His nobleness, and of the glory of His kingdom. In this manner the subjects of the King grew rapidly in number, and they came to be called Christians, because of the name of Christ, or Saviour, by which they spoke often of their King. At that time there was much commerce between the nations of the East, and great caravans with the rich wealth of India came to theplaces in which the Christians dwelt. And when men saw all these riches, they said let us also go there, that we may heap up to ourselves gems and gold. So it came to pass that families of Jews and of Persians bade farewell to the friends and neighbours of their youth, took the long journey across the desert, and made their home on the hot shores of India. And amongst the families who went there, there were some who had owned the Child of Bethlehem as their King, and because those who truly know Him find Him so good a King that they wish all men to serve Him, these early settlers spoke of Him to those with whom they met, and they won many of the simple folk of India. But the hot airs of the Indian valleys, and the strange faiths and fears of the peoples there, closed in on the little bands of Christians. They still named Him their King, but they did not any longer obey the laws of His kingdom, so the strange worship they saw around them had power to lessen their first eagerness. Down through the years they have owned the name of Christ, but much of the spirit of His kingdom has been lost.
But elsewhere the subjects of the new King pressed forward. And ever when they remembered that He had conquered death, and was a living monarch whom they must obey, they did great deeds to bring in the kingdom that He had bidden them win for Him. Hundreds of years passed on, and the countries of Europe all owned the reign of the Son of God in name, though many of the people there thought but little of obeying His laws. Thecommerce of India no longer came to Europe chiefly by the hot desert routes. Great ships sailed from the ports of Europe to harbours in India; and Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, Germany, Denmark and England each held possessions on the shores of India that had been given to them by those who ruled the greater part of the country—the warlike followers of the prophet.
And so, because these nations held land in India, their people spoke often of the men and women who dwelt in it, and of their trade and wealth. And the stories of travellers were heard with wonder round the fires of northern Europe, and under the sunny skies of Spain.
Now though there were many Europeans who cared for nothing except to get as much ease and comfort for themselves as they could, and who would not give up anything for the kingdom of Christ, there were many others who thought much of that kingdom; and when they heard that a new bit of land had been given to their country on the Coromandel Coast or on the Malabar Coast, they longed to know that the people who dwelt in it had been won for Christ. And when they heard stories of the cruel and dark deeds that were done to please the idols there, they longed to have the worshippers know that the real King of the world is served by good deeds, not by bad ones. And so as these thoughts grew amongst them, Christ the King came once more to earth, and laid His Commission on men and on women, and said to them, as He had said long ago toother followers, “Go ye into all the world, and lo I am with you alway.†Thus men went from Germany and from England and from Scotland and from America, and at this day the army of Christ’s followers in India, who have gone there from other countries, is great and strong, and throughout the land the tokens of the kingdom that is to be, can be seen to-day. There are churches where Indian men and women, who have welcomed their King, meet to worship Him. There are colleges where boys and girls can learn of the greatness of His work in the world. There are hospitals and leper homes, where the followers of Him who healed the sick in Galilee labour to heal and help some of the sore sickness of India. And still more real beginnings of His kingdom are seen in the lives of the men and women and the boys and girls who have found Him and loved Him.
But though Christ is the King of India, those who own His sway there are only very very few, and He still needs those who love His thoughts and His kingdom in other lands to help to carry His message more and more into the heart of India.