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diff --git a/old/67624-0.txt b/old/67624-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index dda1d43..0000000 --- a/old/67624-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4214 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Unfinished Rainbows, by George Wood -Anderson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Unfinished Rainbows - And Other Essays - -Author: George Wood Anderson - -Release Date: March 13, 2022 [eBook #67624] - -Language: English - -Produced by: MFR and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNFINISHED RAINBOWS *** - - - - - - UNFINISHED RAINBOWS - And Other Essays - - by - GEORGE WOOD ANDERSON - - - [Illustration: Abingdon Press logo] - - THE ABINGDON PRESS - NEW YORK CINCINNATI - - - - - Copyright, 1922, by - GEORGE WOOD ANDERSON - - Printed in the United States of America - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - I. Unfinished Rainbows 5 - II. Gathering Sunsets 12 - III. Beyond the Curtained Clouds 19 - IV. Tilling the Sky 26 - V. Unquarried Statues 33 - VI. The Ages to Come 40 - VII. The Unlocked Door of Truth 47 - VIII. Weaving Sunbeams 54 - IX. The Pathway of a Noble Purpose 61 - X. Swords for Moral Battles 68 - XI. Spiced Wine 75 - XII. The Fever of Health 82 - XIII. The Wisdom of the Unlearned 89 - XIV. The Strength of Weakness 96 - XV. Crumbling Palaces 103 - XVI. The Echo of Life’s Unsung Songs 110 - XVII. Modern Judases 117 - XVIII. The Adjustable Universe 125 - XIX. Seeing Love 132 - XX. The Dignity of Labor 139 - XXI. Above the Commonplace of Sin 146 - XXII. The Investment of a Life 154 - XXIII. Thought Planting 161 - XXIV. The Rosary of Tears 168 - XXV. The Hearthstone of the Heart 175 - XXVI. The Unoared Sea 182 - - - - - I - - UNFINISHED RAINBOWS - - -The rainbow was only a fragment of an arch because the needed sunshine -was withheld. Had the sunlight been permitted to permeate all the -atmosphere with its golden glow, the arch would have spanned the entire -heavens. - -This is the reason why, in hours of sorrow, we do not grasp the -fullness of God’s promise; we permit the denser clouds of doubt and -faithlessness to keep the light of God from shining through our griefs; -or, with a little faith, we get a gleam of light that gives us but a -tiny fragment of the bow. - -While all the operations of this natural world are tokens of God’s -unfailing thoughtfulness in keeping his covenant with man, a great -event has made the rainbow peculiarly the embodiment of that thought. -Looking from the narrow window of the wave-tossed ark, upon the -silent grandeur of a world slowly arising from the waters of an -universal flood, Noah beheld the rainbow and rejoiced in the blest -assurance, that, while the things of man are subject to the ravages -of time and destruction of contending elements, the things of God -are always stable and secure. The most permanent products of man’s -hand and mind are soon swept away, but the things of God endure, and -continue faithful, in working out their appointed courses. Through -storm or calm, events march with steady, unceasing tread, knowing -that God’s roads are never worn, and God’s bridges never tremble and -fall. Above the placid, mysterious world, calmly emerging from the -muddy, wreck-strewn waters, was the peaceful, radiant bow, smiling -in confidence upon him and his companions. The world had changed, -but the rainbow was just as it had always been, stately, serene, -and unaffrighted. The crumbling, flood-torn earth had not weakened -its foundations, the drenching rains had not faded its colors, the -hurrying, wind-swept clouds could not disturb it. Though it were made -out of hurrying light and drifting mist it would not be swayed or moved -even a little. Under its archway walked the guarding angels of God. -Over the waters came the clear voice once heard in Eden, uttering the -promise, “And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the -earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: and I will remember my -covenant.” - -That is a sweeping promise that is literally fulfilled in nature. All -clouds carry rainbows. Most of them are never seen by us because we -lack the necessary keenness of vision, or the proper point of view -to behold their woven colors; many are only partially seen because -something intervenes and prevents a perfect intersection of heavenly -sunlight with our earth-born mists; many are within the vision of -all observing men; but, whether we see it or not, for every cloud -there is a scarf of red and orange and yellow and green and blue and -scarlet and purple. So, in spiritual matters, we find that for every -sorrow there are beautiful assurances of God’s presence and unwavering -covenant-keeping power. If we do not see them it is not God’s fault, -for the light of his faithfulness transfixes every cloud that arises -above his earth-born children. - -There are the clouds of bereavement. The Death Angel defied your -love-locked doors and bolted windows. Heeding neither your cry nor -your pleadings, he entered your home and pushed aside the doctor and -attending nurses and friends, and touching the heart of your loved -one, stilled it to sleep. Your grief was such that you did not see how -you could live. The home seemed empty and strangely silent. The entire -pathway seemed shrouded in the somber shadows of your grief. Life was -a desolation. But you did not give up in despair. There was a bow in -the cloud. An arch of seven brilliant hues reached from one horizon -to another horizon, and you knew that the One in whom you had placed -your trust had proven true. He had not forgotten you. Looking at the -rainbow, the token of his covenant, you read in its mingled colors the -words of the Lord Jesus, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that -believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever -liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” In your sorrow you found -that the bow of God’s promises never trembles. - -You were facing financial disaster. All your investments had proven -bad. You had been misled by false counsel. The savings of years had -been swept away by one fell swoop of disaster, and with them had gone -all the fond plans for the future of your family and loved ones. Your -head reeled as you felt the earth giving way beneath you; you were -about to close your eyes in despair, when suddenly, in the darkest -part of the overshadowing cloud, you saw the rainbow. God had not -forgotten you. Amid the whirl and destruction of things his promises -never trembled. Its gleaming colors told you that you were not alone, -and spelled such a message of hope and inspiration to your soul, that -you smiled in the face of adversity. Here was the promise, “There is no -want to them that fear Him.” You had never seen the beauty of those -words before. You felt the thrill of a new life and the confidence that -you once placed in riches, you now centered upon God. - -There were the dark clouds of misplaced friendship. You were confident -that the one in whom you were placing your trust was worthy, but -through that friendship you were betrayed, and misrepresented, and -made the object of scorn and criticism. No cloud is darker than that, -no sorrow is harder to bear, and yet you did not lose confidence in -man. Above the feathered edges of the cloud was the rainbow of God’s -promise, and you knew that if even father and mother forsook you, the -Lord would take you up. The rainbow, as the symbol of God’s promise, -said: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” - -But some one says, “I have never been able to grasp the _fullness_ of -these promises. Amid life’s clouds I cannot see the presence of the -Almighty.” That is not God’s fault, but because one hinders the coming -of the light. If you do not permit the Spirit of God to shine upon -your sorrow with its golden light, the ministration of the rainbow -to your sorrow-smitten soul will never be complete. The comforts -of God are known only by those who are willing to receive his holy -ministrations. The rainbow is never finished for the one who refuses -to receive Christ fully and completely into his life. He is the Light -of the world, and his presence always brings the promises of the -Father to their fullest possible earthly revelation and application. -His revelations are always complete and as comforting as they are -beautiful. His clear light of goodness has always been making battle -against the darkness of sin’s mists and fogs. He is never satisfied -until his love has intercepted every overshadowing cloud so that when -you behold the streaming banners of the bow, that always follows and -never precedes a storm, you may know that you, through him, have -already gotten the victory. Light triumphs. The overshadowing cloud is -pierced. Instead of somberness there is beauty. - -The earthly rainbows will never be complete. Here we behold at best -only a segment of a perfect circle. We have but a one-world view and -therefore can behold but half the rainbow. In heaven we shall see the -completed circle, as John beheld it in his vision and exclaimed, with -rapturous delight, “There was a rainbow round about the throne.” So -glorious is the light of the great, white throne, and the face, and the -raiment of Him that sat upon it, that to angelic vision it is nestled -in the center of a perfectly rounded bow of brilliant hue. - -The rainbow can never be destroyed, for the light of Christ can never -fade. Ever about the throne of God, in perfect circle, shall gleam the -steady, colored token of God’s faithfulness through all time and all -eternity. The multitude of white-robed ones that worship before the -throne are those who have come out “of great tribulation,” they are -those who have “overcome through the blood of the Lamb,” therefore it -is fitting that the one choicest treasure saved from the natural world -in which they fought their battles, and won their victories, should be -the rainbow, the richly colored symbol of God’s faithfulness and mercy. -What emotions thrill our souls in this world when we look upon the -rainbow! What memories shall sweep through our souls when we behold the -rainbow that is ever round about the great white throne of God! - - - - - II - - GATHERING SUNSETS - - -The sunset is the sheaf of the day’s activities, wherein are bound all -the roses and poppies and fruits and grains of the passing hours, for -the experiences of life are constantly coming to full harvest. Weary -with toil and worn with watching, we do not see the riches of to-day; -or, stirred by some new ambition, our eyes become so fixed upon the -future, that to-day’s golden grain is trampled under foot and lost. -Instead of facing the morrow’s morn, rich with garnered treasures, -we greet it with empty hands. We are not householders seeking -strong-walled dwellings and broad, extending acres, but are careless, -nomadic folk, wandering aimlessly from day to day, as gypsies wander -from town to town. Having all things within our grasp, we possess -nothing. When touched by the hand of Death, and taken out of life, the -world is no more disturbed than by the bursting of a bubble on the -ocean wave. - -Sunsets are sheaves, and the brilliancy of their coloring is God’s -way of calling our attention to their value. The waving of so many -golden and scarlet banners, by a myriad of unseen hands, should awaken -the most careless soul to the consciousness that something mighty is -transpiring. Such banners and pageantry passing through our streets -would awaken the entire city to wonderment and concern. For what king -are the banners waving? For what worthy cause are all these ensigns -thrown upon the wind? What victory is celebrated here? Yet the sunsets -pass unheeded, and the golden sheaf of another day is trampled under -careless feet, and left to mildew and decay. - -The art of gathering sunsets, the grasping of each day’s experiences -with firm and constant hold, is one to covet. Days are not something to -“pass through.” Each day is like unto an acre of land, through which -one may hurry, as in a train, without thought of right or ownership; or -unto an acre of land which he holds in perpetual ownership, adding that -much to his estate, and increasing his income through all the days that -follow. Rather, it is a sheaf of grain, supplying food and affording -strength for an ever-increasing work which he may throw away, or keep -for future use. Sunset time is harvest time, and the evening hour is -the one in which to fill full the granaries and treasure chests for -days unborn. Sunsets should be bound with the golden cords of memory -and kept forever. - -The pathway of life grows brightest for those who have wasted fewest -of their yesterdays. Hours well spent and safely garnered never lose -the brightness of their sunshine. It always glows in the sparkle of -the eye, in the brightness of a winning smile, in the warm atmosphere -of helpfulness with which they are surrounded. Hours spent in sin and -dissipation have no luster to cast upon the afterdays, but goodness -is always luminous. Hours of right-living may be likened to blazing -suns that never cease to glow. The ability to retain their brightness -means an ever-increasing splendor of life. It is this that the inspired -writer must have had in mind when he wrote that the pathway of the just -is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. - -The secret of perfection along any line of endeavor is the gathering -in and retaining the good, at the same time sorting out and -permanently eliminating that which is bad. It is a work of patience -and progression. It requires the fruitage of many days, the garnered -glories of many sunsets, to endow one with the riches of genius; and -not one single day should be lost. The lapidist, whose magic touch -changes pebbles into glittering jewels to adorn the neck of beauty; the -sculptor, whose mallet-stroke is so accurate that rough, ill-shapen -stones become forms of grace to inspire the generations; the -artist, whose brush quickens the common dust and clay into marvelous -paintings of unfading color and undying sentiment; the botanist, whose -carefulness transforms barren waysides into gardens, and the desert -places into banqueting halls; the metallurgist, whose powerful hand -takes the knotted lumps of ore and fashions them into the bronze doors -of a great cathedral--all these represent that priceless frugality that -will not permit a sunset to escape. Their first crude efforts were -sheaves of rich experiences, which they garnered and stored away in the -treasure chests of memory. They had the bright light of their first -sunsets to add to the morning light of their second endeavors. They -continued to store the brightness of the passing experiences. Day by -day the light grew brighter, until at last there came the perfect day, -when the whole world stood amazed at the perfection of their handiwork. -The loss of one sunset would have faded the light and dimmed the glory -of their final achievement. All perfect art is but gathered sunsets. - -This law holds in the matter of spiritual perfection. God does much for -us at conversion, when, through faith in him, we are changed by his -grace into new men and new women. It is like a lost planet finding its -central sun, and resuming its accustomed place, and finding light, and -warmth, and life, and joy again. Wonderful indeed is the power of God -as manifested in the conversion of any individual, but conversion is -not perfection. Perfection is something that the inspired writer urges -us “to go unto.” “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your -faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and -to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness -brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” - -Do not permit the colors of triumph to fade from your first day’s sky. -Hold on to that sunset. Each day will furnish its added beam of light. -Faith, hope, and love, and all the Christian graces will become more -beautiful for you, to you, and in you. The pathway will become brighter -and brighter. Life will have fewer shadows because the light falls upon -you from so many angles and becomes more perfectly diffused. To-morrow -can have no hindering uncertainties, for the light of the past -experiences illumines the future. There is light for every darkened -corner, and one may rejoice that all things are working together for -good, because we do love God. Gathered sunsets make life’s trail ablaze -with light. - -Let no to-day become yesterday, except in the calendar, as we reckon -time. Each day must become part of us as we live in an ever-present -now. The same alphabet we learned in childhood is ours to-day. Because -we did not forget it with the setting of the sun, it served us to-day -as we spell out, in polysyllables, a newly discovered truth. The -alphabet did not fade with the death of the day we learned it, so that -it is now part of our lives. As we cannot think apart from the words -we learned long ago; and as we cannot calculate, save as we use the -first-learned characters from one to ten; so, in the developing of the -soul, we must not lose one single hour of prayer or inspiration of a -noble purpose. - -Both building and growing are alike in this--they are processes of -“adding to.” Brick added to brick and timber added to timber means a -stately building. Cell added to cell means growth of body and increase -in stature. But handling brick is not enough, they must be placed with -a purpose and kept firmly fixed in the place desired. The brick of -yesterday must be where it can have added to it the brick of to-day. -Physical growth depends upon the keeping the cells of yesterday for a -foundation upon which to build the cells of to-day. Christian living is -similar. We build a character and grow a soul but the process is the -same, with both character and soul. We gain by adding to. Therefore -we must not permit any of our sunsets to fade away. All that we have -gained through prayer and Christian service must be held to brighten -each new morn. The spiritual victory over temptation, the answer to -our intercessory prayers, the moment of spiritual illumination as we -read the Bible, all these are priceless experiences upon which to add -the newer conquests of to-day. We must not permit the disease of sin -to sap our vitality and destroy the growth of yesterday. We must guard -our spiritual health that we may grow. This is what Christ meant when -he said: “Men ought always to pray.” The culture of the soul is an -eternal process. Days must not pass; they must remain as part of our -own selves. - - - - - III - - BEYOND THE CURTAINED CLOUDS - - -One of the rarest treasures of the May time is the richness and purity -of the sky. The winter wraps the heavens in robes of somber hue as -though in mourning for the summer dead; but at the coming of the first -white cloud, and sound of first lark’s song, the sky seems to melt in -tenderness, and assume the softest, richest hue of blue. As far as the -eye can reach there is nothing but blue--soft, rich, warm, tender, -melting, soul-entrancing blue. Blue, as clear as an unshadowed midland -lake. Blue as a translucent sapphire without a flaw to disturb its -gleaming surface. A great arch of caressing tenderness through which -the white-flecked clouds ride in state, as they sail majestically from -one port of mystery to another port of mystery. Among the richest -treasures of the spring must be mentioned the deepening of the blue and -the hanging of the snow-white curtains of the clouds. - -But life’s horizon is ever draped with rich folds of white and blue, -that hang like silken curtains, to hide, with tantalizing secrecy, -the mysteries that lie beyond. Day by day the curtains hide their -treasure-chests of mystery, tempting us to strike tents and journey -toward them. With the eagerness with which little children watch the -unwrapping of a Christmas package we watch the moving of these clouds, -trusting that each new shifting of the curtains will make the coveted -revelation, but as we journey on they still evade us. - -Conservative people, ones who never startle themselves or their friends -by doing anything new, not that they are averse to doing anything new -but simply because they are not mentally capable of entertaining new -ideas, say that the mysteries that lie behind the curtained clouds are -childish fancies and youth’s illusions; and that energy expended in -reaching the buried treasure at the rainbow’s end were as fruitful an -enterprise. Those of us who have endeavored to solve these mysteries -know better, for we have found that the curtained clouds that hide, are -the ones that, like banners, guide us to the things we really need. - -Man must not be unmindful of the ministry of mystery. Over against -everything enigmatic God has given man an insatiable desire to find -out the hidden meaning. Yielding to that divinely implanted impulse -develops powers that otherwise would atrophy. Behold the benefits -of these endeavors as they lifted the human race out of stagnation -and taught it the way of progress. Tented in the low swamplands, -eating roots and bark, man saw these curtains that suggested to his -hunger-pinched body the thought of a banqueting-hall where he might -feed. His quest never brought him to the ladened tables of his desire, -but as he journeyed he found grain and fruits and nuts and berries, -substantial food for a full twelvemonth. Dwelling amid the sick and -dying, man saw the moving of the curtains that God hangs along our -sky-line, and felt that, somewhere, beyond their folds, must exist -a spring, whose living waters would not only heal the sick but give -the drinker perpetual youth. The spring was never found, but as man -journeyed westward in the quest he found a land whose liberties and -institutions crowd a century of blessings into every decade. Toiling -with small recompense, like some dull beast of burden, man saw the -clouds that suggested a palace of ease and luxury. He failed to find -the palace of his dreams, but on the way he discovered labor-saving -machinery that has made his labor a delight, and given to every laborer -a home surpassing in comforts the baron’s stately castle. - -Because of the ministry of mystery he has been able to discover -the depth and values of his own soul. In his effort to reach the -curtained clouds man has had to rally his forces, and, to meet -arising exigencies, he has been compelled to draw upon the resources -of his nature, until he startled himself with his newly discovered -possibilities and powers. He trained his body to wrestle against -physical odds; he trained his mind to master the handicaps of -ignorance; he found the glittering sword of courage with which to -destroy defeating fear; he learned the value of faith and hope with -which to enrich the soul when disaster would impoverish. Without the -effort aroused by the cloudy curtains of mystery, he could not have -found himself, and perfected his work of invention, art and letters. - -The cloud curtains are also the temple curtains beyond which men are -ever seeking God. As the pillared cloud led Israel victoriously through -troubled waters and desert sands, so the mysteries of life and death, -and the natural world in which we live, have led the human mind to -religious contemplation. Man found himself entangled in the maze of -sin, helplessly confused amid the ways that wound about, and crossed, -and led to still more hopeless entanglements. Despair pointed to the -narrow, tangled ways and said, “There is nothing better.” Looking -upward, the distant clouds spoke of a larger world and greater freedom, -and beckoned man to try again. By faith he was saved. To a thoughtful, -reverent man, all nature reveals and conceals the One who brought it -into existence. An awakened soul will never be satisfied until he finds -God. He longs to see the Hand that parts the curtains and hurls the -lightnings. He yearns to see the Face whose smile fills the sky with -sunlight, and transfigures the cloudy curtains, until they become the -portals of the heavenly temple. While mystery is not the mother of -religion, it is, and ever has been, an important part of the Christian -faith. “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing,” says King Solomon. -He might have added, “It is the glory of man to search until he find -it.” - -It was from behind the curtained clouds that God spoke, introducing -Jesus as the world’s Redeemer, saying, “This is my beloved Son, hear -ye him.” It was an overhanging canopy of cloud that curtained the -disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, and it was in this curtained -tabernacle that they beheld the glory of their Lord. To hide the shame -of those who crucified His Son, God hung a curtain of cloud about the -sun, enveloping Calvary in the shades of night. It was a curtain of -cloud that hid the ascending Lord from the sight of the wondering, -astonished, fear-filled disciples. It was from amid their soft drapery -that the angels spoke of his coming again, and it is upon the clouds -that the Son of man shall come in his glory to judge the nations. From -the glory of the Patmos vision, John exclaimed, “Behold he cometh -with clouds; and every eye shall see him!” To the very end Christ is -surrounded with the curtained clouds of mystery. “And I looked, and -behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of -man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. -And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the -earth was reaped.” - -Mystery has a large part in the Christian faith, not to discourage, but -to encourage the prayerful, aspiring souls of men. The drapery of cloud -hangs all about, not to defeat, but to challenge. It is no illusion -like a great desert distance filled with the blue of emptiness, that -strews the sands with the bones of those whom it deceives, but is as -real as the curtains of the ancient tabernacle that held the symbol of -Jehovah’s presence. Life’s mysteries are often most tantalizing; its -problems artfully made difficult of solution; but always within their -depths is God. - -To-day, for our development, it is the glory of God to conceal a -matter, but it is the promise that some day we shall see, not through -the mists darkly, but face to face with God. Some day we shall -pass beyond the cloudy portals, and the vision of God and our own -immortality shall lie before our enraptured vision. The puzzle of life -shall there find perfect solution. The equation in which life is now -the unknown quantity shall find its answer. In that cloudless land we -shall know even as we are known. The shadows of death are the last -shadow the soul of the righteous shall ever see. Until that glad day -comes, let us fit ourselves, through prayer and goodness, to receive -such revelations of the mystery of godliness as God may care to reveal -as he parts the curtains of our life’s horizon, knowing that we journey -to a perfect, unclouded day. - - - - - IV - - TILLING THE SKY - - -Man, that must till the soil for the building of his body, must also -till the sky for the growing of his soul. This was the thought of a -little woman among the Ozarks, who had given a long and beautiful life -in training her people of the hills. It was Commencement Day in the -college she had founded. Gathered about her were the young men and -young women from the humble homes of those rugged hills. They were now -leaving her sheltering care to “commence” life. She was such a tiny -bit of woman, but through the lens of tears in those students’ eyes, -she was greater and more stately than any queen. Her eyes gleamed with -a love-lighted moisture, her lips trembled with great emotions as she -rose to offer her last words of counsel. She knew that very soon they -would be beyond the reach of her voice, and her desire was to write -just one more message upon the pages of their memories, a message that -should never be erased. Breathlessly we awaited her words, which were -these: “My children, whatever you do, or wherever you go, this one task -I place before you. Continue your study of astronomy, for there is -nothing that so uplifts and widens one’s life as a study of the sky.” - -These were not the words of a mere dreamer, but of a very practical -woman, and were words of wisdom uttered to young men and young women -who were practical students, yearning to make their lives count. These -students were trained observers who would travel that they might see -things as they are; they were scholars who would study in order to make -discoveries. They were to enter the strain and struggle of competition. -They were to match their brawn and brain against honest rivalry and -unscrupulous dishonesty. They were not entering paradise, yet, amid -it all, the one who yearned most for their unmeasured success and -honor, urged them to cast their plowshare deep into the wide expanse of -overarching blue, whose owner is God, but whose harvests belong to the -reaper. - -The little woman was very practical, for a man must not permit the -narrowing influences of earthly endeavor to cramp and destroy the soul. -This is the tendency of most of our daily duties, even those of the -most fascinating and absorbing scientific character. A man may follow -the footsteps of Luther Burbank and devote his life to the study of -plants, and through his magic touch, may bring beauty of form and -richness of flavor to bud and blossom, vegetable and fruit, and yet -the very fascination of the work may bind him into a narrow world of -just buds and blossoms, vegetables and fruits. He may, like Edison or -Steinmetz, choose the fairyland of electricity; or, like Madame Curé, -enter the enchanted realm of radio-activity; or, like Morse and Bell -and Davenport, become wizards in the world of invention, and find a -joy that is as perilous as it is unutterable. Any realm of nature or -invention, absorbs and fascinates as clover blossoms claim the bee. -He who studies will find that a lifetime is too short to fathom the -unmeasured depths of an atom or explore the mysteries of one drop of -dew. - -But the very fascination of these things is their peril, for the -tendency of any line of endeavor is to narrow and to restrict one’s -life. One need not yield to this tendency, but the chances are that -he will. Darwin reports spending several delightful years studying -fish-worms, but while engaged in this absorbing task he lost all -taste for music. Ericsson had a similar experience. Planning, with -steel armor, to remake the navies of the world, he refused his soul -all sound of blended tones, endeavoring to feed his whole nature on -armor plate. It was not until Ole Bull, against Ericsson’s desire, -entered his factory, and began playing his violin, that the great -inventor became a weeping, willing captive, kneeling at the shrine of -music, tearfully confessing that he had then found that which he had -lost, and for which his soul had been craving. When a man, through the -microscope, begins a life study of the infinitesimal, he is apt to get -his own ego into the field of vision and magnify himself. On the other -hand, considering only his own achievements in art or architecture, -one is apt to exaggerate his own importance saying, “Is not this great -Babylon, which I have builded?” However, when he begins to study the -stars and comprehend something of the vastness of the plan upon which -God has made the heaven and the earth, he will see his own littleness -and exclaim with the psalmist, “When I consider thy heavens, the work -of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what -is man?” - -No earth-made ceiling is high enough for a growing brain. Each -individual must have a God-made sky in which to lift his head and think -the thoughts of the Almighty. The earthly thing upon which we set our -affection and which we think so essential may mean the wreck and ruin -of the soul. It is easy to neglect the brain, and direct all one’s -energies toward gaining earthly possessions, not for the opportunities -afforded for benevolence, but that one may dress in style and enjoy a -social life, not knowing that it is far better to be a great thinker -than to be the best dressed man in Paris. Poverty may be infinitely -better than wealth when the individual has a familiar sky above his -head and a good book in his hand. How insignificant are earth’s -greatest obstacles compared with the immensities of stellar space! -Nothing can hinder the man who is accustomed to measure the distances -between stars. With his eyes on the distant suns, poverty becomes a -mole-hill; poor health, but a breath of mist; and success is within -easy reach. It is good for one to till the sky until he learns the -vastness of his Creator’s thoughts. - -One of the richest harvests garnered from the sky is a revelation of -the accuracy with which God works. The stars do not dwell in a land of -“Hit and Miss,” and eclipses are not accidental happenings. No ship -cuts the waves of the sea with half the accuracy as star and planet -move in their appointed courses. There are no swervings nor deviations -from the plan of God, so that an astronomer can calculate the exact -second when a comet will return from its long journey through unseen -realms; as well as foretell the conjunction of planets a thousand years -from now. God has appointed an exact second for the rising of the sun, -and another exact second for its setting, and man knows what both of -them are a thousand years before the day arrives. Then let us till -the sky until we learn that He who planned the high-arched blue, and -marked orbits for stars and planets, is also the Designer of our own -lives, and has set for us a divine purpose somewhat like the vastness -of the sky. Yielding ourselves to God as the heavenly constellations -yield themselves to their controlling powers, each one has a greater -life to live, and a more sublime destiny to attain, than his fondest -dreams. How foolish it is to till the soil for money, and miss the very -essence of life, by failing to utilize the sky that yields such tender -ministries with so little effort! - -It is well to look upward and learn a lesson of patience, for the open -sky teaches that the plans of God are not worked out in a day. The -journey from star-dust to harvest-ladened planet peopled by a happy -family of contented men, requires many millions of years, yet, from the -beginning it was in the mind of God. He has never altered his plan, -but with divine accuracy the work has passed from stage to stage of -development with perfect progression. With such an example, we must -learn patience and not become discouraged when we cannot see the end -from the beginning. A child can make a shelf full of mud pies in one -summer’s afternoon, and they will last no longer than the first rain. -Hasty work means wasted effort. Life that endures must be planned of -God, fulfilled with astronomical accuracy, and most patiently developed. - -How wonderful the brain that is molded after something of the vastness -of the open sky, and how thrilling to walk and till the fields of -heavenly blue! We were meant for those heights. It does not require -a very great elevation in the pure atmosphere of a Western State to -push back the horizon forty and fifty miles. This planet is not the -objective of life. It is only the hilltop where God has placed us for a -little while that we may catch a vision as wide as the universe and as -high as his own White Throne. - - - - - V - - UNQUARRIED STATUES - - -Michael Angelo, with his statues of David and Moses, proved that -Phidias and Praxiteles had not exhausted the marvelous possibilities -of the art of sculpture. Rodin, with his “Thinker,” has shown, -while Phidias and Praxiteles demonstrated the possibility of giving -immortality to the unsurpassed beauty of Grecian form, and while -Michael Angelo revealed the power of expressing grace, as in David, -and commanding leadership, as in Moses, that the achievements of these -two schools of art were the Pillars of Hercules, not marking the limit -of art, but the open gateway to uncharted seas and undiscovered realms -in the art of reshaping marble. There is not a lofty sentiment of the -soul, a struggling aspiration toward goodness, or form of idealism -that cannot be made to live in marble, and exert undying influence. -There is more than “an angel in the block of marble.” There are all the -hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, laughter and tears, longings and -aspirations, desires and despairs; there is all that is manly, noble, -and heroic, lying in any block of marble awaiting the coming of the -liberating chisel. What inspiration to the young artist of to-day, and -what joy to all lovers of the beautiful! The depths of earth are stored -with a wealth of unquarried statues. - -The progress of civilization is ofttimes hindered because youth, in -thinking of statues, consider the pedestals upon which they rest rather -than the depth from which they were quarried. They very often do not -care to begin life at the right place. Because they covet praise, and -enjoy the warm, congenial atmosphere of appreciation, they shun the -depths, hours of loneliness, the unrequited toil of preparation, and -the laborious efforts of beginning. Modeling clay is an important part -of the achievement; but getting the proper marble is one of the first -essentials. - -The experience of Michael Angelo is common to all men of real -achievement: he found that the market place does not offer marble -blocks of sufficient size for him to work out his divine conception. -Hucksters and makers of money in the market place seldom understand -ambitious youth that asks for larger blocks than they are capable -of handling. Their idea of a great thought is an ornament for the -mantelpiece. But men of achievement will not be daunted. Locking -his studio, Angelo went to superintend the breaking of blocks in -the mountain of Carrara, and when the sluggish-minded people of the -mountains refused to do his bidding, he opened new quarries in Seravez. -Before he could carve his statue he knew that he must quarry a block of -marble sufficiently large. He knew also that the block of marble could -be had for the digging. He found what he needed but did not exhaust the -treasury. The world still has the material, richer than that which made -Angelo and Rodin famous, awaiting the youth of ambition to undertake -great things, and the willingness, at any cost, to superintend the -breaking of the marble blocks from the buried storehouses. - -The pleasure of nature is to store her raw material in seemingly -inaccessible strongholds. She does not willingly yield them to men -lacking vision and great conceptions. If they were of easy access, -common men would crush them to make roads for donkeys to tramp over. -Nature’s treasures are too valuable for ignorance to destroy, so she -locks them in secret depths or inaccessible heights, awaiting the -coming of the man of genius. If only a man yields himself to the divine -leadings, and catches a vision of a statue like Moses, or a façade -for the Church of San Lorenzo, or for a mausoleum for the Medici, -no mountainside is too steep to chisel a roadway through the jagged -rocks, no morass so yielding but that a solid highway may be erected, -no water so troubled but that boats may safely transport the precious -marble. He will not depend upon hirelings nor lean upon borrowed -strength. The dream of beauty must be wrought in marble, the unquarried -statue must be lifted from obscurity and made to live in some public -place, therefore he will personally attend to the breaking of the -blocks. - -It is not an easy matter to live out a divine idea and make it a thing -tangible and real for a critical world to examine and criticize and -afterwards love and venerate. Sluggards and lovers of ease cannot do -it. To them an unquarried statue is only a stone. For centuries no one -has given it any attention; why should they? They would rather have -something to eat and drink. A cushioned chair is far more comfortable -to sit on, and a potato is much more substantial food. What they want -is something to eat, and a place in which to lounge, and because they -do not see the value of great ideas they can never be forgotten when -dead, for they were never known while living. - -He lives who forgets to live and concentrates all his powers in -bringing to light the vision of his beauty-loving soul. It may be -the beauty of art or the beauty of worthy living; it may be the -beauty of perfect workmanship in shop or factory, or the beauty of a -wholesome influence flowing from noble character; it may be loveliness -of sympathetic serving, or the beauty of aggressive battle for -righteousness; it may take any one of many forms of exalted thinking -and endeavor, yet its realization comes only when one eats, and drinks, -and bends every energy, not for the sake of living, but for the -realization of that which is more than living. - -How lamentable for a human life to end and find at the final judgment -that all its days were of less value to the world than that of a coral -polyp! How wonderful for one to be made out of dust, and after a while -to crumble back into dust, and yet, refusing to grovel in the dust, -leave the world richer, and better, and more beautiful, so that people -of another age will breathe his name in reverence as they behold that -which he hath wrought. Professor Finsen, the inventor of the “light -cure,” was an invalid for many years, yet he labored like a slave, in -the severest self-denial, to bring his invention, without compensation, -to the service of the world’s sick and suffering. He had but one dread -and that was the regret of dying, and leaving his little five-year-old -boy without any memory of his father. He desired to live long enough -to impress his face and life upon the memory of his son, that, in the -after years, the growing man would never forget the one who toiled so -earnestly for him. He did not want to be forgotten. How little did he -dream of the immortality that was his! He found an unquarried statue -in the sunbeam where others had overlooked it. Through ceaseless toil -he brought it within the vision of the world and gained a name that -countless ages will not forget. - -How wonderful to be the son of such a man! And though the image of the -father’s face be blotted from the memory, the statue that he carved -will help and heal the generations. How wonderful to be the son of such -a man, but how much more wonderful it is to be the man himself! To -fight with optimistic heart against the ravages of disease, to overcome -the natural yearnings of a father’s heart, to endure the most slavish -toil without thought or hope of compensation, to be a sick man fighting -for others who were sick; a dying man making battle against disease -that others may not taste of death! - -This is the joy unspeakable, to know that life is not in vain, but -everlastingly worth while. The visions shall not fade as summer clouds -at twilight time, but shall live in that which is as imperishable as -marble. Each one can say with deep resolve: “Men shall behold the -beauty of my soul by beholding the beauty of my daily life. Since -words are blossoms, I shall, with gracious speech, show my friends how -choice a garden I have planted in my heart. Since every blossom bears -a seed I shall take pleasure in planting them within the hearts of -others, that the beauty of my life may live in them. Out of the marble -block that it has been mine to break from its hiding place, I shall -carve the image I have treasured so long within my heart.” To do this -is to find a joy unspeakable. Life is not useless, but gloriously worth -while. Eating, and drinking, and toiling for that which is far more -than life, one can never die. - - - - - VI - - THE AGES TO COME - - -No matter how earnestly we may love our life-calling, and rejoice in -our chosen field of activity, there are hours when the easiest task -becomes irksome and its daily repetition seems unbearable. However -healthy the soul and robust the moral nature, a constant onslaught of -sorrow may wound like a poisoned dart, filling the soul with painful -forebodings. Beholding the transitoriness of life, and the apparent -frailty and uncertainty of those things upon which we place our -heaviest dependence, we become depressed, and feel that nothing is -permanent and that life’s products are but empty shadows. These are -common experiences, and their frequent repetition does not lessen their -depressive power. Coming upon us to-day they are just as hurtful as -when they challenged us for the first time. - -That we may overcome these disagreeable tendencies, and live a life -victorious, Paul revealed the secret of his own achievements. To him -work never became drudgery, sorrow never festered or left a feverish -wound, while even the most commonplace incident was of the deepest -significance because he had learned to acquire and maintain a deep -perspective that placed each moment of time in the white light of -eternity. He believed that we are not created for the hour but for the -centuries, and that we must work not so much for the present hour as -for the years that are yet to be. The one purpose of every word and -deed, to Paul, was to “show the ages to come the exceeding riches of -God’s grace.” - -As the prolific and luxuriant vegetation of the carboniferous age -bordered the lakes with ferns, the rivers with reeds, and the hillsides -and valleys with gigantic trees of grotesque form, that, in the ages to -come, man might have the exhaustless coalbeds to protect him from the -cold; as the coral polyps, buried beneath the waves, love and labor and -die, generation after generation, until a coral island lifts its head -to receive the kisses of the passing waves and extend the arms of a -protecting harbor, that, in the ages to come, the storm-tossed mariners -may find safe shelter against the stormy wind and wave; so you and I -are to love, and labor, and die, not for ourselves, but that the ages -to come, through our goodness and fidelity, may behold the riches of -God’s grace. - -This does not mean that we are to so bury the present in the future -that our lives shall consist of nothing save vague dreams and -idle contemplations. It means the opposite. We are to magnify the -present and give it increasing value by crowding it with an eternal -significance. We are not to drop to-day into the silent ocean of the -future and see it fade from sight, but into to-day we are to crowd -to-morrow and all the other to-morrows that shall follow. Instead of -losing the drop of water in Niagara we are to crowd all the dash and -splendor and power of Niagara into the single drop of water; instead -of losing the dew in the ocean, we crowd the ocean into the dewdrop; -instead of burying the present into the future, we gather all eternity -and crowd it into a single lifetime, so that every second of time -becomes as precious as a thousand years of eternity, and the smallest -task we have to perform becomes as sacred as the songs of the angels. - -When one possesses this conception of life that crowds a vast eternity -within the compass of a single individual life, no toil can ever become -drudgery. Every deed has divine significance. The most ordinary task -will be performed carefully, knowing that it must stand the scrutiny -and criticisms of the passing centuries. We labor then with the various -elements of life, as the artists of Venice toil with their priceless -mosaics, willing to spend a lifetime of painstaking endeavor in -forming a single feature of a saint, knowing that long after they -themselves have ceased to toil the wisdom of untold centuries shall -review their efforts to either praise or blame. Hitherto we have -despised the commonplace things that fell to our hands, while we -busied ourselves searching for some great thing worthy of our effort, -with the result that nothing has been accomplished; now we find, that -that only is truly great which is commonplace. Divine opportunities -are everywhere. In the low-browed man upon the street we see the -possibility of an ennobled and redeemed humanity. In the waif, crying -from hunger, we see the center of world-wide and eternal destinies. -Words are winged messengers, so we learn to study them with care, and -speak them with the precision with which a musician strikes his chords. -Divine destinies are depending upon the perfection with which we toil, -adding a charm to every endeavor that never fades with weariness. There -can be no drudgery to him who has a perspective eternity long. - -This conception of life which Paul gives us will carry us unharmed -through all the misfortunes of life. It is impossible for us to escape -sorrow. By rigid economy we may save our money only to have it stolen -by a deceitful friend; we may build a home, only to find it purchased -and occupied by another; loved ones, more precious than our own lives, -have been lured from our side by the hand of death. These hours are -naturally dark and of tortuous length, and if it were not for the fact -that we have learned to think in terms of eternity, we would die of a -broken heart. But we do not die; we pass through them with triumphant -tread. The soul sobs but does not bleed; the heart hurts but does -not break. We are not living for this world alone; our horizon has -been widened because we have been lifted to a higher level; we can -now see two worlds; our faith sweeps onward as far as God can think. -The earthly home for which we planned and toiled has passed into the -hands of another, but we rejoice in the knowledge that we have a home, -not made with toiling, blistered hands of earth, but one eternal in -the heavens. Our loved ones no longer greet us at the table or occupy -their accustomed places in the family circle, but we have not lost them -forever. They have simply passed from time into eternity, and because -we also are the children of eternity, they are still our own, and we -shall see them once again. Thank God for the transforming power that -comes into every human life when, by divine aid, one crowds eternal -significance into his days, and works, not for himself, but for “the -ages to come.” - -Paul’s view of life enables us to find perfect satisfaction in working -with the frailties of time in building that which is immortal in -character and service. Possessed with such a purpose, the spider’s -web becomes a cable, dust becomes slabs of marble, and seconds -becomes decades. There is nothing more fragile than a word, spoken in -stammering weakness, but with a trembling desire to be of service, -yet out of one word fitly spoken may be created an influence that -sweeps heaven and earth. A faltering word of Christian testimony was -spoken by a godly man made weak by an unconquerable embarrassment, -but his utterance proved mighty. Lodging in the heart of Charles -Spurgeon, it started him on his wonderful career that is yet shaking -all Christendom. The smile of the face is far more delicate than -the frailest blossom that opens its soft petals in obedience to the -caressing influence of the sun, for its existence is but for the -fraction of a second; yet one kindly, love-illumined look has been the -force that has lifted multitudes of mortals out of despondency and -uselessness, and made them the creators of mighty moral and religious -forces. It was a smile that saved John G. Wooley for the cause of -temperance. A smile, and a word, and the gift of a handkerchief were -all that Frances E. Willard used to redeem one of the most notorious -characters of Chicago, and make her one of God’s ministers of light -among the fallen. - -When one learns to live with the light of eternity flooding his pathway -there is not an event in life so small and insignificant that he -cannot employ it to create, and afterward use it, to sustain eternal -influences. There is joy now in living for Christ, but let us live, -not for that joy alone, but that, in the ages to come, we may show the -exceeding riches of God’s grace. Let them, through us, behold what the -grace of God can do to save, to keep, to empower, and to make immortal -such sin-smitten ones as we have been. This is the secret for making -toil pleasant, sorrows helpless, and the humblest effort an enterprise -of such character as crowds earth with richer meaning, and fills the -heavens with new-found joys. Show them that the greatest of all known -forces is a Christ-filled life. - - - - - VII - - THE UNLOCKED DOOR OF TRUTH - - -History has proven that the power of the “All Highest” War Lord is -as weak as a baby’s arm compared with the power of the humblest -individual who has entered into and taken possession of some great -truth. A thousand lords and ladies were gathered within the Babylonian -palace which was ablaze with light and filled with music. All hail to -King Belshazzar! His praises were upon every lip. All honor to the -royal family that had lifted the hanging gardens above the low-lying -plains, who had swung gates of bronze and planned the mightiest city -in the world. Every lip praised and every heart feared the power of -the daring king. But when the finger of God wrote a message of fire -upon the palace walls it was no longer Belshazzar who was ruler. The -fate of king and lord and ladies was in the hand of Daniel. He alone -of that great throng had seen and entered into the truth of temperance -and self-control. Such was the sustaining power of that possessed -truth that when the man-made king trembled, and a nation crumbled into -oblivion, he alone stood unmoved and triumphant amid the wreck and -chaos. - -Before the throne of ecclesiastical autocracy the rulers of the nations -bowed in weakness and everlasting shame. The autocracy of superstition -is the most merciless and deadly known, but when the power of Rome was -at the zenith of her unscrupulous reign, Martin Luther, a common man -with uncommon sense, discovered and entered into the great truth that -“the just shall live by faith.” Entering into that truth, he found a -power before which the claims of the Pope became insignificant, and by -his boldness, brought religious liberty to the people, thus gaining -universal love and immortality. - -Mary was Queen of England, and with that overzeal of religious bigotry, -was ruling with unquestioned power and severity. Hugh Latimer was only -a humble preacher, one of the least of the queen’s subjects, living -among the poor, but beside him, Queen Mary sinks into everlasting -contempt. The robes of fire wrapped his body in their golden folds, -hiding him forever from the sight of man, but the world has not -forgotten him. His dust knows no burial place, but because he lived in -the sheltering tabernacle of a great truth he will live forever in the -hearts of those who love religious tolerance, while the dust of Mary -crumbles in the gruesome vault at Westminster Abbey, with no lip to -sing her praises to the passing generations. Royal or ecclesiastical -power is nothing compared with the enduring authority of a common man -who has found, and entered into, and wholly and completely lives a -great eternal truth of God. - -Truth incarnate in human life is almighty, but truth in the abstract is -as helpless as is the dust of the Egyptian highways, which witnessed -the world’s mightiest pageants, but which are unable to tell the -story of mighty armies, royal cavalcades, and kingly processions that -once tramped upon them. Truth has always existed. However conceited -a religious leader may be, no one ever dared to presume himself -the creator of a truth. Long before the world had settled upon its -foundations, and the constellations of stars, like chandeliers, swayed -and swung their pendants of light, all truth beat and throbbed within -the heart of the Almighty. Throughout the beauty of verdant slope, -crested wave, and starlit sky, these words of encouragement have ever -rung: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The -truths of civilization have been in existence since creation, yet in -every century heathenism has flourished. The truth about human freedom -has always been, yet Rameses sat upon a throne and drove the Hebrews -to their task, beating their backs with knotted thongs and murdering -their children; the barons lived in palatial palaces fed in luxury, -while serfs toiled for harvests which they could never gather, and -starving, dared not plead for a morsel of the food their toil provided; -the Sultan of Turkey reveled in orgies, flagrant and disgusting, while -humble Armenians were torn asunder, their bleeding bodies fed to swine, -their wives and children tortured beyond belief, while no civilized -nation dared lift its hand in protest. Truth, in itself, is not -omnipotent. To be of value, truth must be entered into and possessed. - -Every truth has a door. To ignorance the door is barred and bolted. -To thoughtlessness, the door remains unseen. Only to the eye trained -with prayer, faith in God, and love for man, is given the vision of -these bright portals, and the possession of the key by which he can -unlock the door and enter into and enjoy the truth, which the world -has long known by heart, but which had never enveloped, sheltered, -and controlled their lives. If he has the courage to use the key and -open the door and enter in, he shall not only feel the saving power of -God, but he shall leave an open way through which all men may pass to -greater power. If he refuses to unlock the door, and, like the learned -ones of whom Christ spoke, carries away the key, entering not in -themselves and hindering those who would enter, he becomes an exile, -without home through time and eternity. - -That we may more clearly comprehend this truth let us consider a -chapter of American history. Hayne had finished his classic and -convincing speech. With gracious charm he had proclaimed the doctrine -of union without liberty, a nation of free people, half slave. The rapt -attention and tribute of silent applause from the audience told how -critical the situation had become. Opposed to him was Daniel Webster, -America’s favorite child of genius, whose face was as classic as a -Greek god’s, and whose commanding bearing won battles like a general. -He was a scholar of the strong New England type, searching for the -key to unlock the truth that the nation needed, and make it of easy -access to the people. He saw that there could be no union without -universal freedom. Hour after hour he proclaimed the truth, making the -mightiest speech the nation had ever heard, swaying his audience back -to the realm of clear thinking. Finally, with one sentence, “Union -and liberty, now and forever, one and inseparable,” he revealed to an -awakened nation that he had found the key that would unlock the door of -truth that the hour needed. But in his hour of triumph, dazzled by the -possibility of becoming President, he refused to use the key. To gain -the solid South he uttered his fateful speech for compromise. The North -held its breath in expectancy while New England sobbed like one bereft -of his favorite child. He who had the key refused to enter in himself -and hindered those who would have entered. - -But New England had another son of genius who, on the eventful night -that Webster, with trembling fingers, tried, and failed, to pick up the -key that he had thrown away, left Faneuil Hall with blazing, burning -thoughts. He too had found the way, but was unknown and untried. Again -he was in Faneuil Hall sitting beside James Russell Lowell, listening -to the mad mouthings of men, who, for the money involved, were -endeavoring to rechristen Wrong and call it Right. He had waited weary -weeks, but now he was unable to keep back his flaming indignation. -Rising, he began to speak. On the very platform where Webster had -fallen he began to plead the right of human liberty. New England was -thrilled with hope. Here at last was a man who not only saw the truth -but was determined to enter into it. With the confidence of a prophet -he used the key, unlocked the door and showed a nation the way it ought -to go. - -Truth must become incarnate in man and man must be incarnate in truth. -Every Christian man will testify to this. In childhood you committed -scripture which had little meaning to your childish mind. It was not -until in the after years when sorrow came, and grief blinded the eye, -and pain wounded the heart, that the clear, sweet voice of memory began -to repeat these verses, and what had been meaningless in childhood -became great, wholesome, sheltering, protecting truths, in which you -found all the consolations of God. - -It is a wonderful hour when the soul enters into and takes possession -of God’s great truth, becomes the master of all its stored up power, -and begins to use it in the service of love. It is a wonderful -experience and need never be delayed, for the door is easy to find. -Years ago earth was blessed by the coming of One who worked hard at -the carpenter trade, and in the school of toil and prayer, found the -way that scholars had overlooked. Standing before kings and earthly -potentates he said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” His spirit -is the way for men to live, the door through which they pass into all -truth, the life of fullest spiritual development. Christ is the open -way to every truth. Through him men attain the proper point of view, -and, learning to obey the Father as did he, begin to live the life -triumphant. - - - - - VIII - - WEAVING SUNBEAMS - - -Nature is always busy weaving sunbeams, and not one of them, like a -knotted thread, is cast from her loom. The waves cast their crystal -spray upon the sands to waste away, but not so with the sun as he -lavishly casts his beams broadcast o’er the earth. Not one of them -goes upon a fruitless errand, and not one of them fails to reach its -intended goal. It is not that the sun is wise in directing its energy, -but because the earth is ready to utilize, with untiring fidelity, the -gift of sunlight. - -How abundantly the sunbeams come! The arched sky is an upturned basket, -out of which God is pouring his wealth of sunlight upon a thirsty, -needy planet. These rays of light fall everywhere, because they are -needed everywhere. Upon arctic snow and desert sand and undiscovered -ocean waves they fall as readily as upon the forests of Brittany or -the vineyards of France. They place their gleaming coronets upon the -crystal brows of the Alps. They dance and flash their jewels, as they -hold carnival in the Northern Lights. Even after the sun is set they -peer at us through the parted clouds and leap at us from their hiding -places in the moon. They fall in the most inaccessible places, yet -none of them are ever wasted. As the parched earth drinks raindrops, -so the old world absorbs sunbeams. Swifter and more powerful than -the leaping waters of a cataract are they poured upon the earth--a -Niagara, world-wide and sun-high, with never-ceasing floods of light -that bathe each portion of the globe. They are not piled in heaps; they -do not swish and whirl, cutting a gorge through solid rock, or form a -whirlpool to menace humanity, but the earth absorbs them all, however -rapidly they come, and places them in her mysterious loom. Here, in -the depths, beyond our sight, the sunbeams are woven into invisible -cords that hold the needles of all the compasses to the north that -no traveler need be lost in the forest, and no ship perish in the -sea. Here, in the depths, the sunbeams are woven into mighty cables -of electric power that man picks up with the fingers of the dynamo -and compels to lift his burdens, pull his trains, propel his ships, -and serve him in a thousand ways. Here, in the depths, is woven that -mysterious power that carries the wireless message through the rocks of -the mountains and the channels of the sea, and wraps the earth in a -diaphanous garb that makes the wireless telephone a possibility. - -The world we see is but woven sunbeams. The forests of oak are the -sunbeams of yesterday, wrought into gnarled and knotted fingers to -grasp the sunbeams of to-day and wind them on a myriad unseen shuttles. -Soon they shall appear woven in the texture of notched leaf and carved -chalice of the acorn’s cup. The sunbeams falling upon the tangled -branches of the hillside vineyard, are woven into buds, and leaves, -and clinging tendrils, and afterward into the rich cluster of luscious -grapes. The sunbeams fall upon the buried seed and are woven into an -emerald lever with which the clod is lifted, into sturdy leaves that -are chemical laboratories where crude sap is changed into milk, into -heads of golden wheat with which to feed a thoughtless, hungry world. -Sunbeams are woven into corn and oats, into apples and peaches, into -nuts and berries. Falling along the railroad grade, they are woven into -violets; falling in the swamps, they are woven into buttercups; falling -in the thicket, they are woven into the silken folds of the wild-rose -petal. - -As nature weaves the sunbeam and not the shadow so man ought to develop -his power of utilizing happiness and joy. The sunshine of life ought -not to be thrown away like confetti and ribbon papers on a gala day. -Thoughtlessly our youths and maidens dance and sing in giddy, senseless -manner, throwing away sunbeams as though their lives were only bits of -colored glass through which the light of joy and happiness should pass. -Having no looms with which to weave their sunbeams into that which -would adorn their souls with garments of ever-growing life, they soon -become old and haggard, lifeless and dead, a burned-out planet like -the moon, unable to appreciate the sunlight that never fails to fall. -Much of the difference between men is due to the ability of one and -the inability of the other to make the passing joys of life become a -permanent, abiding element of his life. - -There is no life without sufficient sunlight to weave a gracious -personality. Wholesomeness of character is not the result of partiality -on God’s part, neither is hideous irritability of disposition -occasioned by God’s neglect of one of his children. The difference -between wholesomeness and unwholesomeness of character is that of the -right and wrong use of the blessings which God bestows upon all alike. -He who casts his sunbeams away will find old age desert and lifeless, -while he who weaves them all into a pleasing personality, will always -experience the joy of a more abundant life. A smile is softer than a -silken fiber and wears far longer. Its colors never fade, nor pass out -of style. Woven into a robe of genuine cheerfulness the soul possesses -rich adornment. These are the individuals whom children love, men seek -to honor, and all the world respects. A king’s robe is commonplace -compared with the attractive vesture of a healthy, cheerful disposition -which anyone may weave out of sunbeams, with which God crowds even the -most secluded, humble lives. - -This occupation is also the secret of sound and vigorous influence. -All men possess the power of influence, but even when one has the best -intentions he may wield a harmful, baleful influence because of an -irritable and complaining disposition. A petulant temper and irascible -disposition are the thunder that curds much of the milk of human -kindness, and an application of alum will not tend to sweeten the curd. -With a sharp tongue one may be driven to hard labor, but the wounds -he carries in his heart will prevent him from performing a perfect -task. Scolding and fault-finding have driven multitudes into iniquity. -It is difficult to drive bees, but one can lure them any distance -with a field of blooming clover. By forgetting to weave sunbeams into -wholesome character one not only loses the joy of being cheerful but -fails in one of the supreme objectives of life--that of wielding -intelligently a helpful, healthy, and enduring influence. - -The secret of achievement may also be described as weaving sunbeams. -In a victorious life the blessings of God take permanent place in the -work of hand and brain. Such a life is a loom which receives only -that he may produce, the quality of the production depending upon -the care and patience with which he works, indifference producing -mediocrity, carefulness leading to perfection. What the world calls -genius is simply the mastery of the gracious art of weaving sunbeams -into polished sentences, enduring thoughts, embroidered tapestry, -living poem, inspiring painting, and graceful statue. The way out -of mediocrity is to weave one’s personal blessings into world-wide -benefits. - -Here also is found the way to overcome life’s obstacles. A frown -never wins a battle. It was a singing army that crossed the sea and -helped win the World War. Amid the dangers, hardships, and privations -our soldiers gathered sunbeams, and with a cheerfulness never before -witnessed upon a field of battle did their full part. Trenches, -barbed-wire entanglement, and treacherous pitfall are nothing to one -who weaves his sunbeams into song. Thus all difficulties fade away and -vanish. - -These statements are only another way of saying that one should weave -God into every fiber of life. The sun is always emblematic of the -Father, and he who weaves sunbeams will know and love God. This is no -idle saying, nor a bit of rhetoric, but a soul-saving truth. It is the -sun that banishes the shadows; it is God who enables us to overcome -our temptations, pain and sorrow. The more we utilize his revelations -the brighter the pathway, until at last we shall stand in his presence -and have no more need of the sun, for we have him. “They shall hunger -no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, -nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall -feed them, and shall lead them into living fountains of waters: and God -shall wipe all tears from their eyes.” Weaving sunbeams in a world of -shadows, we prepare ourselves for the unshadowed land where God is the -everlasting Light. There, without sin or suffering, we shall know God. - - - - - IX - - THE PATHWAY OF A NOBLE PURPOSE - - -As the sleepless eye thirsts for the dawn, and the troubled child -hungers for the sound of its mother’s voice, so each growing soul -seeks a coveted goal the attaining of which, to him, means success. -As boys, to be boys, must dream their dreams of strife and conflict -upon a battle’s front, and girls, to be girls, must dream their milder -dreams of love, so coming maturity demands of each aspiring soul that -he linger long upon the visions of strife that lead to success. It is -well to seek for great things, for each success that enters the golden -portals of our lives brings many chariots filled with golden gifts. -Returning to his home, the Roman victor was honored with a triumph in -which, on golden plate and velvet spread, the trophies and spoils of -conquest were displayed. In this way the ambitious Roman youth learned -that success is always attended by a great procession of rich rewards. -The one who conquers feels more than the soul-thrill of victory. Like -Samson, he finds the unexpected reward of a carcass filled with honey -awaiting his hungry lips. - -While success is worthy of one’s best efforts, and all men hunger for -it, very few, indeed, have ever reached that happy goal. They failed -because they refused to follow the pathway of a noble purpose. They -believed that success was altogether a matter of outward form. Seeing -the conqueror riding in triumphant procession, they thought that the -applause arose, not because he had conquered, but because he wore -a helmet and a shield. Hurrying to an emporium, they too purchased -helmets and shields and strutted forth to win a world’s applause. -Foolish souls! The public eye is keen and penetrating and always -apprehends the truth. If the people greet a king with shouts, it is not -because they see a gleaming crown, but because they recognize a royal -soul beneath the crown. If the multitude cheer a warrior, it is not -because he bears a standard, but because, in courageous conflict, he -won a battle for the people. Spain greeted the discoverer of America, -not because of the grain and fruit he brought, but because he had -braved the dangers of a dark unknown, and blazed a pathway through -untracked wastes. - -History repeats the story of a weird Scythian custom. When the head -of a house died his family would adorn his corpse in finest raiment, -place it in a chariot, and, amid shouts and hosannas, draw it to the -homes of former friends. Coming to each dwelling place, the corpse -would be greeted with pomp and splendor. For the final home-coming the -steps would be carpeted with silken shawl and choice embroidery, while -lighted chandeliers flashed welcome to the dead and sunken eyes. Within -the doorway the crowned corpse was placed at the head of a banqueting -table at which his gay companions sat and made merry, eating and -drinking in his honor. Thus many days were spent in honoring the dead -before the body was laid away in the tomb. To us it was a most gruesome -custom, but each Scythian youth struggled to possess a home of his own, -that some day he might be carried as a crowned corpse through the city -streets, and finally, be seated in honor at his own banqueting board. - -This ancient custom was the outgrowth of a mistaken view of life still -prevailing in many quarters, for the crowned corpse is seen to-day in -many public gatherings. What else is the man who seeks office for the -selfish purpose and pleasure of holding office? In youth he saw the -governor’s chair or Senate seat, and found that every chord of his -nature was awakened and longed to reach that goal. He determined that -this vision of his soul should be transcribed from the pages of his -imagination to the pages of his nation’s history. Two pathways opened. -The one of a noble purpose, saying, “Seek office, that you may render -needed service to your fellow countrymen.” The pathway of selfishness -opened its portals saying, “Seek office for the sake of gain.” Seeing -that trickery and deceit promised the easier way to gain his end, -he started with leaps and bounds. He cast lots with dishonesty and -dissipation. He became a perjurer, a liar, and a thief. He sold himself -to an unworthy cause, at last the coveted crown was his. To-day he sits -at the head of the table, not a great ruler, but a crowned corpse. In -his struggle for power he lost all that constitutes real living. - -What else is the man who seeks wealth for the sole sake of having -money? For years he has lived the life of a slave, denying himself -beauty, music, books, devotions, and benevolence, until, at last, -his name appears in Bradstreet marked “AA,” and the world greets him -as a king. Who is he? A crowned corpse. When he began his career two -pathways opened. The one of a noble purpose saying, “Make money for the -sake of doing good.” The other way, the way of selfishness, saying, -“Make money to satisfy your own desires.” He chose the latter way. He -has his robe and crown, and is seated amid light and applause, but he -is not capable of appreciating its meaning. Long ago he died to honor, -and truth, and love, and generous impulse. He knows not the meaning of -life. - -Among the crowned corpses should also be mentioned those who follow -society for society’s sake. Through imitation they have destroyed -personality. They have smothered their souls under the weight of their -self-adornment. In their wild search for physical pleasure all the -radiant, sparkling glory of a cultured spirituality has faded into the -pallor of death. They are richly robed, they ride in state, receive the -plaudits of their followers, sit at table spread with gold and silver -plate, but they are now dead to all the higher things of life and are -unable to appreciate the empty honors they receive. - -The secret of successful living is to follow the pathway of a noble -purpose. At first the path may seem a long and arduous one, but it -is the only way that has booths in which to rest the weary feet and -crowns for living souls to wear. It is in this pathway that one -learns the secret of the Christ life, for as he journeys on the way -to nobility a voice is ever whispering in his ears: “Life consists in -living unselfishly. Seek power only that you may have strength to serve -those who are weak. Gain wealth only that you may be able to multiply -your usefulness.” The road of a noble purpose leads to a throne, not -one for the dead body, but a throne for the living soul. Here too -is applause, not such as the Scythian dead received but such as was -accorded the Roman conqueror. What a thrill follows noble endeavor! -What a joy to come to old age having fought battles for those who were -too weak to fight for themselves, and brought victory where otherwise -his people would have suffered defeat and death! - -The world honors those who honor it. The ruler who has followed the -pathway of a noble purpose is always honored by his people. Before him -is spread the banquet of a nation’s reverence and homage. The man who, -in getting money, has kept his hands clean from dishonesty, made just -returns for all labor he required, and has kept his heart tender toward -his fellow man, is honored by everyone. Men delight to fill his days -with happiness, as honeysuckle loves to fill the air with sweetness. -When the world discovers a woman whose desire for society is not to -satisfy her vanity, or fill a shallow soul with selfish pleasures, but -her desire is to scatter jewels of love and gems of inspiration to make -rich and beautiful the lives of the common folk, it crowns her in the -temple of its heart and calls her an angel sent of God. - -The days of autocratic power are ended, but the hands of the people -are busy building thrones and weaving crowns of gold. So long as there -is a love for nobility in the human heart men and women of nobility -will be placed in power. Life consisteth not in the abundance of the -_things_ which a man possesseth but in following the pathway of a noble -purpose. - - - - - X - - SWORDS FOR MORAL BATTLES - - -The best weapons with which to fight moral battles have already been -forged, sharpened, and polished, waiting to be unsheathed for conflict. -There are some things that the ingenuity of man cannot improve. Man’s -genius may perfect the locomotive to give swiftness to his feet; it may -magnify his voice until his whispers are heard a thousand miles away; -it may perfect machinery giving speed and accuracy to his busy fingers; -it may print his speech and multiply his audience a millionfold; it -may open new fields of endeavor, thus increasing the circle of his -influence; it may do many things to break down barriers, and increase -usefulness; but all the genius and skill of man can never devise nor -contribute to any life a better or keener weapon with which to fight -moral battles than belonged to us the eventful morning we left the old -homeplace and mother’s presence, to begin, among strangers, our first -conquest with the world. - -As a royal exile David was facing a grave crisis. The relentless enemy -was pressing hard, and he possessed no means of defense. Leaving his -hiding place, he hurried into the presence of Ahimelech and asked for -a spear or a sword. As Ahimelech was a priest, and not a warrior, he -was about to dismiss the young man empty-handed when, suddenly, he -remembered. Wrapped in cloth, hanging behind the high priest’s robe, -was an old sword, the very one that this young man had one time taken -from the stiffening fingers of a dying giant, whom he had slain on the -eventful morning of his first great conflict. Slowly and carefully the -old man took the gleaming blade from its resting place, unwrapped it -with reverent touch, explaining that it was all that he had to offer. -David was instantly filled with delight. His eyes gleamed with fire, -his heart and soul were thrilled with memories of that bright morning, -when, filled with the ardor of youth, he had run down the mountainside -to make conquest with the giant. This was that giant’s sword! The very -one that he had wrenched from the stiffening fingers of the vanquished -foe. Reaching forward he grasped it in his strong right hand saying: -“There is none like that; give it me.” There may have been and probably -were better and more beautiful swords in the world; keener steel may -have been forged into swords for the generals and kings of other lands, -but for David there was none other quite so efficient as the one with -which he had gained his first victory. - -There are no newly discovered weapons with which to fight the moral -battles of to-day. As David was aroused from the shrinking spirit of a -fugitive to become a conquering king, by being given the weapon of his -former battle, so each man must make requisition upon the past. Behold -the weapons which hang in the sacred temple of our souls awaiting the -grasp of a courageous hand. - -There is the sword of our childhood dreams. Let memory make you a -little child again with brother and sister about the hearthstone on -a winter’s evening, and let your heart glow with good cheer. Or let -the sunshine of summer fall across your way until you are a child -once more, running with bare feet through the winding ways of the -meadow, chasing moths and butterflies, or wading the stream back of -the old schoolhouse, your heart as carefree as the rippling waters. -Let the dull monotonous hum and soothing influences of those happy -days of wonderment come back to your heart until your eyes half close -and you begin redreaming your youthful dreams. Blessed dreams, that -cause the muscles of your face to relax, while laughter comes to the -lips, and compels you to forget the blistering ways you have trodden -since those sun-bright days. Dream your dreams of tenderness and -confidence, for the tendency of the city is to harden the heart and -dull the sympathies. Then will you have a worthy weapon with which to -make battle. You need your old-time faith in God and confidence in -man, your former optimistic view of life that gave brightness to every -future fancy; your trustfulness in mother’s love and father’s counsel; -the belief that divine power was working for your success because your -heart was pure; let these memories and fond dreams come to you once -again. You need them. Without the dreams of life the arm has little -strength and the will but little power. Let them come back, bringing -smiles for your face, and wreaths for your brow, and heaps of gold -for your coffers. Youthful dreams must never fade from the gallery of -memory if men would achieve. Lay hold upon them with all your power, -knowing that while manhood’s wisdom is valuable, it is not half so -effectual in fighting life’s battles as are the warm dreams of youth. -With the sword of a worthy dream a man can defeat any adversary, scale -any rampart, take any stronghold. Youth’s dreams were never intended to -be lost. They are stored away in the most sacred part of your nature. -Plead for their return, and finding them, exclaim with David, “There is -none like that; give it me.” - -There is the sword of your old-time enthusiasm and resolution. There -was a time when you believed yourself the possessor of a divine quality -that would compel your brightest dream to come true. With age you are -becoming more prosaic. You are not so confident and self-assertive. -You excuse your shortcomings by asserting that you are becoming -“more conservative,” forgetful that conservatism is very often only -a refined name for dry rot or petrification. No man can win a fight -with merely the weapons of conservatism. What you need is the old-time -enthusiasm with which you announced your determination to leave home, -the enthusiasm with which you packed the old trunk, and that fired your -soul as you drove away from the old homestead, and made you determined -to win fame and fortune at any cost. Time instead of deadening should -kindle the fires of enthusiasm. You are living in the greatest hour -of history. You are better equipped and environed and protected than -the people of any generation. The quest was never so valuable; the -rewards for noble endeavor never more abounding. There is no reason for -any man giving up to indifference or despair. Take up your old-time -enthusiasm until your heart burns with power that quickens the step and -strengthens the arm. Lay hold of this conquering sword with which you -have slain many a giant and cry with the spirit of a true conqueror, -“There is none like that; give it me.” - -There is the sword of your childhood faith in God. As you have grown -older you have acquainted yourself with many theories and tried many -dogmas strange and fanciful, but none of them have had sufficient -strength and keenness to win your battle. You have been compelled to -throw them aside, and now, in the crisis, you are compelled to face the -enemy of your soul without means of defense. Then take up the sword of -your childhood faith in God that filled your younger years with beauty, -that warmed your enthusiasm, and made you fight single-handed while an -army trembled. Kneel once more as you knelt at your mother’s knee; look -up with an open face toward your Father in heaven; cherish his words -and keep his commandments; and from this hour no man can defeat you. -In the outstretched hand of your Christian mother is the sword of your -old-time faith in God. May you have the wisdom of David when he saw the -sword in the hands of the priest and exclaim with all the earnestness -of your repentant soul, “There is none like that; give it me.” - -There is no modern improvement in making swords for moral battles. -Man’s progress in the sciences is not because he has improved but -because he has employed the laws of nature, laws that have coexisted -with the world. The telephone, telegraph, and incandescent are not the -result of man inventing electricity. Science wins all her conquests by -using old swords but perfect ones, because they come from the hand of -God. We need no new religions, cults, or creeds. Being man-made they -have no excellence of steel or temper. The emphasis must be placed, not -upon the theory, but upon the moral laws which are just as vital to -the spiritual life as natural laws are to the development of science. -These laws are perfect. The Ten Commandments are incomparable. Not one -of them is unnecessary but each one vital to triumphant living. Add to -these the new commandment of Christ that we are to love the Lord our -God with all our mind and heart and soul and strength and our neighbors -as ourselves, and we have an arsenal with which to conquer all the -powers of earth and hell. - -The world is weary following the ways of men. Righteousness alone -exalteth a nation. “Back to God!” is the war-cry. “There is none like -that; give it me.” - - - - - XI - - SPICED WINE - - -In his Songs Solomon referred to a beautiful Oriental custom. The -bride and bridegroom drank from the same cup, that they might show the -assembled guests their willingness to henceforth share all the cups of -life, whether sweet or bitter. To add to the joy of the wedding banquet -the cup from which the wedded ones were to drink would be passed first -to the others who were seated with them. As it passed from hand to hand -each guest would drop into the ruby wine a gift of fragrant spice, -expressing thus the earnest wish that every bitter cup of life might -be brightened and sweetened with the spices of good friendship. From -the first moment of wedded life their loved ones wished that they taste -of nothing save joy and happiness. In his great poem Solomon somewhat -alters the ancient custom and represents the bride performing this -service of spicing the wine for the husband, as much as to say, “I -would render unto thee only the sweetest, the purest, and the best that -earth can hold.” - -One of the greatest needs of to-day is a spirit of willingness to -spice the sour wines which others are daily compelled to drink. There -are few greater services to render both God and man than to proffer the -cup of spiced wine. - -The church as the Bride of Christ should offer to him no service that -is not sweet and aromatic with the spices of sincerity and love. This -is the only way the world will ever be taken for Jesus Christ. The -church must offer something better, more pleasing, and more wholesome -than the wines that this world has to offer. It is the tendency to give -to God the drainings from life’s vintage. We often spend the week in -pursuit of selfish pleasures, drinking the sweetest wines and giving -them freely to our chosen companions, and then, in hours of worship, -give to God the cheaper, sourer wines, making religious worship -unwholesome, acrid, bitter, and nauseous. - -Unless we do away with our acrimonious methods and make our services to -God more aromatic and pleasant, the church is going to lose all hold -upon her boys and girls. As a child’s growing body requires sugar, so -his awakened spiritual powers need that which is sweetened with the -spices of gladness and whole-heartedness. - -This is the only way by which the church shall get and retain its grip -on men of affairs. All week long these individuals have been tasting -the acid and the bitterness of earthly struggle and competitive -ambition. Sunday morning comes and they are tired, and nervous, and -all worn out. What they need is a cup of spices, each bit of spice -a gift of love. They need to have their minds taken away from the -bitterness and acidity of life and given something that is fragrant -and stimulating, something that will revive and strengthen them for -future activity. This is the purpose of the church. It is to gather -from all quarters of the earth all things that are good, wholesome, and -attractive, and press them, as a gift of love, to the lips of every -worshiper. It is to crowd each service with inspiring song, short -helpful prayers, warm-worded greetings, and enthusiastic handshaking, -until the silver chalice brims with gladness. Bring all your spices -into the house of God and offer to Christ a pleasing gift. There is no -telling how much good you can do. Look into the face of your Creator -whenever you enter his temple and pray with an earnest heart: “O Lord, -I would this day cause thee to drink spiced wine.” - -This should not only be the attitude of the church toward its Lord, but -it should certainly be the spirit with which it daily faces the world. -As we confront each individual we should be able to say: “I would -cause thee, my brother, my sister, to drink spiced wine.” We should -go through life so prepared with the spices of good cheer that the -moment we found one with a cup of bitterness we could remove all its -disagreeableness before it is pressed to their parched lips. We should -carry spices for their cups, and not pepper for the eyes, or salt with -which to rub the sores of our enemies. Spices so sweeten the cup that -men forget their hatred and find themselves glad that we are here. - -Give them the spices of a good disposition. Our dispositions are not -unalterable gifts thrust upon us at birth, but are largely a matter of -cultivation. If we associate with that which is sour and crabbed, our -dispositions will, of necessity, assume the same nature. If we live -a life of goodness, we will most naturally have a sweet disposition. -The difference between peaches and pickles is far more than a matter -of spelling. Peaches are not pickles, because they absorb the sunlight -and the sweetness of the soil, until even their tartness is delicious -to the taste. Pickles are not peaches because they absorb only those -things which suggest and harmonize with salt and vinegar. We never -think of pickles without thinking about vinegar. Their difference is -in the choice of elements used in building tissues. The same thing is -true with us. We make our dispositions, and because we do, we should be -lovers of the aromatic spices with which God has crowded the world. -O that those who profess to love God would cease shaking pepper into -others’ lives, and begin to put sweet spices of a good disposition into -cups already too bitter with the gall of sorrow and disappointment. - -Give them the spices of a cheerful conversation. No good comes -from burning the mind of the world with the acid of criticism, or -distressing their lacerated hearts with the story of our personal -discomforts. Give spices. Instead of telling how the rheumatism made -the joints creak on their hinges, tell the story of how once you -were able to leap over the fences and how you swung from the topmost -branch of the old apple tree. Instead of telling about the horrors of -insomnia, and how little you slept that past week, and how miserably -the morning hours wore away, tell about the red bird that sang under -your window and awakened a thousand memories of your childhood, tell -how you noticed the fresh air of the morning awakened symphonies among -the dew-laden leaves. It is so much nicer to be a candle that gives -light than a smoky chimney that belches soot and cinders. The world -always appreciates its bearers of good news. Happy conversation is -within the reach of every one. No matter how blind we may be to the -blessings of to-day, memory holds a box of spices within easy reach, -and we can fill our words with a sweetness that will cast an undying -fragrance. - -It is not difficult to be cheerful when we remember that we meet only -two classes of people, no matter how far we travel, or how long we -live. The one class consists of those who are making failure of life. -Each word we speak brings to them either the bitterness of wormwood or -the good cheer of wild honey. The opportunity to give encouragement -to the downcast comes every day. Tired, worn, and jaded, they meet us -upon every street corner and press against us at every assembly. O that -they might rejoice as they taste the spices we are placing in their -wine! The other class of people whom we are meeting are those who are -making success of life, and who are very often the most neglected. -Because they receive worldly honor we think them extremely happy, not -recognizing their loneliness. The world never hesitates to press its -sponge of vinegar and gall to the lips of those who are serving it. - -Several years ago there was a large gathering in Calvary Church, -New York City, to pay tribute to Dr. Edward Washburn. Phillips -Brooks, Bishop Potter, and many other men of distinction met in that -magnificent service and offered words of praise to the goodness, -courage, clear thinking, untainted love and unselfish devotion of that -mighty man. After all had ended their words of praise a little woman, -dressed in black, who had been the companion of Dr. Washburn for so -many years of married life, slowly arose to address the audience. Amid -an intense silence she repeated over and over again these words: “O, if -you men loved Edward so, why did you never tell him?” What a revelation -of heart-hunger! Long years of bitterness when all might have been -relieved with just a little spice, that is readily found and easily -bestowed. - -Bring on the spices! Let us be more affectionate one toward another. -The eldest son of a large family was kneeling at his mother’s deathbed -saying, “You have been such a good mother.” The dying woman opened her -eyes and faintly whispered, “You never said so before, John, you never -said that before.” Let this be our motto as we meet all men: “I would -cause you to drink spiced wine.” - - - - - XII - - THE FEVER OF HEALTH - - -One of man’s richest possessions is the feeling of restlessness and -discontent that ever pushes onward seeking something new. It is the -secret of discovery. Beholding the sunset, like a thousand camp fires -flashing their beams upon the crimson and purple curtained tents of -ever-encamping angels, man determined to enter into and share their -quiet place of rest and luxury. Hastening forward, he easily found the -hills that yester-night formed the mystic camping ground, but nowhere -would a torn leaf or trampled grass-blade betray a single footprint; -while, looking farther westward than he had traveled, he saw the -same crimson-and-purple tents stretched upon other hilltops bathed -with sunset’s golden light. Month followed month while man continued -journeying westward in fruitless quest for peace, but in his effort to -reach the cherished goal he discovered new lakes and rivers, hills and -valleys, plains and forests, until a mighty continent lay ready for his -children’s children to build cities rivaling in power and splendor the -mystic camps of sunset’s unseen hosts. - -Restlessness and dissatisfaction are the secret of invention. Satisfied -with their condition, China, India, and Africa yield no inventions. -Their people carry water in flasks of skin, travel upon weary-footed -beasts of burden, and bequeath their children nothing but tradition. -Such once was all the world until some individuals of courage and -determination caught the fever of health. Dissatisfied and restless, -man became weary of carrying water and would not rest until he had -perfected the Holly Engine that presses a cup of cool water to every -thirsty lip within the city. Tired of slow travel, he compelled the -locomotive to give fleetness to his feet, and the telephone to give -rapid transit to his voice. Restless because the singer’s voice must -fade in silence, man built the phonograph to give the human voice, the -frailest of all man’s possessions, everlasting life. Dissatisfaction -with things as they are gives invention her rich achievements. - -Art follows only in the footsteps of restlessness. Every painting -and tapestry hanging on palace wall, every anthem that thrills the -templed throngs, and every melody that wafts its sweet cadence upon the -trembling, vibrant air, exists because some sensitive soul refused to -know contentment until he had given perfect expression to the beauty -that dwelt within his soul. - -Only through the contagion of the divine fever can there be any reform. -It was only when the restless soul of John Howard began to express its -contempt for the foul floors and vitiated air of England’s jails and -aroused the slumbering conscience of an indifferent people that the -cruel prison systems of the world were changed. Reform in England’s -colonial policy that made possible the unity of Canada and the founding -of our own government came only when men began to chafe and grow -restless under unjust treatment, and finally found expression in the -burning, blazing, nervous eloquence of Patrick Henry, “Give me liberty, -or give me death!” - -Because men were satisfied with things as they were, the city slums -became deeper, fouler depths of misery entombing thousands of human -beings in inexcusable death-traps, robbing parents of hope and -childhood of its lawful inheritance of health and goodness. These -things continued until one poor lad grew divinely restless. A little -immigrant boy of poetic temperament and lofty aspirations, by the name -of Jacob Riis, cried out in protest against the injustice of foul -air and darkened homes. Restless himself, he made the city restless, -until New York transformed her tenements, purified her slums, and -reformed her government until she became one of the cleanest cities -of the world--in many ways a worthy example for the cities of the Old -World to follow. The restlessness of Livingstone redeemed Africa. -The restlessness of Morris saved China. The restlessness of Thoburn -is working miracles in India. When men found it impossible to sit at -ease while their brothers were in chains slavery disappeared. Because -men became weary with drunkenness and tired listening to the pathetic -pleading of drunkards’ wives and children, an aroused nation closed the -open saloons and placed a ban upon the sale of alcoholic drink. Men are -now becoming tired of war. They believe that the world has drunk its -fill of human blood. The hour for world-wide disarmament has come, and -rulers must be made to think before sacrificing their people’s lives. - -Here also we find the secret of mental development. So long as the -human mind is satisfied with tradition it cannot grow; but let it -once become uneasy under the deadening power of superstition, its -very restlessness will make the mountains unlock their secrets, the -plants yield tribute of health-creating medicines, the clouds unbosom -their mystery, and even the starlight becomes a pencil of gold to -write upon the tablet of the sky the marvelous story of man’s growing -intellectual power. - -No one of God’s gifts is to be valued more than this feeling of -unrest that he inspires within the heart, making us dissatisfied with -ourselves and our surroundings, and forcing us forward to become -skillful in discovery, art, invention, reform, and intellectuality. - -But the beneficent influence of health’s fever does not end here, for -it is also the secret of spiritual development. We have all experienced -these seasons of holy manifestation. Our friends said that we had the -fidgets; the physician diagnosed our case as one of nervousness; we -insisted that we had the blues; but all were wrong. The restlessness -was a sign of health. We were not satisfied with ourselves but longed -for nobility. The dust-made body was refusing to grovel in the dust. -The spiritual life was beginning to assert itself through these tissues -of flesh. The chrysalis had lost its desire to crawl along the ground, -for new life within claimed its right to rise upon joyous wing and -cleave the sunlit air. It was not a thing to be despised, to mar and -gnaw the budding leaf, but something to be admired and loved of man, -something sylphlike to sip from chalices of gold and silver, porphyry -and lapis-lazuli. The old man of sin was dying, and through the power -of Christ a new man was coming into life; from now on he can never be -satisfied with things as they were. - -One of the hopes of the world’s salvation is the fact that sin never -satisfies the soul. Its promises are never fulfilled. Its obligations -are never met at maturity. Men become restless in their sin, and -through their restlessness are being led to God. Here alone can -satisfaction be found, for only Christ supplies the soul with what -it needs for the journey set before it. He offers guidance, saying, -“I am the way.” Following him no soul has ever been lost amid the -bewildering maze of sin. He offers sustaining power saying, “I am the -bread of life” and “I am the water of life.” The dusty ashes of sin no -longer choke, but for the hunger there is life-giving bread, and for -the parched lip there is water. He gives illumination, saying, “I am -the light,” and the terrors of darkness and the dangers of the night -flee away. He offers an open way, saying, “I am the door,” and through -him one passes out of the cramped prison house of past sins into -untrammeled, unmeasured freedom. He offers immortality, saying, “I am -the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were -dead, yet shall he live.” The deadening power of sin loses its hold, -and one tastes the unspeakable joy of living a life that is life indeed. - -Then be not confounded by the feeling of restlessness that ever creeps -upon the healthy soul. What a tragedy our lives would be had we been -satisfied with our first achievements! How terribly pathetic it is to -become satisfied with ourselves now, while we are so far short of what -we might be, and so lamentably short of what God meant our lives to be! -Curb not the spirit of restlessness as though it were a fever of death. -It is health’s fever. It is the call of the soul for its Creator who -longs to lead us into better things. - -To-morrow will be a beautiful day because to-day is so restless. - - - - - XIII - - THE WISDOM OF THE UNLEARNED - - -The pathway of true brotherly love is bordered with deformed social -conditions which must be faced and remedied. Entering the temple at the -hour of prayer, Peter and John had their pious meditations interrupted -by the appealing cry of a crippled beggar, who was crouching helplessly -at the temple door. His haggard face, his wistful eye, his bony, -outstretched hand, pleaded so passionately that the singing of the -Levites was drowned and the temple call to prayer unheeded. The eyes -of Peter and the beggar met, and Christlike spirituality stood face -to face with the practical aspect of the world’s need. Instantly -the great-hearted, impetuous Peter took notice of the helpless man, -whose wan face began to brighten with hope. Taking him by the right -hand, Peter said: “Silver and gold have I none. I cannot meet the -requirements that you ask, knowing that it is not money that you need, -so much as health and strength, with which to earn a livelihood for -yourself and for your loved ones. Silver and gold have I none; but -such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth -rise up and walk.” The cripple did not have time to waver, nor to -debate, for the warm handclasp and the strong arm of the enthusiastic -servant of Christ was lifting him to his feet and teaching him how to -leap, and run, and sing the praises of God. Peter and John felt that -they could not enter the temple to pray until they had proven their -right to worship by practically meeting whatever part of the world-wide -social needs chanced, at that moment, to confront them. - -But their benevolence was misinterpreted by those who should have been -the most appreciative. Overzealous religionists, who usually mistake -the form for the spirit of worship, had the two benefactors arrested, -accused of violating their law concerning the observance of the Sabbath -day. After a night spent upon the cold, damp stones of the inner -prison, the two disciples were brought before the learned magistrate to -explain their conduct. - -There is nothing more interesting than these unfriendly scholarly -investigations of religious phenomena, conducted for the purpose of -securing a rational psychological explanation. The high priests, the -scribes, the rulers of city and province were seated in state, when -the two humble followers of the Social Christ, with common garb, and -net-calloused hands, stood at the judgment bar and heard the question: -“By what power have ye done this?” A more modern phraseology of the -question would be, “State to the Court what is the psychological -explanation of this purported miracle?” - -It was a critical moment to these judges, for scholarship, with much -ado, was studying and analyzing ignorance. But the Peter of Pentecost -was not to be dismayed. He knew that the service of Christ is not -formal but practical, and that his conduct in curing a lame beggar was -more important to God than the observing of a thousand man-made forms -and ceremonies. He knew from his former experience that ignorance need -have no fear of the scoffer’s sneer, or the scholar’s questioning, when -once the heart has been fully consecrated to the service of God. With -confidence they faced the inquirers saying, frankly: “The power is not -ours. This miracle was performed through the power of Christ, which -you, in your learning, threw aside, and which we, in the simplicity of -our untutored hearts, have accepted as the gift of God.” The power of -Pentecost was with the preacher again, and the judges were filled with -fear and wonderment. Against their most earnest desires they liberated -the men, wondering why they, as learned men, should be influenced by -men of such untrained intellects. - -While Christianity has always waged warfare against ignorance in all -forms, and has been the leader in founding schools and colleges, the -fact remains that many of our greatest achievements have been wrought -by untrained men. God often takes the weak things of this world to -confound the mighty. - -When an unorganized and badly scattered people needed a wise ruler, God -passed by the palace doors and over the seats of learning that, in the -open fields, he might crown David, a shepherd lad. When Jerusalem was -a ruined city, overgrown with weed and briar, God ignored commanding -generals and ruling monarchs, to honor Nehemiah, whose conquering -courage rebuilt the city. When mad with power and wild excesses of sin, -a mighty nation needed restraint, God stepped over the royal houses as -though they were playthings upon the nursery floor, and lifted Daniel, -an exile, to become the condemning conscience for them who had slain -their consciences, and to become a radiant hope for those who were -enslaved and had lost all courage. When the time had fully come for -the kingdom of Christ to be preached to the cultured and aristocratic, -he chose these two men of the fisher-craft, who, though ignorant -and unlearned, made the scholars and statesmen dumb with wonderment, -while the crowned power of the age was humiliated, unable to cope -successfully against the growing faith. - -Christianity, while not encouraging ignorance, recognizes what -the world often overlooks, that learning, in itself, has woeful -limitations. When rightly employed, mental training multiplies one’s -powers and talents, as the circling moon gives strength and swiftness -to the rising tides; but misapplied book-learning has little value. -In the crises of life the general information gleaned from books -counts for but very little. The knowledge that water, when reduced in -temperature to thirty degrees or less, freezes, so that a dangerous -river is changed into a solid highway over which one can walk in -safety, is of small value to a man who is drowning in the summer time, -and very few drowning men would call for a thermometer to take the -temperature of the water in which they were sinking. Standing beneath -a falling wall, no man is going to begin to calculate the specific -gravity of the falling elements or estimate the force of impact upon -his head. All learning is good, and nothing in the line of information -should be ignored, for, along the more or less narrow line of its own -application, each truth is of inestimable value. Each added truth that -one learns pulls up the tent stakes of the horizon and widens the -world just so much, but no man can save himself with learning alone. -Success depends, not upon scholarship, but upon a spotless love for God -and a boundless love for man. Herein is the wisdom of life, and the -weakest man or woman may possess it. All men may not become learned, -but all men may become great and enthusiastic lovers of their fellow -man. The little child that bends its arms in fervent hugs to show the -measure of its affection; the struggling youth that stops to help a -wounded companion; the widow, fighting against poverty in the tenement; -the old man, patiently looking for the coming day--all these may -possess the secret of royal living. - -The world will be saved, not by the scholar, as a scholar, but by the -loving heart; not by platitude, but by kindly deeds. Goodness is such -an easy thing to acquire, that it is within the reach of all. A little -London newsboy was seen to daily follow an unknown man for many blocks. -When asked by an observer why he did so he responded, “When he buys a -paper from me, he always smiles, and calls me his boy. He is the only -one who ever called me that, and I just love to see him.” Here was -a life brightened and perhaps redeemed because a busy man of wealth -took time to say what any one of us is able to say each day. When -King Humbert would have lost his nation he saved it, not by scholarly -exhortations or startling state papers, but by visiting the hospitals -of Naples and ministering with genuine affection a plague-smitten -people. It was a task of love that the weakest person might be able to -perform, but it saved a nation for a king. - -The world will be saved. Righteousness shall ultimately prevail. The -kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Christ. There -are no failures in God’s mighty plans. We may vary in our beliefs, -and differ greatly as to the process by which he shall accomplish his -wise designs, but this is true: when this world is brought ultimately -to the feet of Christ, it will have been accomplished not by prayer -alone but by work and prayer, not by the scholar as a scholar but by -the men, learned or unlearned, who have discovered the compelling and -transforming power of a boundless, undying love. - - - - - XIV - - THE STRENGTH OF WEAKNESS - - -An old man was once opening the treasury of his experience to enrich -the young people of Corinth. Youth ever needs such a benefactor, for -life’s most difficult problem is to definitely determine upon which -element or elements of life the emphasis should be placed. Like a -river, life has so many contributing streams of large volume that it is -difficult to decide unto which one we are most indebted for our power. -There is only one way to ascertain this fact, and that is to trace the -current of life-power to its source and stand, with reverent feet, at -its utmost gurgling spring. But this task is hard and is fraught with -danger. What youth, standing at the joining of the currents, can tell -to a certainty which is the real current and which the contributing -stream of influence? Among the most pathetic incidents of history are -those portraying some of our richest and most favored sons of genius -mistaking a contributing element of life for life itself and spending -their days within the narrow winding ways of mediocrity. Youth needs -the open treasury of the past, therefore it is a rare privilege to -have Paul thus open the treasure chest of his varied and triumphant -experiences and tell us what is the secret source of life’s richest -endowment. Looking over a life of many years, covering an intense and -diversified experience, enriched with mental and spiritual training, -he declared to the young people of Corinth that the source of personal -power is weakness. - -That is the last place in the world that we would naturally look for -strength, for we have always been taught that weakness is the absence -of strength. To be enduring we believed that we should possess the -rigidity and firmness of the rocks, forgetful that long after the -red stone walls of Kenilworth have tottered into complete ruin the -fragile ivy, planted by unknown hands, will still live to cover the -rough, broken heap of weather-beaten stones with the graceful folds of -its swaying branches. We have believed that stability depended upon -rigid strength, not realizing that, in nature, the strong are the most -fragile, while the weak are the most enduring. - -The source of triumphant living is not the adamantine will that refuses -to bend or budge, but is the will that yields itself to higher power. -Only when one finds that a feeling of weakness is creeping over him, -and realizes that, in his own strength alone, he is inadequate for the -task, does he possess true conquering power. One of the best hours -of a man’s life is when, through sickness, toil, or persecution, he -feels his physical powers giving way, and his soul rises to claim -the occasion for God and his humanity. Knowing that while he himself -is weak, the needed power is within easy reach, a man is strong. In -such a crisis, to become self-confident is to be like the hunted -partridge which, seeking escape, confidently enters the trap set for -his destruction. Strength comes when, overwhelmed with a sense of -unutterable weakness, one flings himself at the feet of Christ, and -prays as did the sinking disciple, “Lord, save me.” - -How very true this is in the hours of our severe temptation! No man -ever sought refuge from temptation in self-confidence who, in the -strain of battle, did not find his fortress crumbling into dust, while -he himself suffered humiliating defeat. Simon Peter learned this truth. -Strong and boastful in his self-assertiveness, he stood amid the -gathering shadows of the world’s darkest and most tragic night, and -smiled as one who gladly greets the dawning of his wedding day. He was -confident, beyond question, that he was equal to any emergency that -might arise. It was easy for him to boast and proclaim loudly what he -would do. Beholding the same fast-deepening shadows, Christ fell to -his knees in prayer, and with broken voice and heavy, blood-stained -sweat, pleaded for his Father to remove this cup of suffering. Christ, -the everlasting Conqueror, prays for escape from trial, while Peter, -filled with self-assurance, bids the coming of the worst with defiant -spirit, saying, “Though all men should forsake the Master, yet will not -I.” He boasted bravely that he was ready to die for Christ. There was a -marked contrast between the ways these two met the same struggle, but -the whole world knows the outcome. In the presence of trial Peter’s -strength was scattered like heaps of withered autumn leaves. When he -was strong then was he weak. Without the passing of the cup Christ -walked forth strong enough to win a world from sin, while Peter sank -in shame. But when, a few hours later, we find the defeated disciple, -all alone, in midnight darkness, weeping like a little child over his -weakness, we rejoice, for we know now that Pentecost has found its -preacher, and the world has found a mighty champion for God. - -Temptation is a terrible thing. It is a band of armed brigands, -storming the citadel of the soul to carry away everything that is of -value. To yield is to have the soul ransacked and burned as though by -fire. To face it confidently in one’s own strength is gravest folly. -There is only one possibility of victory. In that hour of peril, when -eternal destinies are at stake, let one feel his own weakness, and fall -helplessly at the feet of Christ, and call with all the earnestness and -pathos of his frightened soul, “Lord, save, or I perish!” and victory -shall fill his heart with joy and crown his brow with the light of -heaven. - -This truth is applicable to all our sorrows. There have been hours when -we thought best to meet our sorrows and disappointments with the spirit -of a stoic. With clinched fists, tight-pressed lips, and dry eyes, we -stood, proud of our strength, defying sorrow by bidding it to do its -worst. We insisted that we were not weak like others, and that we would -boldly bear our own burdens. But the end was defeat and uncontrollable -grief. The burden was so much heavier and the grief was so much more -bitter than we had ever expected, that we were crushed and overcome. -Meanwhile at our side stood one frail and weak, whose bloodshot eyes -spoke of countless nights of grief and anxiety, but whose calm face and -steady voice assured us that she had gained a wonderful victory, and, -in spite of tempest, had inner calm and rest. How came the victory to -the frail? Because she was frail and knew that she was frail. As headed -wheat saves its life by bowing passively to the stroking of the violent -winds, so she bowed low at the touch of sorrow. She yielded herself -to the will of God. As Mary and Martha, in their hour of sorrow and -puzzling questions, forgot everything and fell weeping at the feet of -their Lord, so this woman poured out her prayer of utter helplessness -to God, saying, “Save, Lord, or I perish,” and in her weakness she -became strong. The strength that is needed to meet sorrow comes, not -from self-control, but abandonment to God; not from dry eyes, but from -tears. - -How true this is of our ministries to our brother man! It is not an -easy matter for one to enter the Holy of holies of another’s grief -and sorrow, and minister unto them as a true high priest. Before -the growing work of the church, as it is beginning to live up to -its conceptions of Christian social service, many of our strongest -Christians are becoming faint of heart; in its growing work of -evangelism they become paralyzed with fright; because they cannot see -how they can approach and minister to those whom they do not know. -They tremble, not knowing that their very weakness is their source of -strength. Rash boldness and overconfidence are not part of the true -Christian’s equipment. With such a spirit no one should dare to enter -the sacred inclosure of another’s grief. It is only when one refuses -to trust in human strength or wisdom, and, possessed of a spirit -of humility, goes forward in the name of Christ, that he can work -successfully for God. You may feel called upon to do works of charity. -If so, go forth in weakness. Instead of polished speech upon the lip, -let there be a teardrop in the eye. The hungry soul will understand and -rejoice that you have come. In the hour of some one’s sorrow, you may -be able to give only a tender, silent handclasp; but be not dismayed. -The mourning one will fully understand and thank God that he sent -you unto him. You may be sent to lead some sinful soul to Christ. In -weakness your words may fail, leaving you nothing to offer save a look -of love. That is enough. Each sinful one will understand, and through -the light of your loving look will find a pathway back to God. Only -when we are weak are we strong in the service of Christ. - - - - - XV - - CRUMBLING PALACES - - -The crumbling of our palaces does not necessarily mean loss, especially -if they be the grotesque ones built in untutored childhood, or -those planned in moments of unguarded enthusiasm, or given form by -impractical impulse, or intended for selfish or sinful pleasure. We -have never tried to live in the blockhouses built upon the nursery -floor, neither do we mold our lives according to childhood fancies. -There can be no progress without the compelling power of a well-guided -enthusiasm, but overwrought enthusiasm is an uncontrollable power -bringing moral, physical, and financial disaster. The ability to yield -promptly to righteous impulse is akin to genius, but the impulses of -an untrained soul are the frenzied switchmen who ditch and wreck the -train that should have the right of way. When self-interest means the -developing of brain and talents to establish a worthy character and -beneficent influence, making one a constructive force in the community, -it is not to be despised; but when self-interest becomes selfishness, -the building of a fortified castle in which one lives at the expense -of others, then is the soul smitten with leprosy, and the home becomes -a pest-house, not a palace. A place of sin is never a shelter, but a -death-trap, its elegance of architecture and furnishings making it all -the more dangerous. There are many palaces unfit for habitation. To -permit them to decay and crumble into nothingness is greatest gain, for -to live unworthily is not to live at all. - -On the other hand there is a neglect that means a helpless, hopeless -poverty from which no influence or friendship can bring deliverance. -When once these palaces are permitted to crumble we become homeless -outcasts, begging from a world that begrudges us its crumbs. Therefore -one must consider, not only the beginning, but the upkeep of life. - -There is the palace of Character that needs guarding. The beginning -of the Christian life is only “the beginning.” Here is the peril of -our present and very popular conception of church membership. A man -often feels that all that is necessary for his soul’s salvation is -to go through the soulless process of uniting with some religious -organization, and it matters not which one he may chance to choose. -“Joining the church” is looked upon as taking out a spiritual life -insurance, without any thought of paying premiums through the passing -years. Having his name duly inscribed upon the records of some -church gives a man confidence with which to face death, and the -coming judgment, not realizing that the Church Record will perish -in the flames of the last day; and that men are judged by comparing -the records which God has kept with the record that each man writes -upon the pages of his own body, mind, and soul. Preachers have bigger -business at the Judgment than carrying their Church Records and -appearing as counsel for the members of their flocks. They must appear -at the Judgment and answer for themselves. - -Christian living is righteous living, being right with God and -right with man, in all the dealings of daily life. It is not, like -vaccination, completed in one short operation, but, like breathing, an -activity that includes every second of one’s earthly existence. It is -not moving into a furnished apartment which you can secure by making -certain payments, but the building of the palace of Character. Stone -by stone, the great structure is erected, its foundation resting upon -the solid rock, its walls built with God’s plumb line, its turrets and -battlements lifted high to receive the blessings of the sky. It is not -built in a day, but requires the unceasing toil of all our days, else -it will crumble into hopeless ruin. - -Character is not firmly established this side the grave. There are -no character insurance societies. Right living on the part of youth -may soon give one a reputation of worth, but after many years of -faithful living have resulted in a palace, admired of men, one misdeed -may become a conflagration that will reduce it to ashes; one single -misspent day may cause the strongest palace to crumble and decay. The -ruins of Kenilworth are beautiful because covered with English ivy; for -the ruined walls of Character there is no ivy of sympathy to beautify, -but the bleak and barren wreckage stands in ghastly hideousness to -proclaim to all the world the story of the misspent day. Both youth and -age alike must guard the palace of Character against decay. - -There is the palace of Benevolence that needs guarding. In childhood -we learned the difference between the cold hovel of Selfishness and -the great palace of Benevolence, with its windows ablaze with light -to guide our footsteps, and its hearthstone aglow with welcoming -warmth. How we feared and shunned the selfish soul, not for the lack -of gifts, but because, with the clear vision of childhood, we beheld -the deformity of his crabbed soul! How we loved the dweller of the -palace, not for his gifts, but for the beauty of his smile, the soft -light of friendship in his eyes, the joy-creating atmosphere in which -he moved. Then and there we decided to mold our lives after the plans -of that good man, and be benevolent individuals; not spendthrifts, -but possessed of rich, red blood, and sympathetic hearts ever open to -the beauties and needs of life. But we soon learn that the palace of -Benevolence cannot be built with one deed of benevolence, no matter -how large and generous it may be. The gift of some great public -institution, however worthy and serviceable to the people, is not -enough to mark a man as one who dwells in the palace of Benevolence. -That coveted abode is built, not by gift or gifts, but by the generous -spirit with which we daily and hourly meet the world. Benevolence -is not a gift, nor series of gifts, but the wholesome, generous -spirit which we manifest toward men. With such a spirit one builds a -beautiful palace in which to dwell, but one that is very easily marred -and destroyed. One selfish desire, once hardening the heart against -another’s need, one greedy, grasping longing or desire, and the palace -beautiful crumbles into dust; and they who once rejoiced at our coming -will turn away with the contempt with which all men greet unworthiness. - -There also is the palace of Prayer. No earthly dwelling is so beautiful -as that which one builds for his soul through communion with God. -Always situated upon the lofty heights, above the lowlands of sin and -dusty ways of worldliness, it lifts its towers and pinnacles into a -cloudless sky. The view is clear and unobstructed, so that one sees the -affairs of life in their true relations to the great world of which -they are a part. The struggles of their fellow men are in clear sight -and therefore observed with sympathetic, understanding heart. The sky -is close, and when the sun is set the stars peer through the shadowy -canopy, and smile. The atmosphere is fresh and pure, made fragrant with -the breath of heaven, and he who breathes it feels a power divine. -Nothing is more beautiful than the palace of Prayer. - -Nevertheless, the palace may crumble and become a hopeless heap of -dust. Where once stood a vision of spirituality one can see nothing but -that which is of the earth earthy. A hidden sin within the heart, that -slyly steals away one’s love for God; a subtle spirit of worldliness, -that deadens the soul until it ceases to respond to things divine; a -gnawing doubt that, like the white ants of India, honeycomb the timbers -of the bravest, strongest souls--all these cause the crumbling of the -palace. - -The palaces of the soul, however well established, require a watchful -eye and careful guarding. The powers of evil are destroying elements -that beat and pound upon the shelters of the soul with destructive -fury. But even then, a well-built palace need not crumble. He who -has the Carpenter of Nazareth as his daily Companion may build for -eternity. Keeping the sayings of the Master means that the house is -firmly fixed upon a strong foundation and that all its timbers are -strongly knit together; so that when the floods come and the winds blow -and beat upon it; when a legion of devils encamp about and lay siege -upon the soul; when fires sweep, and earthquakes work their devastation -to this planet, these palaces, not made with hands, and not constructed -from earthly material, the palaces of Character, Benevolence, and -Communion with God, shall not be moved. They shall shelter us here and -be eternal in the heavens. - - - - - XVI - - THE ECHO OF LIFE’S UNSUNG SONGS - - -We are familiar with the echo of life’s unfinished songs. The -unfinished songs of confidence, sung by the martyrs as they stood upon -the yellow sands of the Coliseum, looking upward beyond the soft blue -of the Italian sky to heights hitherto unseen, have never ceased to -vibrate through the centuries. The unfinished songs of sacrifice and -patriotism which were sung by our soldiers and sailors who perished in -the world-wide war are still echoing in the music of every wave that -laves the shores of every sea. We are all familiar with the lingering -music of life’s unfinished songs, but it is well for us to consider -also the echo of the songs that have never found expression in word or -tune. - -Each soul is a minstrel whether he wills it or no, for God has -fashioned a harp for every heart. There is a tradition that above the -head of David’s couch there hung his favorite harp. The mountain winds -coming through the midnight silence would stir its strings, awaken the -sleeping lover of song, and bid him weave words of love to fit the -wind-wrought music. Thus were the Psalms created. To each individual -God has intrusted a priceless harp, tight drawn with silver chords of -love, and sensitive to every touch of passing wind and falling sunbeam. -So delicate are these heart-strings that every event of life awakens -the dormant music and fills the soul with harmonies divine. Behold how -sensitive they are. - -The day has been dull and gloomy and you have not cared to go abroad. -After a while you become reminiscent. As though led by an unseen -hand you enter a quiet, unused room and lift the lid of a quaint, -old-fashioned chest. You know not why your followed impulses led you -there, but you are glad that you obeyed the leading, for there, resting -quietly amid fragrant lavender, is a treasured gift that came from a -mother’s hand. It has been lying there for many years, untouched and -unseen, but how beautiful its faded colors, how lovely its wrinkled -folds placed there by the hands so long since turned to dust! and how, -out of the dim mists of the past, it brings the soft colors and clear -outlines of a dear, sweet face! There are tears in your eyes, but more -and better than that, there is music in your soul. Every string of your -heart is vibrant with melody. - -One morning you were ill and did not care to go to the office. You were -indisposed just enough to enjoy the rich luxury of being waited upon, -when, suddenly and unexpectedly, your eyes rested upon an old-fashioned -picture that strangely and wondrously stirred your heart. For years it -had been hanging there with its treasured memories, but you had been -too busy to notice it. How charming its exquisite beauty as it greeted -you from out its odd, old-styled frame. Its colors, mellowed with the -passing years, carried you back triumphantly to the sun-bright days of -the long ago, and the soul was stirred with music that charmed, and -soothed, and inspired. - -The harp-strings of the heart are very sensitive. A finger-print or -tear-stain upon the leaves of the old family Bible, the frail petals -of a faded blossom, the sight of a tiny yellow garment or baby shoe, a -package of letters tied with ribbon, or a scrap of paper scrawled by -unskilled childish fingers, just little things that no one else admires -or notices, is all that is required to start the music ringing in our -hearts. - -To this music the soul always responds with a song. This is true even -when one’s musical education has been neglected. The ear may not be -able to distinguish one note from another, or discern the difference -between “Old Hundred” and “The Star-Spangled Banner”; the individual -may know nothing about harmony, time, or measure, when listening to -the music that others have given to the world, but his own soul can -always sing its own melodies. There is no note so high in the scale -that the soul cannot reach it. I have heard the English lark lift -its silver notes until they melted into sunshine and fell in great -billows of joy upon the listening earth. Every soul can sing like that. -As above the couch of David hung the harp awaiting the touch of the -passing winds, so each heart is a stringed harp awaiting the touch -of some common event to awaken music and set the soul to singing its -minstrelsies. - -However beautiful these songs, they never pass the threshold of the -lips. Their sweetness surpasses the power of expression. That must -have been the reason why Mendelssohn wept so bitterly at times. With -all his marvelous power in weaving tones he could not give expression -to the rapturous melodies which were surging through his soul. This -also explains why Michael Angelo so often gave way to the dreariest -despondency. Though he try never so hard, he could not express upon -canvas or in marble form the heavenly symphonies that were thrilling -his soul. The reason that Lord Tennyson stood for such long periods -upon the cliffs, overlooking the sea, not hearing the call of an -approaching friend, was that his soul was searching through earth and -sea and sky, for words with which to express the songs his soul was -ever singing. - -The deepest and most valuable emotions of life are always -inexpressible. How useless is human speech in the presence of the -deep feelings of awe and reverence! I stood with a friend upon one of -the great heights of the Catskills. He was a genial man, and the day -had been filled with merriment. Rounding a curve, we came suddenly to -the edge of a great cliff overlooking the Hudson valley. At our feet -were many miles of forest trees mantling the hills and valleys with -the brilliant coloring of Autumn foliage. We could count a score of -villages nestled peacefully among the meadows and fields of ripened -grain. The Hudson River rolled its silver length in the distance, -while, far, far beyond us, draped in blue, we saw the hills and -mountains of another State. Beholding what, in many respects, was the -most soul-entrancing revelation of nature’s glory I had ever witnessed, -neither of us spoke. The moments slipped by with slippered feet and the -mid-afternoon became evening, before either of us broke the silence. -It is sacrilegious for one to undertake to express the holy sentiments -of awe and reverence in the clumsy garb of human speech. This is true -of all deep feeling. Standing in the presence of a bereaved friend, -shallow souls can chatter idle phrases, but deep, healing, tender -sympathy is expressed in the silence of a handclasp and unspoken word. -Looking into the deep, expressive eyes of one whom we love, our lips -are silent and only the tear-filled eye tells of the song the soul is -singing. Have you ever been able to tell your mother how much you loved -her? The real songs of the soul are of necessity the unsung songs. - -These songs are the real songs, for the soul life is the real life. -They may never be heard by others, but you hear them, and their words -never die. They echo through the years. There is never a moment of -thoughtful meditation, never a season of seclusion; never a period of -sickness when the things of the world are shut out and one is left -alone with the things of the soul; never a season of disappointment, or -sorrow, or bereavement, or heartache, but that the hour is made blessed -and hallowed with the memory of these songs, and lo, while one listens, -all earth and heaven become vibrant with music and one is charmed and -soothed with the echo of life’s unsung songs. While exiled upon the -lonely heights of Patmos John heard a song that thrilled the heaven of -heavens, but none save the multitude before the throne could learn the -song. That is easily understood. It was not a song blending the varied -experiences of earth together into one mighty outburst of love; it was -the soul weaving all the unsung songs which no one on earth had ever -heard or could ever understand into one great symphony with which to -praise the God of its salvation. Life’s unsung songs shall never cease -to live in earth and heaven. Their echoes are our comfort here, our joy -forever. - - - - - XVII - - MODERN JUDASES - - -The story of Judas casts a dark shadow through the sunlight of twenty -centuries. His deed was more than a betrayal of friendship. Lady -Macbeth, coming from the chamber of death into the candlelight and -beholding her lily-white hands stained ruby red with the blood of -murdered friendship, and fearing to wash them, lest the ocean’s flood -should tell to every rock-bound coast the blushing secret of her guilt, -was not half so bad as Judas. This deed was more than the betrayal of -friendship; it was the dark hand of villainy, reaching from behind -the dark curtains of selfishness, that with the keen blade of greed -he might pierce the unprotected breast of innocence. It was a tragedy -that, with each decade’s growth in love, becomes more atrocious in the -eyes of men. - -Named after Judas Maccabæus, one of the most illustrious characters -of Jewish history, good enough and gifted enough to be chosen as a -disciple, and possessing such integrity of character that he was chosen -treasurer of the group, Judas began his public career auspiciously. -For three years he had been associated with Christ in the most -intimate manner. He had entered cities and passed through country -places, preaching and performing miracles, until returning with radiant -face he said with the other disciples, “Even the devils are subject -unto us.” Having been lifted out of his old self, he rejoiced in the -delights of noble living. Within a few weeks he would have been able -to stand with Peter at Pentecost and take his place among the world’s -beloved immortals. Then came the awakening. He had followed Christ -through the fragrant fields of the Beatitudes and under the clear -sky of the Sermon on the Mount; he had seen Christ, at the sacrifice -of rest and comfort, change barren lives into beauty, as the sun -adorns barren branches with clustered fruit; and now, as his life was -approaching the crisis, Judas could see where the road was leading, -and he became frightened. He saw that the end of the Christ-journey -was not toward worldly triumph, but toward sorrow, not to a palace, -but a bleak mountainside, not toward a throne, but a cross; and he -began to think of himself. “What shall I do?” Like one facing a panic -he stood petrified with terror. Seeing the investment of three long -years trembling in the balance, he did not think it businesslike to -follow Christ any further. His love for money so blinded his eyes -that he could not see the moral grandeur of Christ’s program. Angered -and disappointed, he deserted his post, sought the seclusion of the -night-time shadows to complete his plans. Well does the inspired writer -add, “And it was night.” Of course it was night; dark, starless, -moonless night, for he had allowed his love for money to eclipse the -Light of Life. - -From then on there was only one light attractive to Judas, and that -was the luring light of avarice and greed. Seeking for it, he found -it. Like the red fires of hell it burst into flaming stream from -the high priest’s windows, where Arrogance and Lust for Power were -plotting against the innocent. Rushing toward it, out of breath, his -hands clutching his garments, his brow wet with perspiration, his eyes -staring madly with greed for gold, he demanded: “What will you give -me?” Shrewd and crafty, these unscrupulous leaders of men knew that the -language of love and friendship could not be understood by this grasper -of gain; so they used the only language he could now understand and -wanted to hear--the language of the market place; and “they promised -him money.” - -This is one of the darkest pictures in history, its black shadow -reaching through the centuries, but it does not hang alone in the -galleries of death. There are others still making the awful bargain of -Judas, and gladly sacrificing the innocent for the sake of financial -gain. - -Behold the unscrupulous real-estate dealers who force houses of immoral -character into clean, residential sections of cities, betraying the -cause of righteousness, injuring homes, and damning the souls of -hundreds. Because immorality promises a more handsome and immediate -return for the investment they become partners in the exploiting of -sin and crime. As Judas went into the quietude of the Mount of Olives -and brought wreck and ruin, so these men insidiously lead marauding -bands of immoral workers into the best communities, well knowing that -their deed means the betrayal of youth and maiden, but refusing to give -it a thought, their attention fixed only on the increasing volume of -business. The good name of a city or community, the value of innocence, -and the sanctity of the home are nothing to these modern Judases. - -Behold the employers of child labor, who, under the disguise of -charitably giving employment to the poor, are reaping revenues that -provide them with luxuries at the cost of blasted lives. Many of our -shops, stores, and factories are but presses where the life, hope, -vigor, and vision of childhood are crushed out in order to fill to the -brim the intoxicating cup of extravagance for people whose own lives -are too foul and unfit to be used as grapes in their own presses. Daily -the bright-faced boys and girls, the hope of the nation, are crowded -out of the public school into the vats. Hour by hour their lives are -pressed out until, broken in body, dwarfed in intellect, incapacitated -for works of social service, falling far short of the requirements made -upon their later years, they are thrown aside as useless pomace. The -uncontrollable spirit of greed that places money above the value of -life and happiness and goodness is the spirit of Judas. - -Behold the owners of tenement houses, those breeding places of filth -and sin, where little children are compelled to live and die, or live -and curse the world. Their only memories of childhood will be those of -the crowded alley, foul hallways, and darkened corners in which they -hide in fear. The memory of a mother’s face will be vague, ever hidden -in the darkness and gloom in which she spent her days. Why do they -not have fresh air? Greed. Why do they not have fresh water to drink? -Greed. Why do their buildings not have good sanitation? Greed. Modern -Judases are they all. - -Behold the men who are commercializing amusements. Men and women need -recreation, and children must have places to play. The human body -is not made of harder material than the locomotive, that requires -rest between its trips, or, growing tired, refuses to carry its load. -Therefore it is necessary to have places of recreation and exercise. -But where shall the children go? The best bathing beaches of ocean, -lake, and river bank are owned by money-making syndicates, and the -people are compelled to pay for privileges which are their own by the -right of birth and citizenship. More than this, since money is the -objective, and the people must patronize their places, having no other -places to go, they offend decency by catering to the coarse and vulgar -element of the community, thus becoming places of moral contamination -instead of places of recreation. This is also true of our theaters, -moving picture houses, and amusement parks. That which is presented is -very often so uncouth that modesty must hide her face. - -The deadening influence of the modern movies, their teachings of sex -and treatment of marriage, is clearly shown in their effect upon the -actors and actresses themselves. They have enacted these parts so -often, and lived in the atmosphere where these things are discussed as -the predominating tastes of the people, that the unnatural teachings -have become their conceptions of real life until the story of their -divorces and remarriages has scandalized all decent society. Beside -the colonies of moving picture celebrities, Salt Lake City and other -Mormon strongholds seem quite tame. If the moving picture has such a -demoralizing influence over the actors and actresses, who are matured -men and women, what will be the effect upon the growing generations? -Already the atmosphere of school and playground is vitiated. The evil -effects are already manifest to every conscientious Christian social -worker. To silence the protests of a righteous guarding of the morals -of the young, the moving picture corporations have set aside large -amounts to prevent the needed legislation regulating censorship. - -The work of these modern Judases does not end here, but they insist -upon the prostitution of the Sabbath day for their ungodly enterprises. -For the sake of making money they are endeavoring to lead America in -the same direction Europe has been traveling, and to the same tragic -fate. Childhood and the Christian Sabbath are being desecrated every -hour by these Judases whose one question in life is, “What will you -give me?” - -It is time for an aroused citizenship to enter protest against these -evils. We cannot prevent Judas from having base desires, nor giving -his traitorous kiss, but we can compel Pilate, the officer, to render -righteous judgment. Jesus was crucified, not because Judas kissed -him, but because Pilate was a moral coward. Pilate washed his hands, -declaring himself “innocent,” but every man in the mob knew that he was -guilty. We cannot prevent Judas betraying, but we can create public -sentiment which will compel officers to reach protecting hand against -the greed of our modern Judases. - - - - - XVIII - - THE ADJUSTABLE UNIVERSE - - -That God should adjust a universe so that all of its forces and -energies should be at the instant disposal of those who, through -obedience to his laws, lay claim to them, should not seem strange -when we realize how perfectly we are now adjusting our mechanical and -social conditions to meet the hourly needs of the body. The water -supply of many of our large cities is pumped and propelled by what -is known as the Holly Engine. Its regulation is perfectly automatic. -Without any apparent cause, there is a constant change in the amount -of steam produced. The engineer busies himself by oiling the bearings -and polishing the shafts, but seems utterly indifferent to the pressure -of the steam as it relates itself to the varying demands of the great -city. The fact is that the engineer does not need to concern himself -with the regulating of the engine, for the people of the city regulate -it for themselves. - -Whenever a faucet is opened the draft in the engine is correspondingly -opened, the fires burn brighter, the steam is increased, and the action -of the pumps instantly accelerated. The larger the quantity of water -needed, the wider the drafts, the stronger the fires, the greater the -pressure of steam, the more active the huge pumps that labor to meet -the increased demand. Quickly close the faucets, stop the outlet of -water entirely, and the pumps will become inactive. So perfect is this -adjustment that the smallest child, many miles away, may change the -speed of the engine at will. It is designed to meet the needs of every -person in the city, whether it be but a cup of water to moisten the -fevered lips of a little child or great streams with which to fight the -mighty conflagrations that threaten the life of the city. - -If man, out of common ore which he digs from the hills, can build -machinery to meet the varying need of his fellow man, should it seem -such an incredible thing that God, who made the human soul, could, out -of his unlimited, unmeasured spiritual forces, arrange to instantly -meet the need of every human soul? God can and God does. The fact is -that the whole universe is so arranged. There is not a need of the soul -of man that cannot be immediately satisfied, if one puts himself in -obedient touch with the fixed spiritual laws that control the required -forces, as, for the thirsty lips, we intelligently reach out, turn the -faucet, and draw the cup of water. - -It is at this point that the learned individual who loudly praises -himself upon being a practical observer of life, takes most positive -exceptions and insists that the weakness of the Church is this very -insistence upon what, to him, seems the miraculous. He has not been -able to observe that the strength of the Church is her belief in the -laws governing prayer, compliance with which instantly brings all the -Infinite resources of the sky to meet and fully satisfy the needs of -the soul. The fault is not in God’s method of procedure, but in the -narrow prejudices which the critic mistakes for the laws of logic. -Let us consider the laws governing prayer as revealed in an old-time -incident. - -Her eyes red with weeping, and her face deeply drawn with sorrow, a -lonely woman was pleading with Elisha for help. Out from dark shadows, -she was journeying toward deeper gloom. She had just buried her -husband, on the morrow she must journey to the auction block where her -two sons, her only means of support, were to be sold into slavery, to -meet the debts of her dead husband. She was helpless and heart-broken -in her poverty. “What shall I do for thee? What hast thou in the -house?” asked the solicitous prophet. “Thy handmaiden hath not anything -in the house save”--and she faltered--“save a pot of ointment.” All -her furniture and cooking utensils had been sold to help meet her -financial obligations. There was only one thing left, and that was the -jar of ointment which every Jewish person kept for the anointing of the -dead. This was never disposed of. Then came the command, “Borrow empty -vessels, and borrow not a few.” - -The two boys were set to work. The novelty of the situation whetted -their curiosity and ambition and it was not long until the mother -announced that there were enough vessels and that the doors and windows -should be tightly closed. Then, with trembling fingers, she opened the -little jar and began to empty its contents into the larger vessels. -Three smiling faces bent over the open mouths of the jars, when, to -their wonderment, the little jar had filled every one of the larger -ones. Now there was no need of worry. The prayer had been answered. The -sale of the oil would more than meet all the demands of the creditors. -It was wonderful, but natural. - -Prayer is answered only according to the law of continuity. There were -more than a thousand ways in which God could have come to the relief of -the widow. The prophet’s touch could have filled the empty vessels to -overflowing, as once a prophet’s touch melted granite rock into crystal -streams of water; his touch could have filled the hut with abounding -wealth; common dust might have gleamed as jewels; unexpected gifts -might have been poured forth as rain; but they did not. God meets the -emergencies of life through the law of continuity. The way of increase -is always yielding what we have to the workings of higher laws. The -small cruse held the secret of the overflowing jars. Hunger comes and -God asks, “What hast thou?” and the husbandman answers, “Thy servant -hath not anything save a handful of grain.” Then comes the command, -“Take it to the well-plowed field, and pour it out.” He does so, and -the field overflows with harvest. For the vine that man plants God -gives the purple clusters; for the seed he sows God gives a loaf of -bread. Like always produces like, and in prayer is followed the law -of increase. What you have saved from what you have already owned, -determines the nature of God’s answer to your petitions. If your heart -hungers for sympathy, take the cruse of sympathy and pour it into the -empty vessel of another’s life. The world yields no sympathy to the -unsympathetic, but never fails to return with increase each expression -of tender solicitude. If you pray for comforting power to heal an -old wound, take whatever power of comfort you possess, and begin to -minister to hearts that break. You will find increase that will fill -every empty vessel of your heart, and gladness shall take the place -of sorrow. If you are praying for financial aid, consecrate whatever -strength of brain and muscle you possess to hard, clean work, and the -return will richly recompense you. If you are asking God to make you -of service to the world, pour out your life into the empty ones about -you, and your petition will be granted. This is the law of spiritual -adjustment. Along the lines of your own individuality will God prepare -you for the larger task to-morrow. - -We must also remember that the increase is determined, not by divine -limitations, but by our own capacity. The command to the widow -was, “Borrow empty vessels, and borrow _not a few_.” God placed no -limitations, but, rather, gave urgent command to plan for large things. -She could have borrowed a thousand empty vessels and a thousand vessels -would have been filled. Her blessing was determined the moment she said -to the boys who were securing the jars from the excited neighbors, -“That is enough, you need not borrow more.” That moment she determined -the amount of answer her prayers would receive. The oil ceased to flow -when she had reached the limit of her preparation. What a tremendous -truth! Our growth and spiritual attainments are unlimited so far as -God is concerned. The possibility of development is unlimited so far -as this world is concerned, for empty vessels and empty hearts are -everywhere. Our growth is limited only by the breadth of our sympathies -and the scope of our interests. - -Borrow empty vessels, and _borrow not a few_. What a challenge to the -church of the living God! Begin to think and plan in big terms. “_Not -a few._” These are the words of One who thinks in numbers large enough -to include all the grains of sand in all the oceans and all the stars -of the universe. Count the forest leaves and the grass-blades and -raindrops, and then ask yourself what God means when he says “_not a -few_.” May the Christ of social service show the church of to-day that -her power is limited only by her vision of her opportunity. - - - - - XIX - - SEEING LOVE - - -The value of life is measured by the power of vision. The savage, -tramping the diamond beneath his feet, and clinging to tooth and claw -of the wild animals he has slain, represents a very narrow, restricted -life, for he possessed a narrow vision. Beholding fruit-bearing trees, -he saw only the crab and wild cherry of bitter taste. Looking across -the open fields, he saw only the wind-tossed, tangled grass whose -matted meshes made slow his travel. Along the wayside he saw only the -daisy, and the thorn-mass of the wild rose bush forming a convenient -place in which to hide while making observations. Because in the crab -he could not see the possibilities of the Northern Spy, and because -in the wild cherry he could not see the luscious Oxheart, his travel -lacked refreshing fruit. Because in the tangled grass he could not see -the gleaming gold of ripened grain, he had no food in time of famine. -Because the weedlike daisy did not suggest the chrysanthemum, and the -wild rose foretell the American Beauty, his pathway was commonplace. - -Following the savage came those of wider vision, and soon the fields -assumed the golden vesture of the ripened harvests, the hillsides -became rich with luscious fruit, and life’s pathway was fringed with -beauty. - -Each individual makes his own universe, using only, out of the vastness -of God’s provision, such things as he has eyes to see. In the broad, -open, western plains, with far-extending horizon and translucent sky -bedecked with bits of light to lure the seeing soul to heights heroic, -lives one whose universe is no wider than his daily task, and whose -zenith has never ascended above his hat-crown. Careless in observation, -his universe is scarcely larger than the dug-out in which he crawls -at night to sleep. Dwelling in a dark room of the crowded tenement, -bound by the cords of sickness to a sufferer’s bed of pain, lies one -who knows nothing of the majesty of wind-swept fields, or vastness of -the star-lit sky, but whose careful observations have made a zenith -high enough to overarch the throne of God, and a horizon wide enough to -include every need of the human soul. - -The richness of life depends largely upon how many of the things of -life which ordinary people call commonplace can be crowded into the -range of vision. The man possessing most of earth is not necessarily -a landowner, but he who, whether rich or poor, learns to observe and -appreciate the things about him. Christ never owned a foot of land. -Standing in the dusty highway, worn and weary by countless deeds of -sacrificial love, he exclaimed: “The foxes have holes, and the birds -of the air have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his -head.” He was poverty-stricken, yet, in all the history of the world, -never was one so rich as he. For him every lily held a golden casket -filled with an unmeasured wealth of inspiration. For him the birds -winged their way from heights celestial to sing their songs of divine -forethought. Each color of the sky was a prophet proclaiming the things -of God. Speaking to his disciples, men who would necessarily remain -poor and homeless, he said: “Blessed are the meek [those who are not -looking for thrones of authority and power, but who, in humble state, -learn to see the divine vision], for they own the earth.” - -I know such an one. A laborer in the field, he spends his life toiling -for the one he loves, living in a rented cottage, faring on common -food, dressing in coarse-woven garments, and yet possessing untold -wealth. With blistered feet and sweat-washed brow, I have seen him -coming home, smiling with beaming tenderness, as he carefully held in -his calloused hand the frail, pink petals of the first spring beauty he -had found blooming by his way. He never owned anything in particular, -yet there was nothing in the universe that he did not possess and enjoy -with rapturous heart. He knows that the voice of God is heard, not -only in the roar of turbulent cataract, or reverberating peal of the -majestic thunder, but also in the bog and quagmire. - - “For in the mud and scum of things, - There’s always something, something sings.” - -He possesses a wealth that is indestructible. When one gazes so -intently upon a flower that he beholds it as it really is, he has -blessed the flower with immortality and his soul with an unfading -beauty. The moment he truly beholds it, God transplants it to his soul, -where it can never die, but live and bloom forever and forever. - -Christ came to enrich man’s experience by the process of extending his -range of vision, teaching him that what meekness does for magnifying -his conception of the natural world, piety does for the soul’s -conception of the spiritual world. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for -they shall see God,” and afterwards adding, “God is love.” As humility -gives one possession of the earth, purity gives one vision to behold -the divine mystery of love. - -One of the secrets of Christ’s triumphant place in history was this -vision of purity that enabled him to see the redeeming goodness in -the hearts of the world’s outcasts. Christ could see love, therefore, -when the pious priests were sitting with folded hands waiting for -something to transpire that was worthy of their attention, he was busy -in city street and country lane seeking to save that which was lost. He -could see love, therefore when the self-righteous churchman, through -prejudice, was blind to his neighbor’s need, he was toiling in the -service of the loving heart. Busy men and women could see nothing in -childhood, while Christ, with purity of heart, could look down upon -these little ones, and, seeing the love that bubbles up in baby hearts -to overflow in kisses, smiles, and laughter, lifted them to that high -throne where value is measured only in terms of love. The pious ones -saw the raving demoniac standing amid the desolations of the tombs, and -felt that he was too far gone to help. Looking deep within this poor -man’s heart, Christ saw his innate love for home, and never stopped -until he had brought him into subjection to his words of power, and -sent him, well and happy, to his home and family. - -The zealous religionists saw only evil in the poor woman who, escaping -the rough grasp of her captors, was crouching at the feet of Christ, -fearful and ashamed to look upward. Looking into her heart he saw less -sin than love--love that was deep, and pure, and changeless, as only a -woman’s love can be; therefore, instead of killing her because of sin, -he forgave her because she loved, and then bade her go and live the -life triumphant. - -Men accustomed to the scenes of crucifixion were not stirred when -one of the crucified uttered a prayer for pardon. It was a common -occurrence and put down as one of the strange expressions of -loneliness; but to Jesus it was all important. Looking into the heart -of the dying thief, Christ saw a worth-while love for that which was -good and of finer quality, therefore he astonished even those who knew -him best by lifting him out of sin and taking him with him to paradise. - -Living triumphantly necessitates one possessing the vision of purity, -without which one cannot see God. Mother holds the preeminent place in -every life, because her true living has kept her vision clear, and she -sees the good that lies deep within the hearts of her children. Her son -may become an outcast in the sight of others. Filled with iniquity, -and helpless in the terrible grasp of passion, he may have lost faith -in himself and says: “There is no hope for me.” The world hears, and -readily agrees, and says that the young man is hopeless. But not the -mother. To mother there is always hope. Her boy must not be thrown -away, for he is of infinite value. She never notices his sin; she sees -only the soul that lies hidden like a jewel beneath the rubbish of his -transgressions. Seeing the love within his soul which others could not -see, because they lacked the necessary love to see, her vision became -the power that not only defies but completely changes public opinion. -Because she loves much, she redeems and saves him, and compels the -community to accept him as one who has wandered away, but has come back -to the Father’s house. Blessed are the pure in heart, for unto them -is given vision to see good in every one, and to behold their Lord in -every event of life. - - - - - XX - - THE DIGNITY OF LABOR - - -There is no liberty without toil. To enjoy the freedom of the sunshine, -the germinating seed must lift and throw aside the clod which outweighs -it a thousandfold. Before the blossom can unwrap its tinted petals in -the sunlight it must, with the warmth of its own healthy growth, melt -the wax that seals it in its winter sepulcher, and with its increasing -strength tear away the rough bud-scales and hurl them to the ground. -The oriole wings its way and fills the afternoon with song, only, after -earnest effort, it has liberated itself from the imprisoning shell. - -Toil is the golden key which God gave the human race, that it might -find escape from the self-inflicted slavery of sin. “In the sweat -of thy face shalt thou eat bread” was not a curse pronounced by an -offended Deity, but Love’s whispered secret of escape from harm. -Standing amid the wreck of a sin-torn paradise, man looked through the -open archway of these six words--“In the sweat of thy face”--and saw -the possibilities of a world-wide Eden. Beholding the fruit begin to -fail, and the greensward become tangled with brush and bramble, Fear -said: “You shall die of hunger.” “In the sweat of thy face” revealed -broad acres filled with health-giving ripening grain and orchards laden -with luscious fruit. Beholding the lakes become stagnant, and the river -beds becoming dry and parched, Fear said: “You shall perish of thirst.” -“In the sweat of thy face” revealed vineyards adrip with purple wine, -and desert lands abloom with beauty because man would learn to train -the mountain streams to follow where he led. Yea, more, “In the sweat -of thy face” opened a pathway through which Hope ran to find salvation -from the deadly power of sin. Coming back, with face aglow, that bright -clad Angel bade man first to give his strength in building an altar on -which to offer heartfelt thanks to God, who had made the human hand -with which to toil and rebuild paradise. - -Happy and fortunate is the man who learns to do his daily stint of work -with a cheerful heart. To him shall be the joy of understanding that -the ordinary duties of life are not burdens sent to crush him to earth, -but blessings through which he is to work out his own salvation. - -Behold how man’s labors have redeemed the world from barrenness. Soft, -yielding swamps have become hard-paved streets of famous cities, -over which the unappreciative multitudes walk or ride in perfect -comfort. Where once the heated winds blew the drifting sands to-day the -gentle zephyrs fan the rich, green meadows. Where once the untrained, -tangled vines broke down the struggling tree upon which they clung, -the vineyards yield their purple clusters, and the orchards give -forth their wealth of sweet and luscious fruit. Where once the wild -weeds threw their choking pollen to the wind, the aster, rose, and -proud chrysanthemum wave upon graceful stems and toss their pretty -petals to and fro. Where once the savage stretched his tents of skins, -brown-stone mansions lift their open portals in invitation to the -weary sons of toil. By the sweat of man’s brow, by the toiling of the -multitudes, we are saved from desolation and made to dwell securely -among the gardens. - -Toil saves from sickness. Without the putting forth of physical effort -all men are weaklings. To be a producer, to change the strength of -brain and muscle into that which is of value to his fellow man, is -not only necessary if he would play his part in the great social -institution of which he finds himself a part, but it is necessary -for his own mental, physical, and spiritual salvation. Grinding out -his days in unceasing industry, many a man curses his lot and wishes -earnestly for idleness, not knowing that toil is the making of a -man with strong muscles, firm flesh, large lung capacity, and good -digestion, for toil forces the blood in rapid circulation. Honest toil -is the best tonic. When asked what was the secret of his good health, -a great statesman responded, “Hard work.” Overfed, full of gout, and -ill humored, a certain man of ease requested a celebrated physician to -prescribe for him. “Live upon sixpence a day, and earn it,” was the -advice. Over one half of the invalids of the world could be almost -instantly cured, if they would concentrate their attention, and direct -all their strength, in carrying forward some worthy enterprise. -Caring for a garden is a good preventive for consumption. Labor means -exercise, exercise means health. Common toil is God’s prescription by -which we are to work out our salvation from many days of sickness and -depression. - -Labor preserves us from needless sorrow. Imagine the condition of Adam -leaving Eden with all his faculties save that which would enable him to -concentrate his energies upon some worth-while task--with the power to -think and ponder over the hardships of his fallen situation; with the -marvelous power of memory to recall his faded days of gladness; with -the power of a good imagination, to paint fairer, brighter pictures -for the future, and yet without the power to organize these faculties -for action, thus having no force of character with which to achieve. -Such life would be worse than death, no matter what evils death might -bring. But through the gracious promise of the sweat-washed brow man -found surcease for sorrow in attempting to build a better garden for -himself and little ones. There is no happiness save that which results -in using one’s strength and talents in honest endeavor. Idleness breeds -discontent, worry, and fear. It adds a thousand pangs to every grief -and sorrow. The most unhappy and therefore the most unfortunate people -in the world are those who have the financial resources to sit in -idleness and nurse their grief. Better by far be the poor woman who -leaves her dead, and goes to scrub the floors of a public building, for -in her honest toil she finds a healing, comforting touch. Toil makes -one forget his grief, soothes him with a gentle hand, and permits the -grace of God to heal the wounded soul and broken heart. - -Labor is a strong tower that shields one from the onslaughts of -temptation. It is the idle hand that Satan seeks. One half of our -incarcerated criminals owe their position to the fact that they -refused to accept the protecting power of toil to keep them in the -way of righteousness. Having nothing to do, they fell in with evil -companions. Having nothing to do, they partook of questionable -amusements. Having nothing to do, they followed the evil leading of -their passions. Having nothing to do, sin and disgrace made them easy -captives. One way of salvation is to escape from temptation, and one -of the best ways to escape temptation is to be so busily occupied with -clean, honest, manly endeavor, that the devil has no access to the mind -with either spoken word or secret thought. Work out your salvation from -temptation. - -Labor may also contribute largely to the developing of Christian -character. There would be no backsliding in our churches if those who -profess the name of Christ would engage in his great enterprise of -saving and redeeming the world. The growing spirit of indifference, -that is paralyzing so many of our religious activities, could not be, -had men not become idlers in the Kingdom. Business men look upon the -church and say that it is weak because it has no program. This is -true. We lacked a program, not because we had no program, but because -we refused to follow the one that God gave us. The church is far from -being dead. Those who have kept true to their Divine Lord, and have -humbly, but earnestly worked his works, have been saved from all these -temptations to sin and worldliness, and their ardor to-day is brighter -than on the day they first gave their hearts to Christ. - -Then let us get to work. Labor cannot save us from the penalty of sin. -Nothing save the grace of God can do that for us, but it can save us -from barren surroundings, from much of our sickness, from the deadening -influences of sorrow, from the power of many of our most dangerous -temptations, and aid us in spiritual development. Work with a good -will. Let no man laugh you out of its benefits. Say to the world, -“Yes, I am a laboring man.” Let no blush come to your cheek, unless it -be because you are not a better and more earnest workman. Labor with -the knowledge that while you are at your task you are ranked with the -mightiest and most illustrious characters of the world. Labor adds to -dignity. Hard, honest work gives self-respect. Toil saves one from the -life of a parasite, enabling him to pay his own way, at the same time -leaving the world brighter and richer because of his toil. The richest -jewel that ever adorned the brow of man is not in the King’s crown. It -is the beaded sweat that stands upon the tanned forehead of an honest -laborer. Wear it with the dignity with which a king wears his crown -of gold. In the light of God’s approving smile it will pale and make -insignificant the crown jewels of all the nations. - - - - - XXI - - ABOVE THE COMMONPLACE OF SIN - - -Individuality is one of God’s ways of expressing his greatness. His -voice penetrates the centuries like the sound of silver bells, but -there is never an echo. No duplicates are ever found among the works of -God’s creative power. He gives his gifts unto the world with boundless -generosity, but through the centuries no single gift has ever found -its counterpart. Everything coming from the hand of God is original, -unique, entirely dissimilar to anything else in the realm of nature. -No two oak leaves are alike. They may be cut from the same pattern, -so that, no matter where you find them drifting in the winds, you -instantly recognize them, saying, “These are oak leaves”; yet, of all -the millions of leaves that have unfolded upon branches of the oaks of -countless ages, no two have been identical in size or form or in the -delicate tracery of the tiny veins which are as delicate as hoarfrost, -yet strong as leaden pipes. - -God never duplicates. The wild rose is a simple flower, possessing -but five petals, held securely in the golden chalice of pollen-laden -stamens. Nothing could possibly be more liable of duplication than this -quaint flower of simple garb, yet of all the wild-rose blooms gathered -by lovers’ hands and pressed to maidens’ lips, of all the wild-rose -blooms that grace the old-fashioned gardens and trellis the fences -of the country roads with their picturesque, sublime simplicity, no -two are alike. God so respects the pretty things about which human -sentiment revolves that no two are cast from the same mold. Consider -the blossom that you once kissed, and pressing, stored away. It is -hidden in a secret place, intended for no eyes save your own, and -viewed only through the clear tears that memory revives. Guard it with -the tenderest care, for God will never make another blossom just like -it. He respects the tender affections of your heart that chose this -blossom from a lover’s hand to be the sweetest, fairest blossom of your -life. - -When a mother stoops and plucks a blossom from her baby’s grave, covers -it with mingled tears and kisses, and puts it away between the leaves -of the family Bible, thus binding in one cover the sweetest sentiments -of this world and the best hopes and aspirations of a better world, she -does a beautiful thing, and our heavenly Father so honors her love and -reverence for her precious dead that, though a thousand centuries come -and go, he will never make another blossom just like that. - -We love all mountains because of their rugged strength and majesty, -yet no two mountains are alike, for to the mountains God has given -personality. The Rockies stand like naked giants with knotted muscles -ever ready to grapple with storms that smite their rugged sides, -rejoicing, like strong men, at the ease with which they break the -strength of their adversary, and hurl the whirlwind, like a helpless -zephyr, into the mighty chasms at their feet. The Alps are like a -procession of kings, bejeweled and berobed for coronation day. To -see the Alps is to have a holiday and have one’s soul thrilled with -boyhood’s wonderment and praise. The Catskills are a languid group of -charming country folk with whom you can sit and chat, and feel the -magic wonderment of childhood creeping through the soul, as you listen -to quaint voices repeat their myths and legends. No two mountains are -alike, for God likes versatility in heaped-up piles of rock as much as -in fluttering leaves and blooming flowers. - -No two sunsets are alike. The hanging tapestries of the west may be -woven in the same looms of mist, and dyed in the same vats of scarlet, -purple, red, and orange; they may be laced with the same golden -strands of unraveled sunbeams; and their drapery may reveal the -self-same angel touch, yet no two sunsets are alike, each having its -own individuality, and living forever as a master painting to beautify -the walls of memory. Well do youth and maiden stand with clasped hands -as they face the sunset. Let them feast upon its gorgeous beauty until -their hearts are filled with light and love, for they shall never see -another sunset just like that. Returning to the valley’s old familiar -paths, where they shall walk together amid their mingled lights and -shades, they shall rejoice through many years because of the brilliancy -of that one sunset which God made for them, and for them alone. - -This love for originality is seen in the play of the wild waves’ crest -whose molten silver falls into beads and necklaces and pendants of -unequaled workmanship to fill the unseen jewel caskets of the deep. - -What is true of the natural world is also true of man. Consider the -variations of the human face. Reflecting upon the limited number of -features, one is amazed to think that such an infinite combination -of facial forms and expressions can be created. There are only two -eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth, and yet out of that small -combination, behold what God hath wrought! From the soft, pink rosebud -of a baby’s smiling face, looking with wistful wonderment at a newly -found world; through all the charming sweetness of maiden’s cheek -and love-laden eyes; through all the grandeur of the hero’s chiseled -features; through the glory of motherhood smiling affectionately -upon her little brood; through manhood making battle for home and -righteousness--through all these until, at last, you behold the -unequaled beauty, majesty, grandeur, and dignity of old age, no two -countenances are alike. - -The glory of God is revealed through individuality. No two persons -are alike in form or feature, gift or grace. No two minds have -exactly the same characteristics. No two souls look upon life from -identical viewpoint, so that each one varies in his conception of -events and expression of art and letters. A king wears the crown of -his predecessor, but for each brow God has fashioned the fairer crown -of individuality. Men, as God made them, are not pegs to be placed -in holes, but kings, to sit upon thrones and rule kingdoms all their -own. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee,” are the words of -Jehovah when he wished to impress Jeremiah with the infinite care with -which he had been prepared for a noble work. - -To endeavor to reshape this divinely appointed life and mold it after -an earthly, man-made pattern is the height of folly, yet this is -the demand of very much of our modern social life. Society employs -a system of repression, the subduing and crushing of deep emotions, -and substituting a shallow artificiality. It curbs all naturalness -in development and demands a conformity to certain rigid molds in -which every word, gesture, thought, and impulse must be cast. Instead -of employing the art of expression, permitting the deep feelings to -find normal outlet, and allowing the salutary unfolding of individual -strength and grace, they check and curb and repress until the beauty -and normalcy of life is gone. Our present system of society custom and -usages cannot produce great character. - -Failing to recognize individuality as the universal plan, many -educators mistake their function, endeavoring to mold men according -to their conceptions rather than instructing men. Instead of leading -the mind away from the narrow cloister of tradition, form, and -ceremonialism, into the open air where it can function normally, -and unfold its strength and beauty in perfect individualism, many -intellectual leaders continue the practice of pitilessly dwarfing minds -and stunting souls. - -Sin also leads to the commonplace. Realizing that man’s strength lies -in developing those characteristics that mark personality, the arch -enemy of the soul is ever endeavoring to destroy them. He tempts -to sin, knowing well that there is no other agency so powerful in -destroying individuality. Sin never lifts men upward toward lofty -heights but always levels downward. It knows no royalty of character, -so it tears down thrones, casts man’s crown aside, blurs the eye, -palsies the nerve, blotches the countenance, deadens the brain, hardens -the heart, and makes its victim a member of the common herd. Sin is not -error; it is poison that stunts the growing aspirations, dwarfs the -spiritual nature, lowers spiritual vitality, and completely destroys -all the royal gifts of God that would distinguish one in character and -achievement. - -Therefore righteousness must be preached as never before. Only through -virtue can one lift himself above the commonplace and his individuality -reach its maximum power. Wrongdoing destroys while right living makes -possible the complete development of all the noble faculties of the -soul, permitting one to experience the fullest possible realization -of life. Men must not be repressed by the foolish processes of a -misguided social, educational, or evil custom. Righteousness must be -preached that youth may know the freedom of goodness and the joy of -righteousness. As birds greet the dawn, by rising on rapturous wing -and filling the blue with exultant song, let youth and maiden greet the -coming day with gladness as they rise above the commonplace of sin. The -Divine plan for their lives must not be marred by sin or foolishness. -The uniqueness and originality of God’s plan are the secrets of -success. The joys of righteousness are too valuable to exchange for the -misery and heartache of a wasted life. - - - - - XXII - - THE INVESTMENT OF A LIFE - - -The problem of investment provides much of the romance as well as -the tragedy of life. The fascination of expending one’s energies or -possessions in legitimate undertakings holds all men spellbound, -whether it be the peasant investing in seed for the coming harvest, -the newsboy buying his bundle of papers for the evening trade, or -the merchant purchasing wares against the changing styles and fitful -customs. The investment proving good furnishes the joy and romance -of existence. The investment proving bad causes the tragedy that -shatters the brain, breaks the heart, smolders the homefires, and sends -multitudes reeling and cursing into the darkness. - -All men are investors. Some of them invest their brain. Finding that -God has honored them with an intellect capable of development, they -have closely applied themselves to study and research, until the -meanest flower enlarges itself into an Eden where each petal vein -becomes a winding pathway leading to fountains of nectar that ever -sport and play amid the golden pillars and tapestry of stamen and -pollen. They study until oak trees become mighty ships, iron fashions -itself into sky-scrapers, forked lightning becomes a servant of the -humblest child, sunbeams become physicians, stars become pilots, and -the sky a playground in which the mind leaps from world to world and -wheeling constellation to wheeling constellation. Very rich indeed are -the dividends coming to him who invests his brain against the world’s -ignorance and mysteries. - -All men are investors. Some men invest their bodies. They bend their -back to the burden until the blood vessels stand out upon their temples -like silken nets. They give the strength of their arms to the hammer -and drill until the flinty cliff becomes broad highways beneath their -feet. They toil until mountains become winding corridors leading to -chests of silver; valleys bloom with harvests, and frail cocoons become -silken robes. They toil, earning dividends of daily bread, a happy -home, and the consciousness that the world is better for their toil. - -All men are investors. Æsthetic in temperament, some invest a love for -the beautiful. They find rhythm in swaying tree branch, harmony in the -moving of winds, music in chirp of crickets, symphonies in the carol of -birds, poetry in gleaming lights upon the water, visions of glory in -the morning and evening sky. They adorn our cities with temples, fill -our homes with immortal songs, transform white marble into immortal -shapes, and fill our galleries with visions of sunsets that never fade, -trees whose leaves are never driven by the November winds, children -who never grow up, and family circles unbroken by death. Dividends -surpassing belief belong to these true and faithful lovers of the -beautiful. - -All men are investors. Some men invest their gift for business. They -concentrate their energies on the art of trade until gigantic ships cut -the ocean waves, steel rails join nations and continents, wire threads -bind home to home, keeping each ear within instant reach of loved one’s -voice, refrigerator cars that bring the fruit of the tropics to the -Christmas table, and means of transportation that finds a world-wide -sale for the handiwork of the humblest toiler. All honor to such men! -Nations do not coin currency for business. Business is the mint whose -products fill the coffers of the nations. - -All men are investors. Some invest their heart’s affections upon things -divine. Their ears are closed to evil and they know not concerning -things that blight and blast, scorch and consume the soul. Their eyes -are closed to the suggestive, therefore evil finds no lighted pathway -to their imagination. Their hands are held firmly and will not touch -that which contaminates. Their lives are like unto that of the Lord -Jesus, and therefore they are the children of freedom. Their words drop -like the dew, each crystal drop reflecting the heavens toward which -they journey. Their smiles are like unto sunbeams upon harvest fields, -making the grain sweeter of kernel and more golden of husk. Their -voices melt with tenderness as ripe grapes drip wine. Their opinions -are permeated with charity as ripe fruit is filled with fragrance. -Their coming is like that of a messenger from a friendly king. - -Each man is an investor, whether he invests his intellect for -education, his body for physical betterment, his æsthetic nature for -art, his business sagacity for prosperity, his heart for the fellowship -of God, receiving benefits and meeting his honest obligations to the -world. Honesty demands that each individual should be such an investor, -investing himself and all that he possesses, for he who refuses to do -so robs his fellow man. For such hell is a moral necessity. He who -refuses to yield himself to the plan of God must not be disappointed -when he finds himself outside of God’s plan for his happiness and -welfare. - -There are no safety deposit vaults for God’s gifts to man. When times -of financial panic come, frightened and panic-smitten men withdraw -their currency from circulation, store it away in a vault, thus -hastening the national disaster. Panics come when men refuse to invest. -In an hour like the present, when moral forces are facing a panic, when -organized forces for evil are using every possible unprincipled means -and method to press righteousness to the wall, no man has any right -whatever to withdraw and hide his talent. Every lover of truth, every -believer in immortality, should give the best he has, every faculty and -talent, the widest possible circulation. Invest, and invest heavily, is -the order from on high. Invest in order to restore confidence to the -people of God. Let them feel encouragement by seeing that the very best -you have is at the disposal of all mankind. Refusing to do so makes one -a miser deserving of nothing save the curse of man. Upon the wholeness -of the investment depends one’s destiny on the Day of Judgment. To the -one who, by investment, has increased his talent, God says: “Well done, -good and faithful servant, enter into joy.” To the one who refuses to -make investment of his life, he says: “Take away that which he hath.” -The Judgment hinges on the problem of investment. - -That we make not fatal mistake let us remember that no talent is -properly invested unless done so with a reverent purpose. Talents may -be invested aimlessly and without results. To bring paying dividends -the investment must be backed by a life having a noble purpose. To -illustrate, if you were compelled to sum up your entire life in -one sentence, what would you be able to say of yourself? What one -predominant characteristic do you recognize as being the index of your -life? You reply, “I am a student.” Is that all you can say? You have -invested brains, are an educated man, but is that all? - -Unless you have applied your intellect to successfully solving some -problem for those who, denied your blessings, are ignorant and -superstitious, your knowledge is valueless and will be buried with -you. You may be a toiler, but unless you have tugged away and lifted, -with all your might, at the world’s burdens, your strength will go -with you to the grave. If your investment of the æsthetic does not -make the world more beautiful, it is valueless. Are you successful in -business? Is that all that can be said? You may be worth many millions -of dollars, but if your gold has never gleamed in true philanthropy it -will crumble into dust with your body. You may be good, but unless your -goodness expresses itself in sacrificial service, it is worthless. - -That which is enduring demands, not the investment of talents -alone, but the investment of the whole life. To give your talents -indifferently marks you, not as an investor, but as a spender, and -anyone can spend money, especially inherited money. To make an -investment demands a whole life centered upon one holy and noble -purpose, for which one spares neither toil nor sacrifice, energy nor -time, until the united efforts become permanent in the world and -forever identify your name with that noble purpose. To invest wisely -is to endow one’s name until it stands out the rich embodiment of -some worthy purpose, as the name “Dante” stands for poetry, the name -“Abraham Lincoln” stands for the emancipation of the slaves, the name -“Garibaldi” stands for liberty, the names of Peabody and Shaftesbury -stand for benevolence, and the names of Wesley and Moody stand for the -redemption of a world. - - - - - XXIII - - THOUGHT PLANTING - - -There is nothing more common, and seemingly insignificant, than the -planting of a garden. There are the simple upturning of the sod, the -mellowing of the soil, and the burial of a hard-shelled seed. Let a -chemist analyze the soil, and a scientist examine the seed, and they -will be unable to find anything signifying relationship between the -two. There is nothing, so far as the human eye can see, to suggest that -the combination of seed and soil would be other than the combination of -stone and stubble. But when once planted all the universe knows about -the little brown seed. The earth and the seed were made for each other, -and no sooner do they come in proper contact than the whole universe -is set in motion about and for the development of that buried germ. -There is not a cloud floating afar nor a star gleaming mildly in the -distant blue that does not exist for that tiny seed until, through the -ministration of sunbeam and moonlight, shower and baptismal dew, the -seed arises, clothed in the glory of a resurrection, to lift itself in -right royal grandeur above the clod. - -No one can explain how the inanimate can thus become living tissue, but -the sun keeps warming its leaves with caresses, and the kindly winds -bring tribute from distant lands; and the guarding stars keep sending -their benign forces, and the cool hand of the darkness offers its -chalice of dew, so that the seed becomes a tree, whose nectar attracts -the bees and butterflies, and whose wide-extending branches become the -home and playground of the birds. - -There is nothing seemingly more insignificant than the planting of -a garden unless it be the beginning of a good and useful life. It -is simply planting a thought in an ordinary human brain. The wise -philosopher may examine the thought and pronounce it quite commonplace; -the grammarian may test it and say that it could be constructed in a -more exact and polished manner; the physiologist may examine the brain -and pronounce the texture of its convolutions as being most ordinary. -There is nothing anywhere to indicate that the combination of that -particular thought and that particular brain could result in anything -particularly extraordinary. The possessor of the brain may feel no -different after the planting of the thought and have no presentiment -of what it shall mean to him in the years that follow. But the whole -universe knows about the thought planting. As the stars remember the -buried seed, so all the divine forces of earth and heaven are set to -work about the planted thought. Days and weeks may pass without the -world observing any appreciable results, and it may even forget the -planting. But God has not forgotten. He is remembering it, guarding it -with divine care, and the results will appear sooner than we think. - -That is the reason, I believe, that Christ took the mustard seed for -the foundation of a parable. The seed is not only one of the smallest, -being so little that it can slip unnoticed from your grasp, and hide -within the crevice of a clod, mocking your solicitous search, but it -is of most rapid growth. Within a fortnight it will overshadow the -garden, and before the season is ended will tower twelve to fifteen -feet in height, its sturdy branches affording shelter, and protected -nests, for many birds. Divine thoughts within the brain are capable of -this marvelous development. The planting may be an unattractive thing -to do; the mind itself may be as unresponsive as the soil at the first -planting of the seed, but God has not forgotten his truth, and all the -universe is working for its fullest development. Soon, very soon, will -it manifest its marvelous nature by rapid growth and bloom. - -Here is a little lass, living among the forests of Domremy. Day by day -she watches the soldiers of hostile powers tramping along the dusty -highways to devastate the land she loves so dearly. Her heart aches -as she sees her people languishing helplessly under the heavy yoke of -oppression. Standing with tear-filled eyes one day she hears an old man -say: “God will one day raise a deliverer for the French.” Amid the dust -arising from the tramping of an invading army a thought was planted in -the mind of a child. - -Here is a little girl at Ledbury, near the Malvern Hills, sitting in -her father’s dooryard, looking at the mysterious letters of a Greek -book, whose secrets refuse to yield themselves to her inquisitive -brain. Disappointed, she buries her face in her book and weeps, only -to be found by a kind friend who picks her up and whispers in her ear: -“There, do not cry. A little girl can learn Greek if she tries.” The -world goes along as usual, not knowing that a new thought has been -planted, and that girls may learn Greek as readily as do the boys. - -Here is a little boy, standing by a harpsichord, watching his father’s -fingers find the notes upon the ivory keyboard. His soul is filled with -delight as he listens to the melodies that arise. Beholding the nervous -twitch of the tiny fingers longing to earnestly and reverently touch -the music-making keys, the father bends low, and says: “Be patient, -son, and keep loving your music, for some day you will be a great -musician.” - -Here is a little boy drawing with charcoal upon the white walls of his -mother’s kitchen, while a precious old grandmother sits watching the -young artist. Taking him in her arms, she said, “Do not paint to rub -out, paint for eternity.” Commonplace words uttered in a commonplace -home by a very commonplace old lady. - -Here is a bright-eyed little boy kneeling at his mother’s side to say -his prayers. Having finished his petitions, the Christian mother says, -encouragingly, as she strokes his head, “Only be good, my precious boy, -and God will use you to help the thousands.” - -We have seen these five persons putting ordinary thoughts in what -seem to be ordinary brains. These five children felt no enraptured -thrill, the ones who sowed the thoughts did not remember the day. -But all the universe of spiritual power knew about the planting, and -consequently the seeds grew. Watch the little girl among the forests of -Domremy, leaning against the trees, buried in thought, and listening -to the voices that ever speak of redeeming France. Watch the little -girl bending over her Greek book, day after day, finding the key -that unlocks the beauty of Homer and Thucydides. Watch the little -lad sitting past the midnight hour, his long curls falling in rich -folds about his face as he bends over the harpsichord awakening the -slumbering strings. Watch the little lad gathering clays of various -colors and grinding them into paint, which shall, at the touch of his -brush, awaken angels upon the canvas. Watch the little lad who learned -to pray at his mother’s knee, gathering the students of Oxford about -him to spend the evening hour in prayer. God has not forgotten the -good thoughts sown in the days gone by, and all the spiritual forces -of the heavens are working for their most complete development. Soon -the little lass of Domremy, obedient to the call of the voices, mounts -her charger and compels King Charles, the invader, to flee and give -back the government of France to her people. Soon the little girl -who studied so diligently to learn Greek will become Mrs. Elizabeth -Browning, to make the centuries happy with the music of her poems. Soon -the little lad at the harpsichord will become the mighty Mozart, whose -music lingers like the sweet fragrance of dew-wet flowers. Soon will -the little boy, drawing with charcoal, begin to paint for eternity, and -the “Angelus” and “The Man with a Hoe” begin their deathless career, -as a tribute to toil, and an eternal protest against oppression. Soon -the boy of Epworth and the youth of Oxford will become John Wesley, the -leader of the great revival which swept England at a critical period -and directed her on the right track. - -No one can understand the mystery of the growing seed, or the greater -mystery of the growing thought, but each individual can have such a -love for childhood and its future that he will guard with jealous care -each word that leaves his lip, determined that in the sowing nothing -but good seed shall find lodgment in any heart. An evil thought planted -in a child’s mind grows into a ruined life and blasted character. Let -not even the idle word be an evil one for fear of the harvest. What an -incentive to become good husbandmen planting righteous thoughts in the -minds of childhood, looking forward to harvests that shall never end! - - - - - XXIV - - THE ROSARY OF TEARS - - -God meant man to be happy. The sweetest music of this world is clear, -ringing laughter. Beside its resonance the majestic voice of the -cataract, the rolling melody of dashing billows, the gurgling ripple of -the sun-kissed streams, the thrilling throb of the wild bird’s song, -the merry chirp of the cheerful cricket, the lyric of the wind-tossed -leaves are as nothing. Better one sudden, spontaneous outburst of -childish laughter than all the symphonies and oratorios of the long -centuries. Nothing can equal it. It comes with the spontaneity of a -geyser, rolls out upon the atmosphere like a volley of salutes, thrills -like martial music, its quick vibrations making the sunbeams tinkle -like silver bells. It is contagious, causing the facial muscles of our -friends to relax and begin to run and leap into the radiant smiles, -their vocal cords to burst into song, and the whole world becomes a -better and happier place for all mankind. - -As the sunshine makes battle with shadows, so men and women should -wage warfare with everything that depresses. Children have a right -to laugh, and youth has a right to rejoice in the morning light of -life that floods the pathway with the bright and brilliant colorings -of hope. We must not be too exacting with others, neither must we -endeavor to abnormally repress our own feelings. There is a restraint -that is not culture and a self-control that is not temperance. Some -people would be far more honest in their dealings, and have better -rating in their own community, if they did not exercise such an -exacting self-control over their deep feelings of honesty, justice, and -brotherly love. There is a boundless strength in emotion, therefore -laughter and happiness are absolutely essential. Let happy hours be -golden beads, which, strung upon the silken cord of memory, will become -a rosary with which to count our prayers. - -Laughter is essential, because of its relationship to tears. In the -truest sense pure tears and pure laughter are one. It requires a -raindrop to reveal the hidden beauties of the sunbeam. Beholding the -rainbow spreading its many-colored folds over the dark shoulders of -the storm cloud, we utter exclamations of gladsome surprise. How -marvelously beautiful it is! But every sunbeam would be a rainbow if -only it had its raindrop through which to pass. It requires vapor -to reveal the hidden depths and treasures of the sunbeam. Tears are -to laughter what raindrops are to sunshine. They reveal the deeper -meaning of our joys. Without them we should never appreciate or -understand the brighter moments. When we count each hour of happiness -as a golden bead, we must consider each teardrop as a crystal or -polished diamond, to gleam upon the rosary of the heart. - -Sincerely pity the man who has lost the art of shedding tears, for he -has, through self-control, restricted his emotions, so as to exclude -life’s best experiences. Without a tear-moistened eye one cannot -clearly comprehend the brightness of the sky, the majesty of the -sea, the commanding splendor of the mountains, or the wealth of gold -that lies buried in every human heart. Without tears one can never -experience the rapturous joy of truest love or holiest patriotism. The -greatness of the soul is measured by the depth of its emotions, and -the extent of influence is determined by the readiness with which one -permits the deep emotions to shed their glory. - -Herein is hidden a secret of triumphant power. The greatest victories -are won, not by gun and cannon, but by deep emotions expressed in -tear-dimmed eyes. Great achievements are wrought by men who can feel -keenly and deeply. Behold Garibaldi conquering a great Italian city. -A thousand soldiers, armed with rifles, and supported with heavy -artillery, stood ready to oppose him. Commanding generals, with drawn -swords, stood ready to give command to fire the moment he made his -appearance. This was the day that he had announced that he would take -the city. Hours passed and neither he nor his army came in sight. -Finally, in the afternoon, amid a cloud of dust, a carriage is seen -rapidly nearing the city. Every eye is strained to see its passenger, -when lo, above the dust, rises the stalwart form of the great Italian. -Without gun, sword, or protecting soldier, the great general who has -come to take the city, is standing erect in an open carriage, his arms -folded in peace. Each defending soldier is ready to obey command, but -no command is given. In the presence of such remarkable courage each -officer is motionless and speechless. No moment of Italian history was -more tense. Suddenly some sympathizer shouted, “Viva la Garibaldi!” and -in an instant every weapon is dropped and Garibaldi takes the city and -holds it as his own. The power to advance in the face of great odds, -with no weapon save a burning heart and tear-filled eyes, has wrought -more victories than we know. - -To cry is not weakness, for tears are evidences of strong character. -We have always loved Mark Twain, enjoying his travels as much as he, -and laughing away dreary hours with his bubbling humor. But humor never -revealed the true man he really was. It was not until his daughter -died, and he sat all alone at home on Christmas day, amid the unopened -gifts, and broken hopes of life, and wrote the matchless story of her -death, that the world caught glimpse of the real Mark Twain. Beholding -her lying there so quietly, he said: “Would I call her back to life -if I could do it? I would not. If a word would do, I would beg for -strength to withhold the word. And I would have the strength; I am sure -of it. In her loss I am almost bankrupt, and my life is a bitterness, -but I am content; for she has been enriched with the most precious of -all gifts--that gift which makes all other gifts mean and poor--death.” -It required the teardrop to reveal the real character of Mark Twain. - -While for our friends we would have nothing but golden hours, for -ourselves the rosary of tears is the most precious treasure we possess. -None other creates such a spirit of devotion, none other so thoroughly -prepares us for conquest; none other opens the heart to those diviner -emotions which should thrill the inner life of all. The golden beads -will become tiresome, but the crystal rosary of tears will always be -attractive. Count over its beads. There are the large, fast-falling -tears of childhood. Tell them one by one, and behold how they bring -back the holy memories and yearnings for childhood purity and childhood -faith. Hold fast those blessed beads that were once kissed away by a -mother’s lips, but still sparkle in the light of her precious love. -There too are the glittering tears of youthful ambitions, when the -heart burned with passion, the brain whirled with plans for conquest, -and the eyes were moist with tears of hope. How precious those tears -that have long since ceased to flow! But they are not lost. We still -have them on our rosary when we offer prayer, and the touching of them -revives our old-time hopes. There also are the tears of love. The -busy, all-consuming fires of worldly ambition cannot dry them away. -They gleam in the eye every time memory presents the portrait of that -precious face. How wonderful to love until the eyes blind with tears of -ecstasy! - -There too are the priceless tears of sympathy. The sight of another’s -wrong or sorrow unloosed the fountains of the deep, and your heart -responded. In order to right the wrong you gave yourself to work of -reform, and made your influence a powerful factor in the remaking of -the world. There, gleaming more beautiful than all, are the tears of -sorrow. They were shed at the side of the grave; they came into the eye -at the sight of an empty chair. How unbearable the world until relief -came in a flood of tears! Only through tears do we find the sweetest -comfort. - -Thus, our devotions become more helpful when we hold this rosary of -priceless treasure. These beads can be purchased of no merchant; they -cannot be blessed by any priest. They were wrought in the fires of our -suffering, and, because we trusted him, they were blessed of God. They -cannot heal the soul--only God can do that; but they help heal the soul -by quickening our memories and reviving our past experiences. Let no -one rob you of the beneficent influences of deep feelings, whether of -joy or sorrow, for we are never so much in the spirit of prayer as when -we hold in our hands the rosary of tears. - - - - - XXV - - THE HEARTHSTONE OF THE HEART - - -Speaking to a young man who was about to assume the more weighty -responsibilities of religious work and living, Paul bade him stir up -the coals of genius, and build a fire of enthusiasm that would warm and -set aglow with holy zeal his every endeavor. “I put thee in remembrance -that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee.” As the housewife -stirs the living coals out of the dead ashes of the old fireplace, -and fans them until they glow with sparkling fervor, setting aflame -the newly placed faggots, making the room radiant with good cheer as -shadows dance along the walls and ice melts from the frost-screened -windowpanes, so out of the dead ashes of past enthusiasm he was to stir -up the living coals of his best gifts until they snapped, and sparkled, -and burst aflame, filling the heart with brightness, and creating an -atmosphere that would melt the ices of indifference from the windows of -his soul, and give him a clear vision of a great wide world. Yea, as -in the days of Paul, one would take a dying torch, and placing it to -his lips, pour out his breath upon it until it burst in flame, that he -might have a torch of burning fire to guide his footsteps through the -darkness of the starless midnight or to flash a message to the people -living upon the distant hilltop, or to kindle the fireplace wood until -the cold corners of the house breathed a hearty welcome to the tired -and frozen travelers, so the young man was to take the divine elements -of the soul, breathe upon them the breath of prayer and devotion, until -they blazed and burned and cast abroad their helpful influence. - -Within each human heart, however covered with the smothering ashes of -sin, are God-made sparks of celestial fire that long to rise on wings -of flame and make heroic battle with oppressive darkness. There are too -many lives which, through carelessness, never burn bright, but, like -smoldering flax, slowly eat themselves away, darkening and corrupting -the very air they should illumine. When they began the Christian life -they were radiant with hope, beaming with enthusiasm, and flashing -with chivalric courage; but the spirit of worldliness choked and -smothered them, until now, like the dead hearthstone of some shell-torn -house upon the battle line, they offer to a worn-out world no hope of -hospitality. To guard against this choking of the soul, this smoldering -of genius, this reckless burning out of the priceless gifts of God, -Paul urges all young men to stir up these coals and fan them into -radiant and glowing character. - -It is not the will of God that any life be formal and indifferent. -How much all forms of life, plant, and animal owe to the hidden fires -within the bosom of the planet, no scientist has been bold enough to -state; but this we know about mankind, without the inner fires of -burning thought and all-consuming zeal there is no productivity. And -no life need be cold-hearted. For the hearthstone of every heart there -are three divine qualities that should burn with all the intensity and -fervor as in the hearts of ancient seer and prophet. - -There is the quality of Faith that makes God real. To many people God -seems so far away that it is an impossibility for him to be a very -important factor in their daily lives. He is a sort of good-natured -Generality, to whom they may address petitions of greater or less -degree of piety, without fear of being embarrassed by an answer. Should -it be announced with certainty that at a given time the accumulated -prayers of a twelvemonth would be answered, fifty per cent of the -people would be afraid to face the hour. Some have prayed for purity -of heart, but if there is anything in the world that they do not -want, it is purity of heart. Nothing would be more embarrassing to -carry into their haunts of enjoyment and more difficult to explain to -their companions. Others have prayed for God to accept them as living -sacrifices, yet sainthood, to them, is as shocking as yellow fever. I -once knew a man who prayed “Let justice rule supreme.” It is a pleasing -phrase and a consummation to be devoutly wished for, but had it been -answered in this particular case, the man who uttered the prayer would -have gone to the penitentiary. Few people deny the existence of a God, -but many live as though there were no God. But these are not the real -lives. The men who really live and give a homelike feeling to the world -are those who have stirred up the embers of their faith until they -burn with an all-consuming warmth that makes God a guest of honor. To -such souls God is marvelously real, and they rejoice to have him dwell -within. When faith once lays hold on the Almighty no other experience -is half so real. One needs read about it in no book, consult no priest -or preacher, nor plead with friend to lend the information, for he -knows it for himself. Sitting beside the hearthstone of a living, -flaming faith, our hands feeling the pressure of that mighty Hand that -never harms but always serves, our souls rejoice with unmeasured joy to -realize that we are in the presence of God who knows and understands, -and who not only walks the weary ways with us, but gladly dwells within. - -There is the quality of hope that makes heaven real. So long as hope -burns within the heart there is no fear of winter winds, but when hope -dies the soul dies. How gladly may old age look over the world in which -it spent the four-seasoned life of toil! Here is the spring of life -where the daisies grew and the cowslips scattered gold about the feet. -Yonder the harvest fields of manhood’s power in which a bared arm of -strength gathered the treasures of the soil while right merry thoughts -centered upon a nearby cottage toward which he knelt each time he tied -a band of gold about the garnered sheaf. Yonder the carefully planted -violets grow upon a tiny mound, bright children of the sun making -battle with the cold shadows of a marble slab. Now the autumn time of -life fades into wintry quiet. The song of the brook is hushed beneath -ever-thickening ice, the trees are robbed of color, the fields are -trackless wastes of snow. The four seasons of life are growing to a -close, the last afternoon is coming to its twilight, and yet one is not -sad. The fires of hope still burn upon the hearthstone of the heart, -and fill the soul with the light of its immortal home. Heaven is not a -far-away land, vague with mystery, and dim with distance, but a place -that is real and very close. We breathe its scented air, and bathe -in its golden light while hope is burning divinely bright within our -hearts. - -The hope of heaven does more than offer us compensation for the -wrongs of life; it gives man an intelligent interpretation of the -things of time. Until one believes his citizenship is in heaven he -cannot intelligently perform his daily task. The painting that lacks -perspective is a daub; the hopeless life is dismal failure. Therefore, -as one prizes the best, he should stir up the gift of hope until heaven -is as real as home. - -There is the quality of love that makes the world seem real. At the -fireside of a loving heart, one readily learns the true secrets of the -world in which he dwells. There is nothing so potent as love to give -vision to the soul, clearness to the eye, effective service to the -hand. Then stir up the gifts of love. Build in your heart the fires of -a quenchless affection that refuses to believe the worst, that will -never give consent that anyone has gone too far in sin for reclamation, -but ever believes that one more touch of kindness will bring the person -back to God; a love that gladly sacrifices everything of value in his -effort to redeem that which has no value; a love that knows no selfish -interest and daily seeks the welfare of another. Then will the world -cease to be hazy and fantastic, but will be as real as the ones of your -own household, who gather each evening hour about your fireside. - -Let not your love for one single individual die; it robs you of too -great a joy. Warm up your hearts by allowing the fires of faith in -God, hope of heaven, and love for all men to blaze and burn in high, -exultant flames that know not how to die. Without it your life will be -as barren as the deserted house through which the winter winds pass -undisturbed. Make your life homelike by keeping bright the hearthstone -of the heart. - - - - - XXVI - - THE UNOARED SEA - - -Each one spends his childhood playing upon the golden sands of an -unoared sea, over which in the after years he must find his way to -shipwreck or safe harbor. - -How little does childhood in its helplessness know of life! Pleased -with simple things, it greets the world with gladness, and shouts for -very joy when finding a tinted shell or bit of seaweed. With spades of -tin it undertakes to dig a hole “clear through the earth,” and smiles -in contemplation of a vision of the Chinese sky. With chains of sand it -undertakes to bind the rushing waters of the tide which granite cliff -and flinty rock cannot subdue. The child undertakes great things while -he himself is not strong enough to withstand the smallest wave, but, -leaving his unfinished task, runs homeward at the coming of the tide. -The waves roar with laughter and the spray sparkles with merriment as -they destroy the feeble efforts of his puny hands. Childhood knows -little of the unoared sea of life whose marvelous power of wave and -tide threatens to destroy all the childish and manly efforts of his -life. - -The desires of the sea may be fulfilled. With youthful enthusiasm and -unguarded courage he may make fatal venture and be lost. There are -many such of wholesome soul and worthy purpose whose most cherished -hopes and plans came to shipwreck and disaster. The seas of life are -strewn with wreckage. Yet one must not be pessimistic and forget that -the raging sea is not omnipotent. With all its wild dashing waves and -boisterous winds it is not as strong as that little lad may become. The -weakest child may yet be able to dig a pit large and deep enough to -bury all the swollen waves; and build a cable of sand strong enough to -bind securely the rising and the falling tides. Some day, over the calm -and quiet waters of a perfectly conquered sea, this tiny lad may pass -into the harbor of safety and success. - -Man was not made for the sea, but the sea was made for man. Man was -created with the gift of complete dominion over all the world in which -he finds himself. Standing like a discoverer upon the shores of his -own unoared sea of life, it is his to conquer, for each individual -faces a sea newly created, whose waves have never been cut by the prow -of any boat. No two people sail the same sea. Each person faces a -life as original as it is unknown, but one that is singularly suited -to himself. Age may be enriched with much dearly bought and valuable -experiences, and be most helpful in counseling youth, but age can never -fully understand the child, or youth, who stands upon the sun-kissed -sands of the unoared sea of his own individual life. The beauty and -pathos of life is that each one must solve the problem for himself. - -This does not mean that the training and counseling of youth -should be neglected. The ennobling influences of a godly home with -Christian parents; the steady, guiding hand of school and college; -the inspiration of good books and imperial thinking, as well as -the soul-strengthening forces of the church, are all of most vital -importance. They should never be omitted from any life. These are -things to which each child has an unquestioned right. All the forces -for good, of earth and sea and sky, must be centered upon the ambitious -but ofttimes thoughtless youth, that he may recognize and faithfully -employ the agencies created for his service and success. - -The best that education can do is to help the individual to help -himself. Education is not a compass by which to steer his craft; it is -not the rudder that determines the course; neither is it the propelling -power that drives it through the waves against an adverse wind. God -has made especial provision for these equipments. The chart is the -inspired Word; the compass, a divinely guided conscience; the rudder, a -will surrendered fully to the will of God; while the power that propels -lies in the skillful using of two plain oars that God has placed within -his easy reach. Education is the intellectual training that enables him -to use these agencies in the most efficient manner. - -Many centuries of experience and experiment have produced no -labor-saving machinery for reaching the harbor of success. If one would -make successful voyage, he must be willing to grasp the oars with his -own hands, bend his back to heavy strain, employing all his mental, -physical, and spiritual power to the task of making good. It is not a -joy ride or a pleasure trip. There is a joy unspeakable in the task, -but it comes not from without but from the consciousness within that -one is winning in a moral strife. This consciousness will be found -to be the chiefest of life’s joys. None shall excel it this side the -welcome we shall receive when safely anchored in the presence of our -God, and even then this consciousness will be the inspiration of the -heavenly song. Life must be considered not so much a pleasure as a -struggle, but a worthy struggle, that sends the blood tingling through -the veins, and builds the tissues of a noble character. - -After the training in life’s fundamentals the choosing of the oars is -the most important thing. The craft in which one sails is character, -built to weather any storm on any wind-swept sea. The haven is God’s -homeland of the soul. The oars are varied, and the success or failure -of the voyage, the safety or shipwreck of character, a victorious -landing or sinking beneath the waves of obscurity, depend entirely upon -the choosing of these oars by means of which his life energies are to -be directed. - -To this end all the educational influences of home and school and -college must be directed. Youth must be taught the value of an -intelligent choice of the instruments through which his powers shall -flow. He must not be led by fancy or prejudice or by the words of -dishonest men who have oars to sell. He must not choose by the color -of the paint or beauty of their decorations. He must not listen to the -honeyed words of an evil one whose sole purpose is his destruction. -Leaving the sands of childhood and starting voyage upon the unoared sea -of life is a moment in which all earth and heaven are concerned, and -therefore the choice of oar must not be left to chance or fortune. He -must know that all the proffered oars are not alike, and that false -teachers profit from the wreckage of the boats they set adrift. He must -know that a broken oar means a drifting boat, and that no drifting boat -can ride a storm-tossed sea. All the difference between heaven and hell -is in that moment of decision when he picks up his chosen oars and -begins to use them as his own. - -There are two oars that never fail when once grasped by a hand that -is firm and true. The first oar is called Virtue. With this oar of -moral excellency, of pure heart and clean hands, with this oar of real -integrity of character and purity of soul, man’s energies are never -wasted as he makes battle against opposing powers. The real sinfulness -of impurity is its resultant waste of strength. Behold the wan faces, -sunken eyes, wasted energies, emaciated forms, staggering steps of -weakness, and the uncertainty and indecision of character, and one sees -the consequences of abusing the laws of purity. But virtue means more -than purity of body, it means absolute cleanliness of heart and mind -and purpose. - -The second oar is Righteousness. Unrighteousness is the abuse and waste -of power. The New Testament word for sin is “missing the mark,” energy -that is wasted by not being carefully and accurately directed. To be -upright in life, free from wrong and injustice, to yield to everyone -his just dues, is to have a means for directing strength and vital -energy that never fails to bring the desired result. - -Two oars--“Virtue,” rightness with God; “Righteousness,” rightness with -man--two oars that have never been known to break no matter how much a -great soul bends them in his battle with the waves. Two oars that have -never yet failed to bring the ship to harbor. - -This, then, is the opportunity of the church, not to manufacture oars, -but to aid youth and maiden to choose the ones that God hath made. They -are not new inventions, but as old as God and rugged as the Hand that -made them. Firmly grasped and resolutely employed, the harbor is made -in safety, although the voyage be upon a hitherto unoared sea. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - -_Underscores_ added around text that was italicized in the original. - -Page 157, “robs his fellowman” changed to “robs his _fellow man_.” - -Page 173, “cannot dry them alway” changed to “cannot dry them _away_.” - -Page 180, “does more tnan offer” changed to “does more _than_ offer.” - -Other oddities have been retained from the original printing, as it -isn’t obvious what the author intended. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNFINISHED RAINBOWS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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