Go where thou wilt, His heart shalt find thee out;Be thou in quest of wealth, or power, or fame.Above life’s tumult shall He call thy name;His care shall compass thee with grief about;And thou shalt know Him in thine hours of doubt,When faith shall pierce thy darkness like a flame,O dull of sense to Time’s imperious claim,His love shall prove thy rainfall after drought!For He shall come in many a blinding showerTo dye thy sick leaves to a healthier hue,Till the scant years of youth’s once ample dowerRequicken with late fruitage rare to view;Yea, He must shape thee by thine own heart’s power,And fashion all this ruined life anew.
Go where thou wilt, His heart shalt find thee out;Be thou in quest of wealth, or power, or fame.Above life’s tumult shall He call thy name;His care shall compass thee with grief about;And thou shalt know Him in thine hours of doubt,When faith shall pierce thy darkness like a flame,O dull of sense to Time’s imperious claim,His love shall prove thy rainfall after drought!For He shall come in many a blinding showerTo dye thy sick leaves to a healthier hue,Till the scant years of youth’s once ample dowerRequicken with late fruitage rare to view;Yea, He must shape thee by thine own heart’s power,And fashion all this ruined life anew.
Go where thou wilt, His heart shalt find thee out;Be thou in quest of wealth, or power, or fame.Above life’s tumult shall He call thy name;His care shall compass thee with grief about;And thou shalt know Him in thine hours of doubt,When faith shall pierce thy darkness like a flame,O dull of sense to Time’s imperious claim,His love shall prove thy rainfall after drought!
Go where thou wilt, His heart shalt find thee out;
Be thou in quest of wealth, or power, or fame.
Above life’s tumult shall He call thy name;
His care shall compass thee with grief about;
And thou shalt know Him in thine hours of doubt,
When faith shall pierce thy darkness like a flame,
O dull of sense to Time’s imperious claim,
His love shall prove thy rainfall after drought!
For He shall come in many a blinding showerTo dye thy sick leaves to a healthier hue,Till the scant years of youth’s once ample dowerRequicken with late fruitage rare to view;Yea, He must shape thee by thine own heart’s power,And fashion all this ruined life anew.
For He shall come in many a blinding shower
To dye thy sick leaves to a healthier hue,
Till the scant years of youth’s once ample dower
Requicken with late fruitage rare to view;
Yea, He must shape thee by thine own heart’s power,
And fashion all this ruined life anew.
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CHRIST THE LAMB
The figure of a lamb slain dominates the whole aspect of the religion of redemption. Nature and grace seem to blend in harmonious echoes of this ideal presentation.
High up on the old German church of Werden is carved the image of a lamb, concerning which the villagers tell this story. Many years ago, a mason was at work on the portion of wall where now this figure stands, when the cord by which his plank seat was suspended snapt, and he was hurled down to what seemed instant death, for masses of rough stone lay thick on the ground below, the building being under repair. He arose unhurt, for there among the stone-heaps a little lamb had been nibbling at scanty tufts of herbage, and on this animal he had fallen safe and softly, while the lamb lay crusht to death. The man so strangely saved had the monument erected in grateful, lasting memory of his deliverance from a cruel death, and of the innocent creature to whom he owed it. (Text.)
High up on the old German church of Werden is carved the image of a lamb, concerning which the villagers tell this story. Many years ago, a mason was at work on the portion of wall where now this figure stands, when the cord by which his plank seat was suspended snapt, and he was hurled down to what seemed instant death, for masses of rough stone lay thick on the ground below, the building being under repair. He arose unhurt, for there among the stone-heaps a little lamb had been nibbling at scanty tufts of herbage, and on this animal he had fallen safe and softly, while the lamb lay crusht to death. The man so strangely saved had the monument erected in grateful, lasting memory of his deliverance from a cruel death, and of the innocent creature to whom he owed it. (Text.)
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CHRIST THE LEADER
Mrs. A. E. Hawkins sings of “The March of Life” in these lines:
Sometimes the order comes to “Forward march!”And falling into line my step I keepBeside my comrades, o’er the toilsome road,Nor think of rest or sleep.Then suddenly the order comes to “Halt!”And steadily I plant my feet and stand,I know not why or wherefore—I can trustThe Captain in command.*****But suddenly the bugle sounds, “To arms!”I gird my armor on, and join the fray,Following my Leader through the battle-smokeUntil we win the day.For well I know that, march and battle o’er,Will come the great Commander’s grand review,And then the lights of home, and the reunionOf loyal hearts and true.
Sometimes the order comes to “Forward march!”And falling into line my step I keepBeside my comrades, o’er the toilsome road,Nor think of rest or sleep.Then suddenly the order comes to “Halt!”And steadily I plant my feet and stand,I know not why or wherefore—I can trustThe Captain in command.*****But suddenly the bugle sounds, “To arms!”I gird my armor on, and join the fray,Following my Leader through the battle-smokeUntil we win the day.For well I know that, march and battle o’er,Will come the great Commander’s grand review,And then the lights of home, and the reunionOf loyal hearts and true.
Sometimes the order comes to “Forward march!”And falling into line my step I keepBeside my comrades, o’er the toilsome road,Nor think of rest or sleep.
Sometimes the order comes to “Forward march!”
And falling into line my step I keep
Beside my comrades, o’er the toilsome road,
Nor think of rest or sleep.
Then suddenly the order comes to “Halt!”And steadily I plant my feet and stand,I know not why or wherefore—I can trustThe Captain in command.
Then suddenly the order comes to “Halt!”
And steadily I plant my feet and stand,
I know not why or wherefore—I can trust
The Captain in command.
*****
*****
But suddenly the bugle sounds, “To arms!”I gird my armor on, and join the fray,Following my Leader through the battle-smokeUntil we win the day.
But suddenly the bugle sounds, “To arms!”
I gird my armor on, and join the fray,
Following my Leader through the battle-smoke
Until we win the day.
For well I know that, march and battle o’er,Will come the great Commander’s grand review,And then the lights of home, and the reunionOf loyal hearts and true.
For well I know that, march and battle o’er,
Will come the great Commander’s grand review,
And then the lights of home, and the reunion
Of loyal hearts and true.
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CHRIST THE LIGHT
In the life story of Helen Keller, a picture of the governess and her famous pupil is shown with the blind girl leaning her head on her teacher’s shoulder. This is a fair representation of the way in which life with its deeper and hidden meaning unfolded itself to the child. She drew so near to her teacher that her hand could touch eye, ear and lip. Before her teacher came to her, existence seemed like a dense fog and a great darkness, while her very soul cried out, Light, light! But when her education began, the way grew clearer and the truth plain as the “light of the teacher’s love shone upon her.”There are men who are spiritually blind. They are shipwrecked mariners at sea in a dense fog. They are without compass and have nothing stable from which they can take their bearings. But when Christ comes into their lives their heart-cry for light is answered. (Text.)
In the life story of Helen Keller, a picture of the governess and her famous pupil is shown with the blind girl leaning her head on her teacher’s shoulder. This is a fair representation of the way in which life with its deeper and hidden meaning unfolded itself to the child. She drew so near to her teacher that her hand could touch eye, ear and lip. Before her teacher came to her, existence seemed like a dense fog and a great darkness, while her very soul cried out, Light, light! But when her education began, the way grew clearer and the truth plain as the “light of the teacher’s love shone upon her.”
There are men who are spiritually blind. They are shipwrecked mariners at sea in a dense fog. They are without compass and have nothing stable from which they can take their bearings. But when Christ comes into their lives their heart-cry for light is answered. (Text.)
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CHRIST, THE REJECTED
At the exhibition of the Royal Academy, in London, the great canvas by Sigismund Goetze, entitled “Despised and Rejected of Men,” has created an artistic sensation. It is declared to be a “powerful and terribly realistic presentment of Christ” in a modern setting, and is described by a writer inThe Christian Commonwealth(London), as follows:
In the center of the canvas is the Christ, standing on a pedestal, bound with ropes, while on either side passes the heedless crowd. A prominent figure is a richly vested priest, proudly conscious of the perfection of the ritual with which he is starving his higher life. Over the shoulder of the priest looks a stern-faced divine of a very different type. Bible in hand, he turns to look at the divine figure, but the onlooker is conscious that this stern preacher of the letter of the gospel has missed its spirit, and is as far astray as the priest whose ceremonial is to him anathema. The startled look on the face of the hospital nurse in the foreground isvery realistic; so is the absorption of the man of science, so intent on the contents of his test-tube that he had not a glance for the Christ at his side. One of the most striking figures is that of the thoughtless beauty hurrying from one scene of pleasure to another; and spurning the sweet-faced little ragged child who is offering a bunch of violets. In rejecting the plea of the child we know that the proud woman is rejecting the Christ who has identified himself forever with the least of these little ones. The only person in the whole picture who has found time to pause is the mother seated on the steps of the pedestal with her baby in her arms, and we can not but feel that when she has ministered to the wants of her child she will spare a moment for the lover of little children who is so close to her. In the background stands an angel with bowed head, holding the cup which the world He loved to the death is still compelling the Christ to drink, while a cloud of angel faces look down upon the scene with wonder. As the visitor turns away he is haunted with the music of Stainer’s “Crucifixion,” “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?” (Text.)
In the center of the canvas is the Christ, standing on a pedestal, bound with ropes, while on either side passes the heedless crowd. A prominent figure is a richly vested priest, proudly conscious of the perfection of the ritual with which he is starving his higher life. Over the shoulder of the priest looks a stern-faced divine of a very different type. Bible in hand, he turns to look at the divine figure, but the onlooker is conscious that this stern preacher of the letter of the gospel has missed its spirit, and is as far astray as the priest whose ceremonial is to him anathema. The startled look on the face of the hospital nurse in the foreground isvery realistic; so is the absorption of the man of science, so intent on the contents of his test-tube that he had not a glance for the Christ at his side. One of the most striking figures is that of the thoughtless beauty hurrying from one scene of pleasure to another; and spurning the sweet-faced little ragged child who is offering a bunch of violets. In rejecting the plea of the child we know that the proud woman is rejecting the Christ who has identified himself forever with the least of these little ones. The only person in the whole picture who has found time to pause is the mother seated on the steps of the pedestal with her baby in her arms, and we can not but feel that when she has ministered to the wants of her child she will spare a moment for the lover of little children who is so close to her. In the background stands an angel with bowed head, holding the cup which the world He loved to the death is still compelling the Christ to drink, while a cloud of angel faces look down upon the scene with wonder. As the visitor turns away he is haunted with the music of Stainer’s “Crucifixion,” “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?” (Text.)
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CHRIST, THE SEARCHING
A pastor tells of a talk he once had with an artist over the unsatisfactoriness of the pictured faces of Christ. In reply, the artist took up a crayon and rapidly sketched the picture of a woman with a broom in one hand and a lighted candle in the other, and a look of intense anxiety on her face.“It is a fine representation of the woman seeking for the lost bit of silver,” said the pastor.“You do not understand my picture,” was the quick response. “That is my conception of the Christ.”Ah, what a conception! A searching Christ! Seeking in dark, dusty corners for His own!—Sophie B. Titterington.
A pastor tells of a talk he once had with an artist over the unsatisfactoriness of the pictured faces of Christ. In reply, the artist took up a crayon and rapidly sketched the picture of a woman with a broom in one hand and a lighted candle in the other, and a look of intense anxiety on her face.
“It is a fine representation of the woman seeking for the lost bit of silver,” said the pastor.
“You do not understand my picture,” was the quick response. “That is my conception of the Christ.”
Ah, what a conception! A searching Christ! Seeking in dark, dusty corners for His own!—Sophie B. Titterington.
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Christ Transforming—SeeChanges Wrought by Christ.
CHRIST UNAVOIDABLE
A learned native of Saxony all his life long has attacked Jesus and His gospel. But in his old days he doubted if he had been right, and yet fought against his doubts and against Christ. Often he would stop before a picture of Jesus, and say, “After all, thou wast only a man!” Then, “What dost thou say? that thou camest from above? How terribly thou eyest me! oh, thou art dreadful! But thou art only a man, after all.” He would go away, then with faltering step return and cry out, “What! art thou in reality the Son of God?” That scene was often renewed until the unhappy man, struck by paralysis, died. (Text.)
A learned native of Saxony all his life long has attacked Jesus and His gospel. But in his old days he doubted if he had been right, and yet fought against his doubts and against Christ. Often he would stop before a picture of Jesus, and say, “After all, thou wast only a man!” Then, “What dost thou say? that thou camest from above? How terribly thou eyest me! oh, thou art dreadful! But thou art only a man, after all.” He would go away, then with faltering step return and cry out, “What! art thou in reality the Son of God?” That scene was often renewed until the unhappy man, struck by paralysis, died. (Text.)
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CHRIST, UNION WITH
Christ is necessary to the Christian, but is not the obverse true also. If both are bound up in the same life, can one be injured without suffering to the other? This is the lesson which a recent writer finds taught by the ivy:
Some of the creeping plants, it is said, such as the ivy, entwine themselves so intimately with the masonry to which they cling that it would be unsafe to try to remove them—the building would be injured by their being torn away. And so our Lord Christ, with reverence, be it said, can not endure the loss of one of His members: He would be injured, mutilated, by only one of them being taken away, so close is the union between Him and them. (Text.)
Some of the creeping plants, it is said, such as the ivy, entwine themselves so intimately with the masonry to which they cling that it would be unsafe to try to remove them—the building would be injured by their being torn away. And so our Lord Christ, with reverence, be it said, can not endure the loss of one of His members: He would be injured, mutilated, by only one of them being taken away, so close is the union between Him and them. (Text.)
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CHRIST’S EFFECT ON BARABBAS
A picture that may not be all imaginary is given by Margaret Ashmun in this poem fromThe New England Magazine:
And they released Barabbas, and he wentForth from his dungeon, joying in the graceOf life regained; yet, as he passed, a faceShone out from the dim corridor, and bentIts gaze upon him; questioning, intent.He knew that brow where anguish had its place,Those lips prophetic, sealed now for a space,Those eyes, deep-welled with awful, still content.The robber paused to marvel at the ManWhose death should serve for his; nor spoke aloudThe foul jest in his throat. He stayed to scanOnce more that visage calm; then, trembling, bowedWith fear and harsh soul-harrowing grief, he ranAnd hid himself, sick-hearted, in the crowd.
And they released Barabbas, and he wentForth from his dungeon, joying in the graceOf life regained; yet, as he passed, a faceShone out from the dim corridor, and bentIts gaze upon him; questioning, intent.He knew that brow where anguish had its place,Those lips prophetic, sealed now for a space,Those eyes, deep-welled with awful, still content.The robber paused to marvel at the ManWhose death should serve for his; nor spoke aloudThe foul jest in his throat. He stayed to scanOnce more that visage calm; then, trembling, bowedWith fear and harsh soul-harrowing grief, he ranAnd hid himself, sick-hearted, in the crowd.
And they released Barabbas, and he wentForth from his dungeon, joying in the graceOf life regained; yet, as he passed, a faceShone out from the dim corridor, and bentIts gaze upon him; questioning, intent.He knew that brow where anguish had its place,Those lips prophetic, sealed now for a space,Those eyes, deep-welled with awful, still content.The robber paused to marvel at the ManWhose death should serve for his; nor spoke aloudThe foul jest in his throat. He stayed to scanOnce more that visage calm; then, trembling, bowedWith fear and harsh soul-harrowing grief, he ranAnd hid himself, sick-hearted, in the crowd.
And they released Barabbas, and he went
Forth from his dungeon, joying in the grace
Of life regained; yet, as he passed, a face
Shone out from the dim corridor, and bent
Its gaze upon him; questioning, intent.
He knew that brow where anguish had its place,
Those lips prophetic, sealed now for a space,
Those eyes, deep-welled with awful, still content.
The robber paused to marvel at the Man
Whose death should serve for his; nor spoke aloud
The foul jest in his throat. He stayed to scan
Once more that visage calm; then, trembling, bowed
With fear and harsh soul-harrowing grief, he ran
And hid himself, sick-hearted, in the crowd.
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CHRIST’S FACE
The hymn beginning:
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousnessMy beauty are, my glorious dress:’Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,With joy shall I lift up my head,
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousnessMy beauty are, my glorious dress:’Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,With joy shall I lift up my head,
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousnessMy beauty are, my glorious dress:’Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,With joy shall I lift up my head,
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress:
’Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head,
was written by Zinzendorf, whose culture and piety appear so conspicuously in the more than two thousand hymns which came from his pen. It was suggested by a picture in the Düseldorf Gallery, “Ecce Homo,” representing Jesus crowned with thorns. From the pathetic face above he turned to the legend beneath: “All this I have done for thee; what hast thou for me?” The vision and the question led him to adopt for his life motto: “I have but one passion, and that is He, and only He.” (Text.)
was written by Zinzendorf, whose culture and piety appear so conspicuously in the more than two thousand hymns which came from his pen. It was suggested by a picture in the Düseldorf Gallery, “Ecce Homo,” representing Jesus crowned with thorns. From the pathetic face above he turned to the legend beneath: “All this I have done for thee; what hast thou for me?” The vision and the question led him to adopt for his life motto: “I have but one passion, and that is He, and only He.” (Text.)
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Christ’s Fulness—SeeFulness, Christ’s.
CHRIST’S LOVE
Cyrus, the Persian, loved Lysander, one of his great generals, so much that, it is said, he exprest his readiness to melt down his throne of massive gold and give it to him.
Cyrus, the Persian, loved Lysander, one of his great generals, so much that, it is said, he exprest his readiness to melt down his throne of massive gold and give it to him.
But Christ, our King, left His throne for the love of the humblest soul. (Text.)
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Christian Currents—SeeCurrents of Life.
Christian Experience—SeeParadox.
CHRISTIAN FULNESS
A Christian is an unfailing spiritual Niagara, not a cow-track pool to be drunk dry by a thirsty sunbeam.—F. F. Shannon.
A Christian is an unfailing spiritual Niagara, not a cow-track pool to be drunk dry by a thirsty sunbeam.—F. F. Shannon.
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CHRISTIAN HONESTY
A Chinese Christian ferryman, poor in money but rich in faith, one night ferried a man over the river. After throwing the cash for his fare into the bottom of the boat, the passenger departed hurriedly. The Christian went to pick up the money and found a magnificent pair of gold bracelets which the man had dropt. He tied up his boat and tried to find his passenger, but he was lost in the crowd. According to the Chinese law, he could keep the bracelets, but he did not feel comfortable in doing this. He went to the preacher and together they took the bracelets to the mandarin, and later it was found that a wealthy Chinese had been robbed and the man who dropt the bracelets was a thief. The owner received them very thankfully and gave the mandarin a small reward for the finder. The incident imprest the official very much. “I have never seen or heard anything like this,” he said. “Your religion must be a true religion and your God a loving God, thus to influence a poor man to give up wealth for conscience sake.” He praised the boatman, who went to his poor, damp, mud hut on the bank of the river with a contented mind.
A Chinese Christian ferryman, poor in money but rich in faith, one night ferried a man over the river. After throwing the cash for his fare into the bottom of the boat, the passenger departed hurriedly. The Christian went to pick up the money and found a magnificent pair of gold bracelets which the man had dropt. He tied up his boat and tried to find his passenger, but he was lost in the crowd. According to the Chinese law, he could keep the bracelets, but he did not feel comfortable in doing this. He went to the preacher and together they took the bracelets to the mandarin, and later it was found that a wealthy Chinese had been robbed and the man who dropt the bracelets was a thief. The owner received them very thankfully and gave the mandarin a small reward for the finder. The incident imprest the official very much. “I have never seen or heard anything like this,” he said. “Your religion must be a true religion and your God a loving God, thus to influence a poor man to give up wealth for conscience sake.” He praised the boatman, who went to his poor, damp, mud hut on the bank of the river with a contented mind.
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CHRISTIAN SPIRIT, THE
The King of Italy displayed a truly royal spirit when he went to the earthquake region at Messina and Reggio, and personally assisted the sufferers. An account in the press says of this:
The King has made himself dear to all his subjects, especially to those in the earthquake zone, by his prompt and personal aid in times of disaster. This makes plausible a story told by his companions to-day, who say that as the royal pair and the crowd surrounding them made their way through the ruins a man pinned under a great block of stone and supposed to be dead raised his head, repeated the cries of acclaim and dropt back dead. (Text.)
The King has made himself dear to all his subjects, especially to those in the earthquake zone, by his prompt and personal aid in times of disaster. This makes plausible a story told by his companions to-day, who say that as the royal pair and the crowd surrounding them made their way through the ruins a man pinned under a great block of stone and supposed to be dead raised his head, repeated the cries of acclaim and dropt back dead. (Text.)
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Christian, The, and Christ—SeeChrist, Union with.
Christian Travelers in Foreign Lands—SeeSunday Desecration by Christians.
CHRISTIAN UNITY
The Rev. John Fawcett, D.D., wrote the hymn, “Blest be the tie that binds”—perhaps the noblest hymnic expression of Christian brotherhood; and the author is himself one of the best examples of its sentiment. Brought to God by the Methodists, under the ministry of Whitefield, he joined that body, and became later pastor of a Baptist church in Bradford, England, and finally was settled at Wainsgate. Receiving a call to succeed the celebrated Dr. Gill in London, he had his goods packed ready for removal, when his loving people gathered, weeping, to say farewell, which so touched him and his good wife that he said, “I will stay; you may unpack my goods, and we will live for the Lord lovingly together.” This experience, it was, which led the author to compose the now popular hymn. (Text.)
The Rev. John Fawcett, D.D., wrote the hymn, “Blest be the tie that binds”—perhaps the noblest hymnic expression of Christian brotherhood; and the author is himself one of the best examples of its sentiment. Brought to God by the Methodists, under the ministry of Whitefield, he joined that body, and became later pastor of a Baptist church in Bradford, England, and finally was settled at Wainsgate. Receiving a call to succeed the celebrated Dr. Gill in London, he had his goods packed ready for removal, when his loving people gathered, weeping, to say farewell, which so touched him and his good wife that he said, “I will stay; you may unpack my goods, and we will live for the Lord lovingly together.” This experience, it was, which led the author to compose the now popular hymn. (Text.)
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CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION
In Livingstonia, an industrial mission in Africa, an engineering feat was accomplished in bringing a supply of pure water a distance of three miles across a valley 300 feet deep. The natives did not believe the water could possibly travel. They thought the Europeans were deceiving them when they talked of water running down one hill and up another. The two or three preliminary tests did not succeed, and this increased the natives’ incredulity. But one afternoon in January, 1904, a nozzle was screwed on to a hydrant, and the engineering staff awaited results with certainty. The screw was turned and, true enough, the water had climbed over the hill, for a jet of it rose in the air amid cheers. Think of the enormous benefit Christian civilization is in the dark places of the earth. (Text.)
In Livingstonia, an industrial mission in Africa, an engineering feat was accomplished in bringing a supply of pure water a distance of three miles across a valley 300 feet deep. The natives did not believe the water could possibly travel. They thought the Europeans were deceiving them when they talked of water running down one hill and up another. The two or three preliminary tests did not succeed, and this increased the natives’ incredulity. But one afternoon in January, 1904, a nozzle was screwed on to a hydrant, and the engineering staff awaited results with certainty. The screw was turned and, true enough, the water had climbed over the hill, for a jet of it rose in the air amid cheers. Think of the enormous benefit Christian civilization is in the dark places of the earth. (Text.)
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Christianity and Survival—SeeSocial Strength.
CHRISTIANITY AS A CIVILIZER
James Chalmers, the martyred missionary of New Guinea, said:
I have had twenty-one years’ experience among the South Sea Islanders, and for at least nine years of my life I have lived with the savages of New Guinea. I have seen the semi-civilized and the uncivilized; I have lived with the Christian native, and I have lived, dined and slept with the cannibal. But I have never yet met a single man or woman, or a single people, that your civilization without Christianity has civilized. Wherever there has been the slightest spark of civilized life in the Southern Seas, it has been because the gospel has been preached there; and wherever you find in the island of New Guinea a friendly people, or a people that will welcome you, there the missionaries of the cross have been preaching Christ. (Text.)—Missionary Review of the World.
I have had twenty-one years’ experience among the South Sea Islanders, and for at least nine years of my life I have lived with the savages of New Guinea. I have seen the semi-civilized and the uncivilized; I have lived with the Christian native, and I have lived, dined and slept with the cannibal. But I have never yet met a single man or woman, or a single people, that your civilization without Christianity has civilized. Wherever there has been the slightest spark of civilized life in the Southern Seas, it has been because the gospel has been preached there; and wherever you find in the island of New Guinea a friendly people, or a people that will welcome you, there the missionaries of the cross have been preaching Christ. (Text.)—Missionary Review of the World.
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CHRISTIANITY, CRITICISM OF
There is a humorous poem by John Godfrey Saxe about the four blind Hindus who went to see an elephant. They could not see the elephant, but they told what they had seen. One happened to lean against the elephant and declared it was much like a wall. Another got hold of his tail and described him as being like a rope. Another got his trunk and said he was like a serpent, and the fourth ran against his tusk and said he was shaped very much like a spear. The fact is that they had not seen the elephant at all.
There is a humorous poem by John Godfrey Saxe about the four blind Hindus who went to see an elephant. They could not see the elephant, but they told what they had seen. One happened to lean against the elephant and declared it was much like a wall. Another got hold of his tail and described him as being like a rope. Another got his trunk and said he was like a serpent, and the fourth ran against his tusk and said he was shaped very much like a spear. The fact is that they had not seen the elephant at all.
So there are objectors who have never seen Christianity at all. They have seen mere fragments. Their criticism is correspondingly worthless.
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CHRISTIANITY, EARLY INFLUENCE OF
Let the temperature of a lake fall to the freezing-point; apply a piece of ice to it and see the radiating lines of crystallization shoot singing from that center of force in all directions, while other rays start from their thousand nodes of maximum intensity, until the whole surface of the water becomes a solid sheet of ice. Just so the Roman empires, east and west, were subjected to a superficial crystallization of Christianity started in Judea by Jesus Christ.—J. P. Lesley,The Forum.
Let the temperature of a lake fall to the freezing-point; apply a piece of ice to it and see the radiating lines of crystallization shoot singing from that center of force in all directions, while other rays start from their thousand nodes of maximum intensity, until the whole surface of the water becomes a solid sheet of ice. Just so the Roman empires, east and west, were subjected to a superficial crystallization of Christianity started in Judea by Jesus Christ.—J. P. Lesley,The Forum.
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CHRISTIANITY, EFFECT OF
The thoroughgoing effect of the Christian religion upon a black chief of Africa is seen in the following account:
When, after many provocations, the crisis came, and notwithstanding oft-repeated warnings, there was drunken violence and uproar, the good Khama wore a stern face which always meant fixt purpose. He went and saw with his own eyes how his laws were trampled on, and then he said: “You despise my laws because I am a black man. Well, if I am black, I am chief of my own country, and I rule here and shall maintain my laws. Go back to your own country. Take all that is yours, and go. If there is any other white man who does not like my laws, let him go, too. I am trying to lead my people to act according to the Word of God, which we have received from you white people, and you, white people, show them an example of wickedness such as we never knew. You know that some of my own brothers have learned to like the drink, and that I do not want them even to see it that they may forget the habit; and yet you not only bring it and offer it to them, but try to tempt me with it. I make an end of it to-day. Go, leave my town, and never come back!”—Pierson, “The Miracles of Missions.”
When, after many provocations, the crisis came, and notwithstanding oft-repeated warnings, there was drunken violence and uproar, the good Khama wore a stern face which always meant fixt purpose. He went and saw with his own eyes how his laws were trampled on, and then he said: “You despise my laws because I am a black man. Well, if I am black, I am chief of my own country, and I rule here and shall maintain my laws. Go back to your own country. Take all that is yours, and go. If there is any other white man who does not like my laws, let him go, too. I am trying to lead my people to act according to the Word of God, which we have received from you white people, and you, white people, show them an example of wickedness such as we never knew. You know that some of my own brothers have learned to like the drink, and that I do not want them even to see it that they may forget the habit; and yet you not only bring it and offer it to them, but try to tempt me with it. I make an end of it to-day. Go, leave my town, and never come back!”—Pierson, “The Miracles of Missions.”
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Christianity in the Home—SeeFamily Religion.
CHRISTIANITY INVINCIBLE
In a sawmill in Canada, while the head sawyer was eating his dinner, a big bear came and sat on the log ready for sawing, and began to eat the sawyer’s dinner. As the log moved up the saw gave him a slight rub; he growled and went on eating. Presently the saw gave him another dig and he turned round and hugged it, and there was a bear sawed in two.
In a sawmill in Canada, while the head sawyer was eating his dinner, a big bear came and sat on the log ready for sawing, and began to eat the sawyer’s dinner. As the log moved up the saw gave him a slight rub; he growled and went on eating. Presently the saw gave him another dig and he turned round and hugged it, and there was a bear sawed in two.
This reminds us of the enemies of Christ trying to stop the work He came to do. He uttered truths which cut them, but they continued in their opposition. They have gone to their own place, but the gracious work of Christ continues. (Text.)
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Christianity, Moral—SeeMoral Satisfaction.
CHRISTIANITY, PRACTICAL PROOF OF
An unbeliever confronted a converted Fiji cannibal chief, saying, “You are a great chief, and it is really a pity that you have been so foolish as to listen to the missionaries. Nobody believes any longer in that old book called the Bible, or in that story of Jesus Christ. They have all learned better, and I am sorry for you that you have been So foolish as to take it in.”The chief’s eyes flashed as he said: “Do you see that great stone over there? On that stone we smashed the heads of our victims to death. Do you see that native oven yonder? In that oven we roasted the human bodies for our great feasts. Now, if it hadn’t been for the good missionaries, and that old book and the love of Jesus Christ, which has changed us from savages into God’s children, you would never leave this spot. You have to thank God for the gospel, for without it we should have killed you, and roasted you in yonder oven, and have feasted upon you in no time.”
An unbeliever confronted a converted Fiji cannibal chief, saying, “You are a great chief, and it is really a pity that you have been so foolish as to listen to the missionaries. Nobody believes any longer in that old book called the Bible, or in that story of Jesus Christ. They have all learned better, and I am sorry for you that you have been So foolish as to take it in.”
The chief’s eyes flashed as he said: “Do you see that great stone over there? On that stone we smashed the heads of our victims to death. Do you see that native oven yonder? In that oven we roasted the human bodies for our great feasts. Now, if it hadn’t been for the good missionaries, and that old book and the love of Jesus Christ, which has changed us from savages into God’s children, you would never leave this spot. You have to thank God for the gospel, for without it we should have killed you, and roasted you in yonder oven, and have feasted upon you in no time.”
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Christianity, Reasonable—SeeReasonable Religion.
CHRISTIANITY SHAMED
Vessels from Christian lands that touched at the Hawaiian group first introduced there the damnable liquid fires of alcohol, and their licentious crews first made the harbors of Hawaii the hells of the most abandoned and shameless vice. Sin was literally bringing forth death.—Pierson, “The Miracles of Missions.”
Vessels from Christian lands that touched at the Hawaiian group first introduced there the damnable liquid fires of alcohol, and their licentious crews first made the harbors of Hawaii the hells of the most abandoned and shameless vice. Sin was literally bringing forth death.—Pierson, “The Miracles of Missions.”
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CHRISTIANITY, SOCIAL
Civilized man must often go a great distance for many of the things he needs. His wants are too diversified to be met within the small radius of his immediate dwelling-place. As heat and sunshine are unequally distributed over the earth, they produce differences of climate and consequently many varieties of vegetation. There is wheat in the temperate zones, cotton and rubber-plants of warmer regions. Some sections are also far poorer in useful rocks and minerals than others. Thus Holland has no building stone. Switzerland no coal and the United States much less sulfur than it needs. There must be a constant interchange of productions that each nation have its needs supplied.Paul tells us that each man is the recipient of spiritual gifts differing in kind and degree from that of another. But it is all of the same spirit and all are members of one body. The Christianity of the future will be a brotherhood; it will be social. (Text.)
Civilized man must often go a great distance for many of the things he needs. His wants are too diversified to be met within the small radius of his immediate dwelling-place. As heat and sunshine are unequally distributed over the earth, they produce differences of climate and consequently many varieties of vegetation. There is wheat in the temperate zones, cotton and rubber-plants of warmer regions. Some sections are also far poorer in useful rocks and minerals than others. Thus Holland has no building stone. Switzerland no coal and the United States much less sulfur than it needs. There must be a constant interchange of productions that each nation have its needs supplied.
Paul tells us that each man is the recipient of spiritual gifts differing in kind and degree from that of another. But it is all of the same spirit and all are members of one body. The Christianity of the future will be a brotherhood; it will be social. (Text.)
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CHRISTIANITY SUCCEEDING BARBARISM
Geologists say that the Bay of Naples is in reality the crater of an extinct volcano. In the cycles of ages past it was a great, deep, roaring pit of fire and burning lava. The fires subsided and the lava ceased to flow. The great sea overflowed it and now the calm waters smile back in sunshine by day and in starlight at evening. Christianity is a great calm sea that is gradually quenching and covering the old volcanoes and roaring pits of barbarism. (Text.)
Geologists say that the Bay of Naples is in reality the crater of an extinct volcano. In the cycles of ages past it was a great, deep, roaring pit of fire and burning lava. The fires subsided and the lava ceased to flow. The great sea overflowed it and now the calm waters smile back in sunshine by day and in starlight at evening. Christianity is a great calm sea that is gradually quenching and covering the old volcanoes and roaring pits of barbarism. (Text.)
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CHRISTIANITY, SUCCESS OF
Admiral Prevost gives this picture of the change wrought in the British Columbia tribes by the Metlakahtla Mission:
Peter Simpson had been chief of a cannibal tribe. Canoes were all drawn up on the beach on the Lord’s day, and not a sound was heard, save the hurrying of the whole population to the house of prayer. The admiral watched the incoming of throngs—here a notorious gambler, there a reclaimed drunkard, a lecherous leper, a defiant thief,a widow snatched from the jaws of infamy, a murderer who had first slain and then burned his own wife—all converts to Christ and children of God.—Pierson, “The Miracles of Missions.”
Peter Simpson had been chief of a cannibal tribe. Canoes were all drawn up on the beach on the Lord’s day, and not a sound was heard, save the hurrying of the whole population to the house of prayer. The admiral watched the incoming of throngs—here a notorious gambler, there a reclaimed drunkard, a lecherous leper, a defiant thief,a widow snatched from the jaws of infamy, a murderer who had first slain and then burned his own wife—all converts to Christ and children of God.—Pierson, “The Miracles of Missions.”
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Christianity, Successful—SeeChurch, Success of.
CHRISTIANITY SUPERIOR
Every strong man wants to know what his opponent can say. He covets criticism, asks for investigation, welcomes analysis and contrast. Christianity has won its greatest victory through comparative religion. If you can only get the man with an ox-cart to put his vehicle beside the new locomotive; if you can only get the tallow candle and the gas flame into contrast with the electric light; if you can only get Buddha and Confucius side by side with Jesus—that is all that can be asked. The stickler for a little fire and a tallow candle will have nothing to say after you open the curtain and let the sunshine in.—N. D. Hillis.
Every strong man wants to know what his opponent can say. He covets criticism, asks for investigation, welcomes analysis and contrast. Christianity has won its greatest victory through comparative religion. If you can only get the man with an ox-cart to put his vehicle beside the new locomotive; if you can only get the tallow candle and the gas flame into contrast with the electric light; if you can only get Buddha and Confucius side by side with Jesus—that is all that can be asked. The stickler for a little fire and a tallow candle will have nothing to say after you open the curtain and let the sunshine in.—N. D. Hillis.
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Christianity Traversing Heathenism—SeeOpportunity in the Orient.
Christianity Vindicated—SeeTriumph of Christianity.
Christians, Dyspeptic—SeeFood and Exercise.
CHRISTMAS
What angels sang on that first Christmas morn,“Good will to men,” “The Prince of Peace is born,”Breaks once again in benediction clear,Sure song of God, the climax of the year.Round, round the earth the blessed measures run,Strife sheathes the sword, a thousand think as one,Babes leap for joy, December hearts aglowBurn with the hopes they burned with long ago.Strain urges strain, benevolence is sped,Dives relents and Lazarus is fed.Mirth makes a laugh where sorrow made a sigh,Heart wakes to heart—the Seraphim are nigh.“Good will and peace,” the song is on the air,“Good will and peace,” I hear it everywhere—“Peace on the earth,” in purposes divine,“Good will to men”—and a good will to mine.Oh, friend unseen, no gift is in my power;Gold would be dross in this triumphant hour.Take, then, the strain the angels sing to me,“Good will and peace,” I send it all to thee.—L. O. Williams.
What angels sang on that first Christmas morn,“Good will to men,” “The Prince of Peace is born,”Breaks once again in benediction clear,Sure song of God, the climax of the year.Round, round the earth the blessed measures run,Strife sheathes the sword, a thousand think as one,Babes leap for joy, December hearts aglowBurn with the hopes they burned with long ago.Strain urges strain, benevolence is sped,Dives relents and Lazarus is fed.Mirth makes a laugh where sorrow made a sigh,Heart wakes to heart—the Seraphim are nigh.“Good will and peace,” the song is on the air,“Good will and peace,” I hear it everywhere—“Peace on the earth,” in purposes divine,“Good will to men”—and a good will to mine.Oh, friend unseen, no gift is in my power;Gold would be dross in this triumphant hour.Take, then, the strain the angels sing to me,“Good will and peace,” I send it all to thee.—L. O. Williams.
What angels sang on that first Christmas morn,“Good will to men,” “The Prince of Peace is born,”Breaks once again in benediction clear,Sure song of God, the climax of the year.
What angels sang on that first Christmas morn,
“Good will to men,” “The Prince of Peace is born,”
Breaks once again in benediction clear,
Sure song of God, the climax of the year.
Round, round the earth the blessed measures run,Strife sheathes the sword, a thousand think as one,Babes leap for joy, December hearts aglowBurn with the hopes they burned with long ago.
Round, round the earth the blessed measures run,
Strife sheathes the sword, a thousand think as one,
Babes leap for joy, December hearts aglow
Burn with the hopes they burned with long ago.
Strain urges strain, benevolence is sped,Dives relents and Lazarus is fed.Mirth makes a laugh where sorrow made a sigh,Heart wakes to heart—the Seraphim are nigh.
Strain urges strain, benevolence is sped,
Dives relents and Lazarus is fed.
Mirth makes a laugh where sorrow made a sigh,
Heart wakes to heart—the Seraphim are nigh.
“Good will and peace,” the song is on the air,“Good will and peace,” I hear it everywhere—“Peace on the earth,” in purposes divine,“Good will to men”—and a good will to mine.
“Good will and peace,” the song is on the air,
“Good will and peace,” I hear it everywhere—
“Peace on the earth,” in purposes divine,
“Good will to men”—and a good will to mine.
Oh, friend unseen, no gift is in my power;Gold would be dross in this triumphant hour.Take, then, the strain the angels sing to me,“Good will and peace,” I send it all to thee.—L. O. Williams.
Oh, friend unseen, no gift is in my power;
Gold would be dross in this triumphant hour.
Take, then, the strain the angels sing to me,
“Good will and peace,” I send it all to thee.
—L. O. Williams.
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Scattered snow along the hillside, white as springtime fleeces are,With the whiter wings above them and the glory-streaming star—Guiding-star across the housetops; never fear the shepherd’s feltTill they found the Babe in manger, where the kindly cattle knelt.Oh, the shepherds in Judea!—Do you think the shepherds knowHow the whole round earth is brightenedIn the ruddy Christmas glow?How the sighs are lost in laughter, and the laughter brings the tears,As the thoughts of men go seeking back across the darkling years,Till they find the wayside stable that the star-led wise men found,With the shepherds, mute, adoring, and the glory shining round!—Mary Austin.
Scattered snow along the hillside, white as springtime fleeces are,With the whiter wings above them and the glory-streaming star—Guiding-star across the housetops; never fear the shepherd’s feltTill they found the Babe in manger, where the kindly cattle knelt.Oh, the shepherds in Judea!—Do you think the shepherds knowHow the whole round earth is brightenedIn the ruddy Christmas glow?How the sighs are lost in laughter, and the laughter brings the tears,As the thoughts of men go seeking back across the darkling years,Till they find the wayside stable that the star-led wise men found,With the shepherds, mute, adoring, and the glory shining round!—Mary Austin.
Scattered snow along the hillside, white as springtime fleeces are,With the whiter wings above them and the glory-streaming star—Guiding-star across the housetops; never fear the shepherd’s feltTill they found the Babe in manger, where the kindly cattle knelt.
Scattered snow along the hillside, white as springtime fleeces are,
With the whiter wings above them and the glory-streaming star—
Guiding-star across the housetops; never fear the shepherd’s felt
Till they found the Babe in manger, where the kindly cattle knelt.
Oh, the shepherds in Judea!—Do you think the shepherds knowHow the whole round earth is brightenedIn the ruddy Christmas glow?
Oh, the shepherds in Judea!—
Do you think the shepherds know
How the whole round earth is brightened
In the ruddy Christmas glow?
How the sighs are lost in laughter, and the laughter brings the tears,As the thoughts of men go seeking back across the darkling years,Till they find the wayside stable that the star-led wise men found,With the shepherds, mute, adoring, and the glory shining round!—Mary Austin.
How the sighs are lost in laughter, and the laughter brings the tears,
As the thoughts of men go seeking back across the darkling years,
Till they find the wayside stable that the star-led wise men found,
With the shepherds, mute, adoring, and the glory shining round!
—Mary Austin.
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CHRISTMAS ABSURDLY OBSERVED
There is danger, unless a discriminating intelligence preside, of carrying otherwise proper observances to absurd lengths as shown in a recent occurrence in Rochester:
A unique Christmas party was given Christmas eve by Mrs. Louis E. Fuller, organist at Brick Church, at her home, No. 105 South Fitzhugh Street. The novel part of the affair was that it was given for Mrs. Fuller’s two pet cats, Limit and Sir Gobelin, and the five dinner guests were all cat-lovers, and each guest who came brought a gift for the two cats of their hostess. The presents were adapted to the amusement and decorative side of the cats’ lives. There were dainty ribbon collars with great satin bows,cunning little packages of catnip wrapt in tissue-paper and tied with ribbon, balls galore, tiny mechanical mice and teddy bears. The invitations were sent out in the name of the cats, and the place-cards were tiny cats, which served as souvenirs, being made of phosphorus and suitable for scratching matches. There was a Christmas tree, on which the gifts were hung.
A unique Christmas party was given Christmas eve by Mrs. Louis E. Fuller, organist at Brick Church, at her home, No. 105 South Fitzhugh Street. The novel part of the affair was that it was given for Mrs. Fuller’s two pet cats, Limit and Sir Gobelin, and the five dinner guests were all cat-lovers, and each guest who came brought a gift for the two cats of their hostess. The presents were adapted to the amusement and decorative side of the cats’ lives. There were dainty ribbon collars with great satin bows,cunning little packages of catnip wrapt in tissue-paper and tied with ribbon, balls galore, tiny mechanical mice and teddy bears. The invitations were sent out in the name of the cats, and the place-cards were tiny cats, which served as souvenirs, being made of phosphorus and suitable for scratching matches. There was a Christmas tree, on which the gifts were hung.
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CHRISTMAS STAR, THE
There once lived a family in the South whose rigid rule sent the children to bed at sundown and made them rise after daylight. One of the boys grew to the age of seven years before he ever saw the stars, and when he was carried out one dark night and caught his first glimpse of the glorious constellations, he exclaimed rapturously to his mother: “Look! Look! Did you ever see anything so beautiful?”
There once lived a family in the South whose rigid rule sent the children to bed at sundown and made them rise after daylight. One of the boys grew to the age of seven years before he ever saw the stars, and when he was carried out one dark night and caught his first glimpse of the glorious constellations, he exclaimed rapturously to his mother: “Look! Look! Did you ever see anything so beautiful?”
The return of Christmas brings into view the Star of Bethlehem. How many human eyes have never yet seen this Star!
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Church and Business Men—SeeBusiness Men in Church.
Church and Working Men—SeeChrist Approved.
Church Cheer—SeeSunshine in the Church.
CHURCH, DEADNESS OF THE
Perhaps nothing is more common than a profession of spiritual life with very feeble evidence of its existence.
A preacher visiting an infirmary, guided through the institution by a member of the medical staff, described various cases as the two passed along: “Anemic condition,” “creeping paralysis,” “nervous dyspepsia,” “locomotor ataxia,” etc. Having passed through all the wards, the minister said, “I have known a church with just such people in it. It took six hundred members a whole year to bring eleven souls to confess Christ. The prayer-meeting was affected by creeping paralysis and four-fifths of the men seemed to be suffering from locomotor ataxia of the soul.” The doctor replied, “And I one day remember seeing a very beautiful engine at an exhibition, but it was on a table, not on rails. It was only four feet long and about two feet high, and when I asked the man in charge what it was for he said it was not for use in any way, but was simply on exhibition. And,” added the doctor, “I have seen ministers and churches just like that.” (Text.)
A preacher visiting an infirmary, guided through the institution by a member of the medical staff, described various cases as the two passed along: “Anemic condition,” “creeping paralysis,” “nervous dyspepsia,” “locomotor ataxia,” etc. Having passed through all the wards, the minister said, “I have known a church with just such people in it. It took six hundred members a whole year to bring eleven souls to confess Christ. The prayer-meeting was affected by creeping paralysis and four-fifths of the men seemed to be suffering from locomotor ataxia of the soul.” The doctor replied, “And I one day remember seeing a very beautiful engine at an exhibition, but it was on a table, not on rails. It was only four feet long and about two feet high, and when I asked the man in charge what it was for he said it was not for use in any way, but was simply on exhibition. And,” added the doctor, “I have seen ministers and churches just like that.” (Text.)
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Church-going Enforced—SeeWorship, Enforced.
CHURCH, GUIDANCE FOR THE
There are no wrecks among the golden ships of the heavens, for a master hand keeps the movements of the fixt spheres in unison. An effort is being made to have unison among the movements of all ships at sea. The proposal is that the Eiffel tower be equipped with a wireless apparatus, powerful enough to send Hertzian waves completely round the world, that ships may not be wrecked by being confused as to the longitude. It is said that all ships in communication with Eiffel tower will harmonize in their movements. Noon and midnight will be indicated by a prearranged signal.The Church is a ship of state with its members as the crew. Each church is commanded to keep in constant and direct communication with the great Head of the Church, the high tower of righteousness. (Text.)
There are no wrecks among the golden ships of the heavens, for a master hand keeps the movements of the fixt spheres in unison. An effort is being made to have unison among the movements of all ships at sea. The proposal is that the Eiffel tower be equipped with a wireless apparatus, powerful enough to send Hertzian waves completely round the world, that ships may not be wrecked by being confused as to the longitude. It is said that all ships in communication with Eiffel tower will harmonize in their movements. Noon and midnight will be indicated by a prearranged signal.
The Church is a ship of state with its members as the crew. Each church is commanded to keep in constant and direct communication with the great Head of the Church, the high tower of righteousness. (Text.)
(434)Church Hospitality—SeeHospitality in Church.
CHURCH INDISPENSABLE
A man in his Gethsemane utters words that burn themselves into your memory in letters of fire. The personal experiences of one’s friends are sacred; sacred forever the events of the household, when grief and repentance lay healing hands like angels upon a broken life. But recently I saw with mine own eyes, and heard with mine own ears, and received a charge. The house was a mansion on an avenue, and the man was approaching threescore years and ten. Beside us was the coffin of his dead daughter. On the other side sat his chum, his closest friend. Suddenly the sorrowing man broke into speech, and this was the substance of his soliloquy: “There is nothing in these things. You and I have been living for a good time and success. We have gotten everything we could during the week. We have been good poker-players on Saturday night, we have spent our Sundays in the automobile anddriving, and in social pleasures. We have put the club and the bank first, and my son has disgraced me with his shameless marriage, and my daughter is dead. I tell you,” he said, using his friend’s name, “there is only one place in which to bring up a family, and that is the Christian Church. There is only one way to use Sunday for children, and that is to take them to church. What with money, and wine, and poker, and pleasure, all day Sunday, and parties all Sunday night, my family has been ruined. People don’t know what the result of this kind of living will be until the end comes, but I know.”—N. D. Hillis.
A man in his Gethsemane utters words that burn themselves into your memory in letters of fire. The personal experiences of one’s friends are sacred; sacred forever the events of the household, when grief and repentance lay healing hands like angels upon a broken life. But recently I saw with mine own eyes, and heard with mine own ears, and received a charge. The house was a mansion on an avenue, and the man was approaching threescore years and ten. Beside us was the coffin of his dead daughter. On the other side sat his chum, his closest friend. Suddenly the sorrowing man broke into speech, and this was the substance of his soliloquy: “There is nothing in these things. You and I have been living for a good time and success. We have gotten everything we could during the week. We have been good poker-players on Saturday night, we have spent our Sundays in the automobile anddriving, and in social pleasures. We have put the club and the bank first, and my son has disgraced me with his shameless marriage, and my daughter is dead. I tell you,” he said, using his friend’s name, “there is only one place in which to bring up a family, and that is the Christian Church. There is only one way to use Sunday for children, and that is to take them to church. What with money, and wine, and poker, and pleasure, all day Sunday, and parties all Sunday night, my family has been ruined. People don’t know what the result of this kind of living will be until the end comes, but I know.”—N. D. Hillis.
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CHURCH, JOINING THE
A physician meeting an evangelist said to him:
“I believe in religion as much as you do, and I accept Christ as my Savior, but I will never join any church.”“Doctor, you are pension examiner.” “Yes.” “How many applicants for pensions have you examined?” “I do not know, but hundreds.” “Doctor, how many of these received a pension who had never joined the army?” “Not one, not one. My wife and I will unite with the Presbyterian Church.”They did. This man, seventy odd years old, who had never been at church once, became a devout Christian and died in the faith. (Text.)
“I believe in religion as much as you do, and I accept Christ as my Savior, but I will never join any church.”
“Doctor, you are pension examiner.” “Yes.” “How many applicants for pensions have you examined?” “I do not know, but hundreds.” “Doctor, how many of these received a pension who had never joined the army?” “Not one, not one. My wife and I will unite with the Presbyterian Church.”
They did. This man, seventy odd years old, who had never been at church once, became a devout Christian and died in the faith. (Text.)
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CHURCH, LIGHT AND STRENGTH
Persia has well been called the land of “the Lion and the Sun.” The symbol of “the Lion and the Sun” originated in the days when the Zoroastrians were the inhabitants of the land. The sun, being the emblem of the fire-worshipers, was taken as their national badge. The lion was added later because Ali, the grandson of Mohammed, was called the “Lion of God.” The woman’s face in the sun was inserted some years later by one of the Persian kings as a tribute to his favorite wife.
Persia has well been called the land of “the Lion and the Sun.” The symbol of “the Lion and the Sun” originated in the days when the Zoroastrians were the inhabitants of the land. The sun, being the emblem of the fire-worshipers, was taken as their national badge. The lion was added later because Ali, the grandson of Mohammed, was called the “Lion of God.” The woman’s face in the sun was inserted some years later by one of the Persian kings as a tribute to his favorite wife.
What is the Church but the land of the Lion and the Sun, the Lion of Judah; the Sun of righteousness? What is its content but the bride of Christ?
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Church, Loyalty to—SeeLoyalty to the Church.
CHURCH-MEMBERS, WORKING
Henry Ward Beecher was once about to take a ride behind a horse which he had hired from a livery stable. He regarded the horse admiringly, and remarked: “That is a fine-looking animal. Is he as good as he looks?” The owner replied: “Mr. Beecher, that horse will work in any place you put him, and do all that any horse can do.” The preacher eyed the horse still more admiringly, and then remarked: “I wish to goodness he was a member of my church!” (Text.)—Louis Albert Banks.
Henry Ward Beecher was once about to take a ride behind a horse which he had hired from a livery stable. He regarded the horse admiringly, and remarked: “That is a fine-looking animal. Is he as good as he looks?” The owner replied: “Mr. Beecher, that horse will work in any place you put him, and do all that any horse can do.” The preacher eyed the horse still more admiringly, and then remarked: “I wish to goodness he was a member of my church!” (Text.)—Louis Albert Banks.
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CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP
It is not enough to say that you can be a Christian outside of the Church; an occasional boy can be a scholar without going to school; an occasional vine can grow in a lane instead of a vineyard, and an occasional newsboy can sleep in a barrel, and survive, instead of a home. But don’t stand outside of the Church and then crawl out of your barrel, and later on ask for all the privileges of the household. Some men watched the great parade in 1865, and regretted that they had not been in the ranks for the grand review. And if you come to the end of your career, never having shown your colors nor had a part in the fight, you will never cease to feel the regret that you did not die on the battle-field, and were not carried home like the heroes upon their shield.—N. D. Hillis.
It is not enough to say that you can be a Christian outside of the Church; an occasional boy can be a scholar without going to school; an occasional vine can grow in a lane instead of a vineyard, and an occasional newsboy can sleep in a barrel, and survive, instead of a home. But don’t stand outside of the Church and then crawl out of your barrel, and later on ask for all the privileges of the household. Some men watched the great parade in 1865, and regretted that they had not been in the ranks for the grand review. And if you come to the end of your career, never having shown your colors nor had a part in the fight, you will never cease to feel the regret that you did not die on the battle-field, and were not carried home like the heroes upon their shield.—N. D. Hillis.
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CHURCH, MISSION OF
In a sermon by Dr. James I. Vance inThe Christian Observer, on “The Harbor-light on the Church Spire,” he points out the mission of the Church. He gives this as an illustration:
Recently, while on a visit to the old historic, picturesque city of Charleston, on a Saturday afternoon, I was taken for a sail around the harbor and a short distance out to sea. A friend took me to the forward deck and pointing to a light that glowed above the city in the distance, said: “That light is in the spire of St. Philip’s church. It is the harbor-light of Charleston. The channel here is an eddy channel, deep but narrow, and every vessel that enters this harbor must steer by the light in St. Philip’s spire.”As I stood there in the deepening shadows,I began to think of the many vessels, great and small, which through the long years, had entered the port. Merchantmen and men-of-war, freighters and pleasure-boats, yachts and schooners and excursion steamers, ships of adventure and of exploration, rakish blockaders, boats stript to their decks, grim and threatening, with all the paraphernalia and munitions of war; and ships gay, with bunting flying, with music and laughter resounding, and with decks crowded with merry throngs of pleasure-seekers. For all, the light in the church spire shone to show them a safe port and to guide the ship to its desired haven.It seemed to me to tell the story of what the Church is for, to answer, in part at least, the question why Christ wanted a church. The light shining over Charleston harbor from St Philip’s spire, and far out to sea, is a picture of the mission of every church in the world.The mission of the Church is to shine the harbor-light. It is to illuminate the darkness and, through the gathering gloom, to point the true way. It is to show voyagers on the sea of life how to reach the true haven. It is to tell wanderers how to find their Father’s house. It is to guide the soul to God. It is to shine out the harbor-light, so that souls in the offing may reach, in safety, life’s true destination. (Text.)
Recently, while on a visit to the old historic, picturesque city of Charleston, on a Saturday afternoon, I was taken for a sail around the harbor and a short distance out to sea. A friend took me to the forward deck and pointing to a light that glowed above the city in the distance, said: “That light is in the spire of St. Philip’s church. It is the harbor-light of Charleston. The channel here is an eddy channel, deep but narrow, and every vessel that enters this harbor must steer by the light in St. Philip’s spire.”
As I stood there in the deepening shadows,I began to think of the many vessels, great and small, which through the long years, had entered the port. Merchantmen and men-of-war, freighters and pleasure-boats, yachts and schooners and excursion steamers, ships of adventure and of exploration, rakish blockaders, boats stript to their decks, grim and threatening, with all the paraphernalia and munitions of war; and ships gay, with bunting flying, with music and laughter resounding, and with decks crowded with merry throngs of pleasure-seekers. For all, the light in the church spire shone to show them a safe port and to guide the ship to its desired haven.
It seemed to me to tell the story of what the Church is for, to answer, in part at least, the question why Christ wanted a church. The light shining over Charleston harbor from St Philip’s spire, and far out to sea, is a picture of the mission of every church in the world.
The mission of the Church is to shine the harbor-light. It is to illuminate the darkness and, through the gathering gloom, to point the true way. It is to show voyagers on the sea of life how to reach the true haven. It is to tell wanderers how to find their Father’s house. It is to guide the soul to God. It is to shine out the harbor-light, so that souls in the offing may reach, in safety, life’s true destination. (Text.)
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CHURCH, NEED OF THE
A message in the form of a letter from Monsignor Bonomelli was read to the delegates attending the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh, June, 1910, part of which reads: