Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-07-27

homo of love and faith and prayer,
we must BIO just as willing to receive
the wanderer as the saint; just as
ready to give the hand OF welcome
and of fellowship to the man who
has but one faint, Pickering spark OF
good in his soul, as the man whose
whole life and character are per
meated with tho very spirit of Jesus.
We are all learners and seekers after
that which is more high, useful and
good If we have already attained
perfection, then we have no need OF
a church. But we need it because
we are weak, and poor, and low IN
the virtues of the Christian charac>
ter. And now, because you and |
may have travelled a little way in
the path that Jesus has forever made
glorious by his life, shall we turn
around and say to him who stands
just at the beginning of it, hesitating
whether to take the first step or not,
oh, this is no place for you; we have
no sympathy for wicked creatures
like you here we are al! respectable
folks, who are going to Heaven by
ourselves, and we do not wish to
be compromised by such as you?
| tell you, my friends, this is the
spirit that rules in our churches
1t says to the poor man and to the
wicked and vile man, there is no
place for you here. We want those
who are already righteous-those
who have not been carried away
by lust, avarice and passion. And
yet what did Jesus do? Stay at
that pleasant home in Bethany all
the time? Call around him only
such people as Nathaniel and John,
Martha and Mary? No. he went
to be guest with man that was
sinner he sat down in public place
to talk with an abandoned woman /;
he travelled about the country with
men whom he knew would deny him
and flee from him the moment he
was in danger; he ate the last supper
with man who had betrayed him,
with q man who had been stealing
from him for long time, with man
who, q few hours afterward, swore
he did not know who Jesus was in
order to save himself from reproach.
Jesus did this. That great, tender,
loving heart had nothing but COM
passion and gentleness in it. But
you and | who profess to the world
that we are Christians, and build
magnificent temples to honor Christ,
are SO afraid of what somebody will
say Of US, that we dare not touch the
hand Of one of these poor, wretched
sinful creatures, and if one of them
should come to the communion table
with US when we meet to remember
Jesus, we 81 uld feel that the whole
company was disgraced. And even
when, moved by some faint desire to
lead better life, they come into the
church to get crumb of strength,
or sympathy, or comfort, oh, how
coldly the people look on them, say
ing, in their faces, ave do not want
you here ~
| Let the church be true embodi~
ment Of the doctrine of brotherhood.
Here we put away all things which
separate us into high and low, rich
and poor, learned and ignorant
there is no exclusion on account OF
poverty and sin there is no shatting
up of families in private pews, giving
the appearance of isolation and ex-
clusiveness there is no compulsory
payment of taxes-give as you feel
able to give, or give not all-you are
just as welcome, and you shall have
just as warm place in our hearts,
if you cannot give dollar as if
you gave five hundred you shall be
as kindly greeted and as attentively
listened to in what you have to say
if you live in a cottage as if you lived
in a marble front, if your hands are
hard and stiff with labor as if they
were white and delicate in idleness
what we want is not your money
but yourself, that by your thought
and sympathy, your prayer and SER
vice, you may do US good, and we
do you good, and together we may
make our life more fruitful and more
noble"