Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-03-05
Mr.. Anderson's Column.
What Good S26 Did %


IN this winter weather. The note which con-
tanned the money Is signed One phO wants 70
be a ChTisGan" This gift leads me 10 say
something that am glad Of such an oppof-
tunity TO say,
l. Abodt the help Of 1t to lie poor.
There are, 1 think, fewer Ia this town who
are in suffering condition from poverty than
have ever found In any other town. But
there are some. This fund look on as com.
ing FROM God, sent through one to whom He Is
revealing sure way Of becoming what she (?)
wants to become and 50 | tan say to poor
people when go TO help them, ut is the
Lords gilt, and don't know any more about
II than you de-"
! Ii takes away the sense of painful obligation
to persons, which the Helped would feel and
leads to the lifting up of fearful eyes to God
1t is an unexpected thing, and all the more so
because coming through the dominic who
Is known to have no over-burdened purse.
| Where one looks only for ghostly counsel,
there is load Of wood, or a quarter pound of
tea, or pair of Shoes for Tommy, or a shroud
for the dead baby Then the word for the
Master and the finger polflting upward, cUmes
with effect
! But of the real help.-Although have only
just begun, and the money is not nearly all
gone, could tell to my unknown correspon-
dent stories, already, of relief that would make
her eyes fill with tears of gratitude to God that
helped hearts were saying "God bless and help
her" But in village of the size of ours, to
publish in 80 wide manner as this the little
incidents that come through the pastoral relief
would be to open private family matters where
theywould be recognized in neighborhoods t.
and the affairs of the poor are as sacred in my
eyes as are the affairs of the rich
When my unknown correspondent wants
full account of my stewardship, am ready to
give it to her privately.
2 About the help Of it to the Pastor.
Here 1 am glad to speak freely spiritual
comfort is real and tangible thing il il comes
out of warm heart But however warm the
heart may be, it will not fill an empty stomach,
nor stop chattering teeth. nor take the blue
out of little half frozen feet. But once feed,
and warm, and chafe the body into comfort,
and then the warm heart is felt the better
through words. There is wild eye that one
sometimes sees in the mother of hungry child
rem that all the spiritual consolation in the
world will not tame. Feed these children and
the eye loses its fire in its own tears.
This brings rich experiences to the Pastor
1t shows the inside workings of hearts have
thought how much my good correspondent
was robbing herself of, in the way of real heart
warming scenes, and how much she was kindly
giving to her Pastor, rs he is enabled to come
in where eyes light up with gratitude, and the
heart lifts up It's first real prayer of thanks. 1t
is so easy to say " This is gift of God, and all
the thanks you give to Him, not to me-" 1t is
SO easy to talk about other loves that show
through the dear Redeemer. 1t is SO natural to
go from physical benefactions that come in
sore need, to heart benefaclions that come TO
sorer need.
Then there l, the excuse for visits where
might not 20 besides. love to visit poor peo-
pie, because such visits seem to pay back in the
feeling that they have helped. There are plen.
ty who will call OH the rich--f love to call on
them to-but where one goes in and finds eyes
lighting up, and genuine words of welcome
outspokcn and an apron whisked over Il dusty
Chair in u half embarrassed gesture of pleasure,
while the whole heart opens in story of
doubts, and Troubles and an&ie,ies, and all
these give way before the Pastor whom some
one-he dOn'tknow who-has enabled to helps
/ tell you it makes tears come in the clerical
eyes as well.
1t helps me make sermons lit helps me
be better man and minister lit helps me
tiln Z ~ 4
has sent me lit helps me pray, and particular
ly for the unknown person who thus makes me
tne almoner of her bounty.
3. About the person who sent the money.
Perhaps have, land may be have not,) as
large share of curiosity as others but con-
fess 10 very little desire to know who sent me
this money, only so could give her real help
in her attempt to be a Christian. Il say "her,"
for that announces the sex that the accompany
ing letter claims.) But whoever she is, want
to say u few things to her,--and through her to
others.
Our Scripture, which 10 our guide, says,
Pure religion and undefiled before God and
the Father is this To visit the fatherless and
and widows In their affiiction, and to keep
himself unspotted from the world" (James l.
27) OF course it makes deal of difference
what the motive is but the love showing out,
while the benefaction is the thing looked TO
instead of the glory to self that is to come of
it,-thdt has no discount on it.. The pure, fer
vent heart reaches out to the active piety that
comes of love. 1t is in the lowly, suffering
heart that one is most likely to find Christ
You my friend, want to be Christian, and
you ask for Christian prayer that God will
help you to be such, and you give money to
help the poor, and hide your name so that no
one but God shall know from whom the money
comes Now in addition to 1t, come, on your
knees, before your Lord, and say, (meaning it,)
" Lord forgive my sins, and help me to love,
for give myself to thee for always" and you
have done that in your own heart which 1t
only lacks.
Our piety is thing of love, anyhow love 10
to God, and love to Gods creatures. But it
seems to me that we may have either OF these
in an active or passive way. We may be
earnest and wlde-awake, making our possession
ff thaaa tAOa An.