Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1871-09-23
Reported for the Congregationslist.
Love-the Christian Test.
Il Lecture Room Talk.
BY uESRA WARD BEEcHER,

recolect that when first commenc-
ed Christian life. undertook to have
constant flow of distinctive religious
thought; | tried to make religious expe-
rences join cne upon another, so as to
feel at night that religion had not been
ont of my heal all day. What work |
made of this you can imagine. began
sincerely but mistakenly. This Is not
the way God desires us to live. Distinct
lively religious thought is to the last de-
gree important, but it should be the
cloud out Of which come the ramdrops
that help our growth. if one has the
power of rising to meditations OF God
and the Heavenly state, to converse
with spirits, it is great privilege; but
it is preposterous 10 take child OF four
teen mercurial. imaginative, social, SEN
sitive, without any experience or re-
source, and attempt To hold his mind up
to these great themes. We are not to
measure our piety by these exalted states
of mind. They are nowhere in the New
Testament made Il test of character. We
are told TO set our affections on things
above; this is the ultimate state but
the sign of true Christian disposition is
this "Love is the fulfilling of the law"
He who carries a disposition of true
kindness, expressed towards God, by
reverence, and towards men, by benevo-
lence, can bear the critical test, and only
he.
A man may be just and true and NOR
al, he may have tervors and raptures,
but not fervor not devoutness is the test
of a Christian, though these traits
should be included. The Christian is he
who knows how to love; who radiaies
sympathy, kindness, gentleness, foroear.
ance. You should do by men what the
sunshine does by you, give warmth and
help growth. No man should be stern
and cold. Ii he is SO by nature, he
should cultivate the opposite tendency.
My farm was by nature compact gravel
but put on three yoke of oxen and 8
plow, and ripped it up. Nature is very
good thing to start with, but nature is
given for cultivation. If man is cold
and hard, he needs snbsoiling by benev
Olence. We should be radient, gentle
familiar. Every man tries to make more
of himself where he has enough, and
lets the rest alone. II he is obstinate
he teels the necessity of stability and
frmuess. Proud men are full of wis,
saws about selErespect. The Christian
disposition is full of light, life, JOY, pa
tience, love and sweetness. God gives
men their original temperament, as farms
are given TO farmers, and He gives then
time for sowing seed and ripening,
One OF the most severely proper per
sons, that ever saw, was one who neve
had any particular religious influences
over me. / never thought of going T.
her with secret or a sorrow. II wa
very different with good old Auu
Chandler. She was one OF those happy
fat women, bountifully big outside ant
in. If ! stole apples she wouldsay Tut
tut aud then march me into the hous
as If for oasligation but she would TAX
the apples along in her apron, and pu
them in the drawer, and give them q
me one at time. And when / was pu
to bed without any supper (which for
boy growing at three knots an hour wa