The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-11-18
LIFE A MINISTRY OF LOVE.

LIFE A MINISTRY OF LOVE.
Avolume might be filed with pre-
cepts from the Bible illustrating the
sentiment that Christian life WAS de-
signed to be perpetual ministry of
love. Love is the crowning grace of the
Christian code of ethics; and Christian
experience is never at the full until it
reaches this perfection. ITO
do good and communicate" says the
apostle of the Gentiles, '.forget not,
for with such sacrifices God is we'll
pleased" s.And let us not be weary
in well doing, for in due season we
shall reap if we faint not" Gas, there
fore, we have opportunity, let US do
good unto all men, especially unto them
who are of the household of faith"
s.And remember the words of the Lord
Jesus, how he said it is more blessed to
give than to receive. The poor ye al
ways have with you, and whatsoever ye
will ye may do them good"
"What noble women the
Christians have" was the encomium
given by a pagan philosopher of the
early centuries; and it has been justi-
fed by great cloud of witnesses"
in every century. who have learned at
the Cross how to make life beautiful and
sublime by the practice of beneficence
and the luster of its good deeds. The
world itself does homage to the majesty
of Christian character, when that char
acter is fashioned according to the pat
tern of the divine Master, and is illus
trated In the walks of daily life, by
sanity men and women who count no
sacrifice, not even life itself. too dear to
rescue the fallen.
Among the things pointed out by
Christ in proof that His religion was
from Heaven. and He the Messiah of the
prophets, was His benevolent regard for
the poor. This was, indeed, the climax
of the evidence. $50 and tell John"
said He, .'of the mighty works which you
do hear and see, how that the lame
walk, the deaf hear, the blind receive
their sight, the lepers are cleansed, the
dead are raised up and the poor have
the Gospel preached to them" When
He entered upon His public ministry n
the synagogue at Nazareth, He said:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
because He hath anoin.ed me to preach
the Gospel. He hath sent me to preach
deliverance to the captive, to bind
up the broken hearted, to bring out
OF the prison house them that are
bound, to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord" No religion
In the world has so exalted the virtue
of benevolence and shown so tender a
care for the poor as Christianity. There
has been no friend for the poor, known
amongst men,. like the Gospel. This
deep and yearning compassion for the
poor was not only inaugurated, but ex-
empli6ed to the full, in the life, labors
-. T4-rl.~
And it has been illustrated in the I:fe
and character of all true followers jus:
in proportion to the degree in which
they have possessed His spirit and imi-
tated His example.
The lesson of charity, of benevolent,
self-sacrificing zeal for the helpless, is
enjoined in thousand passages, and il
has been exhibited in ten thousand ex-
amples. There is no one point on which
the teaching of Christ and His inspired
apostles is more emphatic. The Gospel
does not more explicitly require holi.
ness in the heart of its disciples than
it requires jealous and ceaseless en-
deavor in their lives in doing good to
others. II q man feels no interest In
his suffering fellow-men, puts forth nc
helping hand to the poor and perishing,
it matters not what pretentions to piety
he may make, or in what church he may
fold his arms of self-complacent ease,
he is no true disciple of Christ. He ha:
none of His spirit. He lacks the most
essential evidence and the most Christ
like virtue of Christianity.
Now he who has learned how to make
life perpetual ministry Of love to those
around him has learned the great Sc.
cret both of usefulness and happiness
It is in this school and in this service
that the question is answered. els life
worth livingP" When life becomes 9
blessing to all within its sphere of in.
| fiuence, and gives its possessor the con
sciousness Of Gods approval, and the
appreciation of all good men, then as
suredly it is worth living. 1t is the ain
| of the Gospel to make every life thus
blest of God and man. 1t is in thi.
| school of Jesus Christ and in this wori
of doing good to men that life become:
. ministry of love, and human charac
ter rises to its noblest type. In thi.
service it is the privilege Of every disci
pie of Jesus Christ, even the humblest
to make his life beautiful in its senti
ments of good will, its acts of kindness
its sacrifices of love and toll. Is there
any exemption from this law of benefi
Cence! IS tnero any one 100 loWiy u
exercise this sublime virtue of extend
ing . helping hand or a sympathizinl
word to those who are ready to perish
The widows two mites are sublime il
their exhibition of the spirit Of Christ
and the cup of cold water given in th'
Masters name may be eloquent as
delineation of Christian. character
Make life q ministry of love, and it vii
always be worth living.
The law of Christ requires that w
should be faithful in that which is least
that we should use the one talent com
mitted to our trust as diligently as w
would use the ten. The command =
every disciple is, Freely We have re
ceived, freely give" "Occupy till
come" "Go work in my vineyard to
day, and will give thee thy wages.
The great law OF the Kingdom reache
down to every member of it; it is: ID
good unto all men as ye have opportu
nity." Here is the extent of the law
unto all men; and here is the only limi
to its application -as ye haze opporf,'
nifty. Nothing could be wider, an