Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-04-23
The Christians JOy.


This is the love of God, that we
keep His commandments, and His COM
mandments are not grievous.n 'My
yoke is easy, and my burden is light. .
Only those who try TO keep the COM
mandments without the inspiration of
love find them grievous. They not only
fail to render a perfect obedience, but
find that the attempt to do so is the Sc
verest drudgery. But when the soul is
filed with the love of God, obedience
is his chief Joy. just as the loving
mother finds her greatest happiness in
the performance of innumerable acts of
service for her children, without ever
thinking of them as tasks, so the loving
child of God finds his supreme delight
in doing his Masters will. There is no
sense of servitude in this service. Love
excludes that. The performance of
Christian duty is never a task to the
man who loves God with all his heart
and his neighbor as himself. 1t is the
labor of love, aud Glove makes labor
light" Nor is there any feeling of
constraint in this service, for Glove
rules without a sword"
There is Joy in the rewards of religion.
Indeed it is, in an important sense, its
own exceeding great reward. The ioy
derived from its services and expert
ences is a satisfying portion. For a
part Of these experiences are the un-
speakably precious ministration and
fellowship Of the Spirit. Every day the
faithful Christian is admitted to COM
munion with God, as real and joyful as
that of the disciples with the Savior.
And in the hour of trial his soul is COM
forted and sustained by the conscious
ness of the presence and help of God
and by the certain assurance that his
light affiiction, which is but for a mo-
ment, worketh for him far more ex-
ceeding and eternal weight of glory.
And this prospect of eternal blessedness
is producing element in religion.
For the Christian has not vague hope
Of Heaven, but sure title, even "ChriSt
within, the hope of glory,n ord knows
that when Christ, who is life, shall APP
pear, then shall he also appear with
Him in glory-knows that if his earthly
house of this tabernacle be dissolved,
he has a building of God, house not
made with hands, eternal in the heav-
ems.
How rich and glorious is the Chris
tian's heritage of joyl 1t is we'll
spring of delight that can never fail. 1t
is as abiding as his union with Christ.
1t is Joy that the world can neither
give nor take away. The most trying
worldly circumstances, poverty, sick
ness, bereavement cannot rob the trust
ng child of G cd of his joy. He smiles
through his tears, for the Lord turns
his mourning into joy" Like Paul and
Silas in the stocks, like Peter in prison,
like thousands of martyrs at the stake,
he may still rejoice, for " the Joy of the
Lord is his strength" "Your Joy no
man taketh away from you;' and st.
Paul declares that neither tribulation
nor distress, nor persecution, nor fam
inc, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor
sword, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. "The message of religion
is that all these things work together
for good to them that love God. When
ever our life breaks down-in our
losses, our disappointments, by the side
of dying friends, before the messenger
that calls us away-there like an angel
stands this promise OF God. No man
walks so royalty in the world, none so
ight-hearted, none finds such sweetness
in joy, such courage in trouble, such
happiness in life and victory in death
as he who puts his hand in Gods and
lives as the child of God" IN T.
Christian advocate.