Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-08-10
THE GREAT EXEMPLAR.


THE GREAT EXEMPLAR.
The world is filled with a weary.
anxious, heavy-laden humanity. 1t is
through weakess that we must cain
strength; through ignorance, wisdom:
through experience of the past, the wav
toward the future; through our love
and faith, the true way of life"
When we wander astray we must be
turned back to the straight and narrow
way. Our burdens are heavy, our pains
weariSomc, our SORROWS deep and seem
ingly unavailing. To this errinr, striy-
ing, struggling people comes the tender
lnvltation-an invitation extended to us
all, for all are ''wearv and heavy
laden" Come unto Me all We that
are weary and heayy-laden, and | will
give You rest. Take My yoke upon YOU
and learn of Me, for | am meek and
lowly of heart, and We shall find rest
unto your souls. -
Not only is the invitation given, but
the way to accept it is also given. He
gives us His own life as an example.
and tells us to follow it. His life-work
is before us, and we are told to follow
Him. We can do this; not to be able
to live as He lived, but we can try; we
can do the lest we can, and never
cease trying. That is all that is asked
of us.
Take My yoke upon YOU He saws.
land learn of Me; for | am meek and
lowly of heart We are to accent. to
take upon us the yoke of Divine love,
and thus bind together in its " silkcn
bonds every thought, affection, capac-
ity of our own minds and hearts, that
they may unitedly and tremendously
engage in the warping and weaving of
the web of true and noble life
He does not say learn of Me-" Ec-
cause am your superior, because
have knowledge, culture, experience,
but because l am meek and lowlv of
heart. Meek, in the sense of being re-
ceptive, willing to be instructed, to be
led and guided. We must have the
lower nature subject to the higher; not
crushed out or unrecogniZed, but held
as itself gift of God, and having its
own proper uses and needs. These
uses and necessities, under proper con-
troll and education, add to and aid in
the development of the higher nature.
The material and spiritual must work
together, hand in hand, in this life.
Christ in His meekness acknowledges
the leading He receives. The Father
that dwellcth in Me, He dooth the
works. l do always those things that
please Him. We must not rest in our
dissatisfaction. in our pride of intellect.
OF power. OF requirements, but seek to
hold ourselves III state to humbly re-
ccivc the truth and to abide by it,
I e
what the example is which His life
teaches us. 1t teaches obedience to the
present duty. 1t teaches that there is
no duty, SO humble or seemingly unim-
portant that we do not owe il perfect
faithfulness of trust and execution, even
as He was faithful to the humble duties
in Ills earthly fathers house aud work
rs long as it was right for Him to re-
main there. Nor was His life of service
there ended. This was, indeed. but the
beginning; the faithfulness in little
things that led to the devotion and ulti-
mate sacrifice of His life for humanity.
He met and ovcrcame temptation.
lie passed through the dark valleys in
which our feet stumble. His Divine
nature was assaulted, through its human.
by all the ills and evils, the dangers,
the bcguilementS, to which humanity is
prone. ScathlcSs, pure, sinless, He
speaks TO us. tenderly, saving: Learn
of Me; | will aid you, help you, bear
your burdens, comfort You, rest you.
If you are guilty." He says. :" sin not,
but come unto Me-" Is not this the
invitation of tender, yearnin@. brood
ing love like unto mothers for her
children. only deeper and holier than
any earthly love can be? There are
none from whom He would turn away.
if only they would "go and sin no
more, and follow in the way He led.
What, then, should we learn of Himp
Dependence on the Divine will; the
meckness and loneliness that saws:
Mot My will, hut Thine be done;'' the
clinging to truth and goodness and
rlghtness through all pains, sorrows
and discouragements; meekness, pa
tience, perfect uprightness, honesty,
faithfulness, gentlcness, forgiveness.
long-suffcr'ng, charity every good
thing that the mind can conceive, and
more, because His goodness is limit.
less.
He asks us TO learn of Him because
of the spiritual qualities He possessed;
because He had warm and loving
heart which pulsated for all mankind,
not because of the strength of His in
tellect, the power of His brain And
He promises that if we learn we shall
find rest unto our souls. We shall find
the rest of freedom from the thrall-
dom of sin. We shall love good. and in
| seeking its innermost essence we shall
find ourselves linked to the Divine life,
which is goodness itself We shall love
our neighbors, and in this love we will
be conscious of another link uniting us
TO the Divine life, which is love itself.
We shall find rest in the sense of near
ness to the best of life, its purity, holt
ness, usefulness, charitableness, good
ness and truthfulness; rest underly-
ing all WEAKNESS and care, foretaste
of the rest we shall experience when
1.-THE last fear is quoted, the last doubt
dispelled, the last labor ended, the last
| burden lifted from the heart, the last
| tear she'd the last main suffered. when