The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1883-01-18
An Unstable Faith.

This is the season OF long evenings,
social gatherings, and church revivals.
As the face of the protesting Chris
tian begins to wear a solemn look, the
face of the confirmed sinner begins to
expand into broad grin, and he is
loading up for the purpose of firing
broadside at the churches. Some of
his shots are ludicrous, and the worst
feature of it is, we fear some of them
have solid foundation in fact.
Speaking of Church matters few
evenings ago, friend Informed us of
an experience he had in the long ago,
with pious brother whose faith could
not be shaken-especially on Sunday.
This friend Of ours was boy at the
time our story opens. The good bro
ther, then living east of the Missis-
sippi River, had very fine field OF
wheat, through which a little brook
''babbled or the pebbles, on its way
to join the mighty rivers" At
a point where the wheat fence
crossed this brook, water-gap was
erected, for the purpose Of keeping
cattle from wading up the brook, and
getting into the field.
On certain Saturday night this
water-gap gave way-broke down, and
the Sabbath morning witnessed a
number Of cattle tramping content
,edly over the fine growing wheat!
The boy, animated by desire to do a
neighborly kindness ran to the good
Brothers residence, and informed him
of the exposure of his wheat-feld to
danger. The Brother smiled benignly
upon the youth, and remarked:
"Never mind, sonny-it's Gods will
that the poor cattle should enjoy them
selves in my field, or He wouldn't have
permitted the water-gap to fall down"
So the youth went home, lost in ad-
miration of the sublime faith which
conld thus look up to God as being
"all, and in all" faith which could
sit serenely and see the cattle destroy
bushel after bushel of fine grain, and
fervently praise the Lord for the de-
struetion Of worldly possessions which
was going on. this faith was some
thing beyond the limited powers Of
the youth to comprehend. 1t was not
Of the earth, earthly. If there had
been any little tinge of anything NOR
tai in the expressed faith of. the good
Brother, the boy might have been able
to comprehend it. But it was sublime
immortal. It was the outburst of
an immortal soul-a pious, trustful
heart.
And right here we would like to
close our story; we would gladly draw
the veil of oblivion before this wheat
field, and these cattle, and leave only
the faith Of the Brother shining
through, like veritable Star of the
East. But human life is made up OF
sudden changes-of' rapid transforms
tions; and our young friend had nc
idea that a man may have sublime
faith on Sunday-and no faith on
Monday; so he passed that way again
on Monday, expecting to see ruined
field, drove of browsing cattle, ano
a praying farmer. Sure enough
when he came within hearing, he
heard a slapping and thrashing
around, as though the good Brother
were so happy over the destruction Of
his wheat that he had actually gotter
to shouting.
But what a sad disappointment
awaited him! On arriving near enough
to distinguish the sounds, he found
that the shoutings did, indeed. come
from the Brother, but the slappings
were caused by beating the rumps Of
the cattle with club-while the
shouting sounded something like this
"I'll be 'senshelly dod-drotted eff
don't beat He'll out O. every damned
steer in this neighborhoodr There
was something earthly about this, and
the youth could readily understand it
The doubling and darkness, and won
derment of Sunday morning had all
vanished, and the good brother and
his club-were compelling the thiev-
ing cattle to do likewise.