The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-01-28
Religious Mlistellanp.
BenevOIence a Part Of Worship.

God, of that which cost me nothing.
] will not enjoy love which costs me
nothing. Love which costs nothing is
worth nothing. Even Gods love would
be worthless, had it cost him nothing.
Loves great evidence is its cost. God
so loved the world that he gave heavens
richest gift to save lost men. And what
is cost? 1t is sacrifice. That costs most,
not which seems greatest, but which is
the greatest self-denial. If one dollar
is more, in proportion to my posses
sions, than one hundred is to your
wealth, then l give the most; my love
is deepest. So our Savior taught in the
example of the poor woman who cast
in her two mites she gave more than
all the rich men because she gave more
in proportion to her ability. Her self
denial was greater. There is no benev-
olence until self-denial begins. We
first feel it, before benevolence has
come. That which costs us nothing is
not love or worship. We hear much
said about a free religion, but there is
no such thing. The gospel cost on the
Godward side-the blood of the cruel
fled one; and it costs the man who re-
ceives it" the dearest idol of his heart,
whate'er that idol be-" There may be
free places of worship, and the idea as
an accommodation to the poor is be-
nevolent, but he whose place of wor-
ship costs him something will receive
most blessing from it. The gospel is
self-denial, and he alone enters into its
secret who denies himself to receive it,
This is no mere arbitrary rule of Christ,
but is in the nature of all pure love; it
is the unwritten law of love. Love
makes unnecessary sacrifice just be-
cause it loves. Sacrifice becomes 10Y,
and so loses it's self-denial. Show me
man who never made voluntary, I'M
sought gift to his mother, sister, wife
or child, and he is one into whose heart
the sweets of human love have never
entered. Show me one who never made
voluntary gift to advance the king
dom of Christ, and l will show you one
into whose heart the love of God has
never entered. We reject pretended
love which costs nothing; so does God.
The tendency of this generation is
to magnify love to man. We need
more of it, but the highest, deepest
love to man must come through our
love to God. Man as we find him cam
not command our perfect love. 1t is
only Gods idea of man, and the posi-
bilities in each man of reaching that
idea, which can fill our hearts. Preach
ing love to man never inspires so deep
a love for man, or brings ones own soul
into such elevation of character, as
preaching first of all love to God, and
then love to man because he is Gods.
Such the divine way. Moonshine never
makes sunlight, but sunlight makes
moonlight All the greatest works for
man have been led by those who loved
God first and most. We do not love
God because we love man, but we love
man because we love God. Neither do
we, as Christians, love men because
they are lovely, but because they need
to be loved. This the gospel idea
constantly reaching down. The more
ignorant men are, the more we are to
teach them; the more fallen, the more
we are to help them. Loving men be-
cause they are needing love, so Christ
loves us. All, how the Lord Jesus
would surprise his church did he come
as he once was, in the manner he would
manifest his love! He who only loves
the lovely and works for his kindred,
knows not the power of redeeming
love. The higher up you lift light,
the wider out its beams will shine. The
nearer God our hearts, the more of hui
mainly they will see. True, with a
merely human love we cannot love
everybody, for the wicked are repul-
sive; but with the divine love which
Christ gives us, we can love other sin
ners as Christ in his holiness loved us,
for no human being can be so far be-
low us as the best man is beneath
Christ We can love the shattered
image of God in the poor sinner. This
is what Christ meant when he said
what we did to the poor, we did for
him. They were having supper in an
orphanage, and the teacher, as usual
gave thanks, saying, {" Come, Lord
Jesus, and be our guest tonight, and
bless the mercies thou hast provided!"
A little lad said, Teacher, you always
ask the Lord Jesus to come. Will he
ever Gomez" ooh, yes, my child, have
faith, and he will come" and the little
boy set chair for him at the table.
BY and by there was rap at the door,
and poor, half-frozen man was ush-
cred in, warmed by the fire, and asked
to partake of the supper; and where
should he go but to the chair which had
Decu pldCcu lOr llc lOru 81 eSuS. ITelIy
soon the boy looked up with bright love
in his eyes, exclaiming, :" o teacher, l
see how it is. The Lord Jesus sent
this poor man in his place. Isn't that
it?" Yes, that was it. Thus when we
give to the poor because we love Christ,
our giving becomes worship, and when
we cast our portion into the contribu-
ton box because we love him, then it
is as though Jesus Christ reached out
his hand and we put something
into it, and it is worship. When we
deny ourselves to build needed house
of worship, then we join with David
and the holy men of old, in all ages,
who have been building the New Jeru-
salem. Giving which cost us some
thing is the sincerest of all worship, and
blesses the giver more than the receiver.
We need our sacrifices for our own
SOULS sake, more than Christ needs
them. When the woman poured the
box of costly ointment upon the person
of Christ, the people cried out, "What
wastep" but Jesus said "No." II
was the overflow of unselfsh love, and
though Christ needed it not, it made a
saint of her. 1t is the costing some
thing which gives value to our worship
and brings blessing to our hearts. --ReU.