Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1885-12-03

Christian service. For while the ea.:se
may desperately need his money. he
himself as desperately needs the de-
velopment supplied only by Christian
activity.
Mr. Spurgeon tells of man who used
to say to his wife: MARY, 60 to church
and pray for US both" But the man
dreamed one night, that when he and
his wife GO. to the gate of Heaven.
Peter said: MARY, go in for us both. y
That was sufficient to alarm him, and
make him see that he must meet his
own obligat ons. be a Christian for
himself and render the modicum of
service belonging to him as such. Oc-
tavia Hill gives it as ner experience
that no amount of charitable giving
can suffice for that hand-to-hand effort
every Christian can make; for the lat
ter is not only a far greater means of
grace to him, but is infinitely more
helpful to those he should aid. Sys-
TENS. she claims. are valuable Just as
far as they bring Christian-hearted
people into personal contact with those
recurring assistance. The gulf between
classes in society widens every day be-
cause we send our proxies to minister
to others when we should 60 ourselves.
Some things there are which not every
one can do. Then it is right to be rep
resented by those who can. But there
is peril the moment we draw back in
fancied inability or remit to other
hands what our own could and should
accomplish. No one else can do our
praying, our church-going, our Chris
tian work for us. Nor can any one
safely hire this done for him.
1t would be very pleasant. if Chris
tian man could buy Bible carefully
annotated and penciled, as DIR. Pente-
costs pariShioner wanted to do when
DIES ring to purchase his "Bagster edi-
ton But if another does our Bible
reading and marking for u.s. it will not
benefit us to any great extent. The
Lord calls for each of His followers to
60 work in His vineyard, and when we
put proxies in the field in our stead we
lose personal blessing. Possibly the
prophet Elisha made mistake in send
ing GahaZ with his staff to heal the
child. when he should have gone HIM
self as he subsequently did. Can we
imagine that for moment j: seemed
less troublesome or more convenient for
him to send substitute? However it
may have been in his case, Just this
thing is becom nc more and more COM
mon.
Jesus Christ is our perfect eXamplar
here; for He gave Himself. and self Civ
ing is after all the truest and best of all
benefact ons. No gift is complete. if
aiongwiih it does not 60 part of ourselves
in the form of that which gold can not
buy-service of Christ and lost men.
Not little religious torpor and dead
orthodoxy would be remedied if there
were more stress laid upon the indi-
vidual obligations under which we
Christians rest. Far less proxy service
would be rendered, if every disciple
bore in mind that no one else can per-
form his Part. As it is. however, many
are at ease in Zion. They pay for a
pew they infrequently or irreguiarly
occupy. The mission school receives
an annual gift, but never an offer of
personal service. At the pravermeet-
inc their families are represented while
they are seldom present. Their names
appear on the list of contributors to
various good causes, but never among
those who perform the work incident
to carrying them on. 1t is the indi-
vidual Christian rs an aetive working
factor that the church needs most, in
the multiplying fields which send out
their appeals for laborers. Chicago i'd
Ua4Ce.