The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-10-14
Thoughts for the Thoughtful.
RELIGIOUS SELECTIONS.

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The liberty to which we are called
in Christ is not the liberty of devils,
the liberty of doing what we will,
but the blessed liberty of being on
the side of the law, and therefore I'M
restrained by it in doing right.
In Christ humanity was the perfect
type of Deity, and therefore Christ
dissolution was always the exact meas
ure and counterpart of Gods forgive
ness. Herein lies the deep truth of
the doctrine of His eternal priest
hood-the Eternal Son-the humani-
ity of the being of God--the ever
human mind of God.
Faith is that strong, buoyant conf
dence in God and in His love which
gives energy and spirit to do right
without doubt or despondency.-
Where God sees that, He sees the
spring and fountain out of which all
good springs: He sees, in short, the
very life of Christ begun, and he
reckons that to be righteousness; just
as small perennial fountain in Glou-
cestershire is the Thames, though it
is yet scarcely large enough to float a
schoolboy's boat; and just as you call
small Seeding, not bigger than a
little almond peeping above the
ground, an oak: for the word 'justify"
means not to be made righteous, but
to reckon or account righteous.
The Cross is humbleness, love, self
surrender. These the apostle preach
ed. To conquer the world by loving
ito be blessed by ceasing the pur-
suit of happiness-to make hard
lot easy by submitting to it: this was
his divine philosophy of life. And
the princes of this world, amidst
SCOTS and laughter, replied, Is that
all? Nothing to dazzle-nothing to
captivate. But the disciples of the
inward life recognized the Divine
Truth which this doctrine of the Cross
contained. The humble of heart and
the loving felt that in this lay the
mystery of life, of themselves, and
of God, all revealed and plain. It
was Gods own wisdom, felt by those
who had the mind of Christ.
acknowledgement between a
model and an example. You copy the
outline of model: you initiate the
spirit of an example. Christ is our
example: Christ is not our model
You might copy the life of Christ:
make Him a model in every act: and
yet you might be not one whit more
of Christian than before. You
might wash the feet Of poor fishermen
as He did, live wandering life with
nowhere to lay your head. You might
go about teaching, and never use any
words but His words, never express
a religious truth except in Bible
language; have no home, and mix
with the lowly; then Christ would be
your model. You would have copied
His life like picture, line for line,
and shadow for shadow; yet you
might not be Christ-like. We can
only initiate that of which we. have
caught the spirit.
A man SO thoroughly above human
resentment, human passions, human
weakness, does not seem to us an ex-
ample. 1t is not the Redeemer''s sim
lessness, nor His unconquerable fdel-
ity to duty, nor His superhuman no.
bleness, that win our desire to imi-
tate; rather His tears at the grave of
friendship, His shrinking from the
sharpness of death, and the feeling of
human doubt which swept across His
soul like a desolation. These make
him one of us, and therefore our ex-
ample.
DEArH.-Itis Christians privilege
to have victory over the fear of death.
Solemn, subdued, full of awe and full
of solemnity, is the dying hour gen.
orally of the hottest men. A Christian
conqueror dies calmly. Brave men in
battle do not boast that they are not
afraid. Courage is 50 natural to them
that they are not concious they are
doing anything out of the common
Christian bravery is a deep,
calm thing, unconscious of ITSELF
There are more triumphant death
beds than we count, if we only re-
member this-true fearlessness makes
no parade.
Christ has stood by His servants,
and made them more than conquerors:
there may be something of earthly
excitement in all that. Every day His
servants are dying modestly and
peacefully -not word of victory on
their lips; but Christ's deep triumph
in their hearts watching the slow
progress of their own decay, and yet
so far emancipated from personal
anxiety that they are still able to
think and to plan for others, not
knowing that they are doing any
great thing. They die, and the world
hears nothing of them; and yet theirs
was the completest victory. They
came to the battlefield, the field to |