Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-02

example, chooses between God and Nam.
mon. and good many times he loses con-
siderable money by that choice Some men
could Qnadruple their income if they did
not render SO accurate an obedience to the
law of Christian honesty. The Christian
chooses between love of himself and love OF
his neighbor That choice is pretty sure to
involve some inconvenience, some discom-
fort, some added anxiety and work. Some
times 1t may cost him who makes it rightly
his health or his life. The Christian 8
obedience TO the law of brotherly love may
take him into the midst of disease, may ex-
pose him to the peril of contagisn. He
breaks lower law which iorbids him to
expose himself to danger. He makes his
choice. God permits the choice to be very
genuine one. God sets no separation be-
tween danger and duty. The goodness of
the Christians errand win not shield him
from the smallpox. The man faces that
fact. He chooses to obey the higher law in
tribulation his disobedience to the lower
law may bring upon him. When
BRAVE FATHER DAMIEN
went in among the lepers he knew what
would be the ending of that splendid
venture. He knew that he would die a
leper's death. He did not for moment
imagine that the God whom he served would
interfere, to deliver him from that dread
contagion. He knew very we'll what his
magnificent self-sacri6ce would result in.
That was what made it a sacrifice. That
was what made him hero-that perfect
knowledge of his fate. He singly made his
choice. He took the path OF duty, knowing
hot fr;b 1oki 1or- IN &6ok
willing to meet it like Christian.
All that pain came on Father Damien
just because he was such genuine and de-
voted Christian. Father Cosimo, his COM
panion in the monastery, who, not being a
particularly Jealous Christian, stayed be-
hind in his safe cell and made no ventures
amoug lepers, is living comfortably there,
in all probability, to-day. Father Damien,
after hard lite, full of toll and ending in
pain, is In his grave. That is what man
gets for being particularly good Christian.
He gets tribulation. That is what 1 said,
that they who serve God best have, very
often, the hardest tribulation.
suppose that when Christ spoke here of
tribulation He was thinking especially of
this kind. He was thinking of the troubles
which accompany the doing of Christian
duty. "ln the world We shall have tribula-
ever present those twin forces-suffering and
sin. And the Christian, in proportion to
the genuineness of his diseipleship, is GER
tain to set himself to heal as much as he
can of the worlds suffering and to amend as
much as he can of the worlds sin.
TRIALS OF THE FAITHFUL.
And that means trouble, work, anxiety,
grief of ingratitude and failure, pains of
av,I T6oA
triDulation. In this world of suffering and
wrong the good Christian cannot exist with
out some measure of this kind of tribulation.
Accordingly tribulation, in this sense of it,
becomes a test of discipleship. You may
know what kind of Christian you are
whether of the Father Damien, or of the
Father Cosimo kind, whether of the church
of the Thessalonians, jealous of good works,
OF of the congregation of the Laodicean,
neither very hot not very cold, you may
know by this testing of tr1bulati0h. If you
are rowing up river you may know
whether you are going ahead or are only
drifting by the splash of the waves about
the bow and by the tension of your pulling
s'In the world'' the Christian is
pulling against the current all the time.
It is not difficult to see how tribulation in
this sense of it may be transmitted into
cheer. He who has this kind of tribulation
knows that he is getting some Christian
task accomplished. He knows that he is
effecting something. Tribulation, indeed,
may always mean good cheer. The word
itself suggests the blessing which lies be-
hind the pain. The "tribulum" was the
machine of the Roman farmer.
1t separated the chaf from the wheat. !
always brings its gift of bless
ing. What are the troubles of the righteous,
in 10 xrau-tha I,
liyereth him out of all. In this world ye
shall have tribulation-but be of good |
cheer.
God rewards spiritual obedience by |
spiritual blessing. He delivers the righte-
Gus out of all his troubles; He transmutes |
tribulation into cheer; but He does it not by
any prescription of medicine nor negotia-
ton OF loans, but by separating the chaff |
from the wheat, by granting the spiritual |
Joy which accompanies a conscience void of
offense by uplifting the character.
THE BLESSING OF GOD.
The very highest blessing of God is char
acter; and everybody who has had any ex-
perience of life knows how tribulation helps |
character. The Son of God Himself was
perfected through sufferings. His spiritual |
eminence was climbed up to along the steep |
and weary steps of tribulation. God re-
wards spiritual sowing by spiritual reaping |
always. He rewards the higher choice, rot |
by giving the harvest of the lower choice
too, but BY giving the harvest of the higher
choice abundantly. In the midst of tribu-
lation God gives Joy by giving strength to
bear it, by giving a revelation which inter- |
prets it, especially by giving a vision of
victory at the end of it.
sI have overcome the world" Sometimes
the world seems invincible. Tribulation seems
both purposeless and endless But Christ
has overcome the world. He has met It's
tribuIations and changed them into tri-
umphs. Trouble comes, but there is peace
behind it. Tears fall like rain, but presently
the sun shines and life, like the earth, is all
the better for that visitation from the
clouds Trials crowd upon the soul as diff
,ulties gather in the way of the worker, but
the trials like the difficulties mean strength,
bring their gift of growth. Tribulations
yr1eve us, but "be of good cheer" cries the
voice of the Master. The darkness keeps us
perhaps from seeing His face, but here is
His blessed, helping voice, the assurance OF
His love through all our troubles, the
promise of our final victory in all our
;rials, the pledge of blessed harvest alter
Ill sowing with weeping.
'sIn the world ye shall have tribulation,
,ut be of good cheer, 1 have overcome the
world" REV. GEORGE HODGES.
Ore for Every Day in the Week.
3oston Bulletin,]
Mrs. Oldrich-I was very sorry to miss