Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-04
A CHRISTIANS DUTY.
He Must Extend to Others the Help
He Has Himself Received.
DESERT ISLAND CHRISTIANITY
Is Not Good Enough for the Man Who Lives
in the Midst of Men.
THE MORAL OF THE LEGEND BEAUTIFUL
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH !

man request that he might be one of His
followers, and sent him home. The Incl
dent, which is a singular and notable one,
is set down in the following words: Now
the man out of whom the devils were de-
parted, besought Him that he might be with
Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, re-
turn to thine own house, and show how
great things God hath done unto thee"
This man had been helped, and the Lord
wanted him to go and help somebody else.
The man had not thought OF that. He had
imagined that he could be Christian all
alone. For him there were but two persons
in the world-one was Christ and the other
was himself. His heaH was full of great
longing to be with Christ. He wanted to
see His face and hear His voice-just to see
and to hear-every day. 1t had not oc-
Cured to this man that there was anything
for him to do to be with Christ-that was
his idea of Christian discipleship.
But Jesus sent him away. He told him
to 90 home. He reminded him that there
was work waiting for him. He taught him
that the essential duty of Christian is to
help his brother.
This man was q mistaken Christian. He
was a good mana devout, earnest, loyal
and loving man. But this one thing he
lacked. He had forgotten that he had any
brother. He had forgotten that the blessing
of help brings with it
THE DUTY OF HELPING.
If he had lived in the Middle Ages he
would have been a monk. He would have
spent his whole life thinking holy and low
ing thoughts about Christ, kneeling at the
foot of the cross. His knees would have
grown as hard as q camePs, and his heart as
tender as little child's. But his hands
would have been as tender as his heart.
And the Lord doesn't want US to be soft
handed. He wants hands made hard and
firm by work.
1t this man were living now and here, we
would see him constantly at service; he
would be marked among communicates for
his regularity and his reverence; he would
say his prayers and read his Bible; he
would be attentive to sermons; he would
keep his heart full of good thoughts; his
life would be pure and true. Men would
say, "There'is good Christian" But men
would be mistaken. 1t takes more than
that to make good Christian. That may
be good enough Christianity for a desert
island, but 1t is not good enough for q man
who lives in the midst Of men.
This man would be content, as said, to
be Christian all alone. He would worship,
but he would not work. He would not lend
a helping hand.
There is no place for selfshness in the
Christian religion. If any kind OF selfish
ness could be commended it would be such
as this man showed. But Christ would allow
no place even to that. There is no recogni-
tion in the Christian religion of any division
OF devout people into two classes-one medi-
tating religion, and the other practically
religious. There is no privilege without an
accompanyingrespons no getting with
out a consequent giving. The Lord is not
pleased with any man who simply stays
with Him; He sends us all away-with His
words in our ears, and His love in our
hearts-in His name-He sends us home
that as we have been taught, so we NAV
teach; that as we have been helped, so we
may
HELP OUR BROTHER.
The Christian religion Is the religion of
helpfulness. Christ came, bringing into
the world this idea of duty of helpfulness
as almost a new revelation. He surprised
men by going about doing good, and by
teaching the highest truth to the simplest
people. That is, He helped the bodies, and
the souls of men, and of all men. That was
a new thing.
Take, tor example, the truth which Christ
came to teach 1t differs from the doctrine
of all other religions, not only in its pulpit
variety, but IN its helpfulness. Christian
doctrine is helpful truth. That vision
which st. Peter saw on the house-top at
Jappa is fitting symbol of it. There
above, on the house-top was the vision, and
then below at the door were three
men knocking. And the vision was for
the sake of the men, the visitation was
vfsitation of duty. 1t was truth which
was Immediately to be translated into love.
There is much theology in the epistles OF
St. Paul. All the first chapters of nearly
all the epistles are theological. But all the
last chapters are concerned with the appli-
cation of this theology to daily life. The
doctrine is laid as foundation, that upon
it may be builded the superstructure of
good life The theology is tor the sake of
better living, as the foundation is for the
sake of the house, God has made certain
blessed yisitations of His truth in the Chris
tian religion, but we find that without e1-
ception these visitations are not to satisfy
curiosity or to answer our wondering ques-
tions, but to guide us toward better loving
and living. There is good book called
"Applied Christianity" 1t is all meant to
be applied, every article of it. Christian
doctrine is
HELPFUL TRUTH.
The Christian religion grew in the world
through the attractive power OF helpfuiness.
This helpful truth not only helped men, but
it made them helpful. Before Christ, men
had been for the most part like the man of
the text. They wanted truth and holiness
for themselves. 1t had not occurred to
them to be missionaries of holiness and
truth. When the Lord assembled His disci-
ples. the men who were learning, and out of
the heart of them chose His apostles, the
men who were to teach and to help, new
impulse began. These apostles and
those who worked with them went
out among men preaching the gospel of
help. They carried this helpful doctrine
which the Lord had taught them; they
gave men q new law in ethics, the law of
help, the moral law, the golden rule.
Above all they told men the story of the
helpful Christ If held up before the world
as an example Him who had lived
and died to help. By-and-by it was
remarked in DAYS of pestilence when
men fed out of their houses, leaving their
own kin to die unattended-it was re-
marked that these strange religionists called
Christians did not run away. They stayed
to help. And when men saw that, they
began to think that there might be some
thing in this new religion after all.
There came days afterward, II Is true,
when the temptations of prosperity became
strong and the church grew unhelpiul.
The tables of the money changers were
moved, as one says, into the Holy of HOLES.
And the word "help" meant help yourself.
Then the church was weak. Helpfulness
and strength go together. The church did
not wholly cease to be helpful. That
would be death. When the helpfulness of
the church shall stop then will the church
stop. To help is the very reason for the
church's being.
The church is great help association.