Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-06-08
Sunday Rtaatas,
EDITED BY REV. F. L. LEEPER.
His Own Received Him Not.

The Occident.
One of the saddest statements in the
Bible is that in first chapter of Johns
Gospel: "He came unto his own, and
his own received him not" We re-
call, as we read those words, all that
Jesus, the Jehovah of the Old Tesla
ment, had done for the patriarchs and
for the children of Israel; how he
delivered his chosen people from
Egypt and led and fed them in the
desert; how he planted them in
goodly land and lowered over them
as an eagle hovers over her young
how, when they had to be sent into
captivity on account of their sins, he
forgave them and restored them.
And we think, in view of all this,
how gladly they would welcome
him. They were indeed his own.
He had thousand special claims up
on them. Yet, when he left the
throne of his glory and visited them,
they despised and rejected him.
But before we expend too much
wonder and indignation upon the
Jews of Ammo Domini 80, let us in
quire what the nominal Christians of
1889 are doing. Jesus of Nazareth
has claims upon us an hundred.fold
stronger than his claims upon the
Jews. We know that he is the Son
of God and our Saviour. We have
entered into special convent with
him. And yet do we always receive
him when he comes to us? He tells
us how he comes, not in one married
and lowly form as of old, but in many
such forms. He comes in the per-
sons of the poor and the sick and OPP
pressed. They are his representa-
tives. What we do for them, we do
for him. Our neglect of them is neg
lect of him. Tested thus, are not
some of us cruel and ungratefui as
were his own, to whom he came 1850
years ago?
We are tempted to say when the
claims of the poor are pressed upon
us: "There are SO many impostors."
But the reason of this is that we wait
for the poor, or those who claim to
be, to come to us, instead of going to
them. We all can find worthy OBJ
jects of charity if will look for them.
If any of us were told that Christ was
in an alley,or frontier cabin, mot far
away, and was suffering there, would
we not 60 and try to find him? We
know that Christ's representatives
are in the alleys and the cabins, that
they are real sufferers, that they are
our brethren, not only in the flesh,
but also in the spirit, that they are
members with us Of the household Of
faith; and yet we do not 60 or send
to them. Weaccumulate money and
we spend it In personal enjoyment OIL
display, while the Savior tells us
through the Board of Missions, o.
hundreds of his faithful servants who
are straitened because their meagre
missionary stipens are not paid
There can be no imposture here. The
wants of the work are great and
urgent. 1t is in. the hands of wise
and godly men. 1t is eminently {
Christ-like work. It comes to US il
his name. 1t speaks to us with hi
voice. He says, "Inasmuch as we dc
it unto the least of them, We do it un
to me-" If we fail to respond to such
appeals, must it not be said of us
HE came to his own, and his owl
received him not"
The more we study the manner o
our Saviour's appearing on the earth
the greater will be our charity TO
those of his own who received hin
not, the greater our admiration of tn
few who saw the divine glory through
the form in which it was enshrouded
and the greater our fear that if Chris
should come now as he came then, h
would find very few indeed of hi
own ready to receive him. Jus
think, what trial it would be to yo
to have Christ as your guest--to fec
that he was noting all your domesti
arrangements--that his sad, reproach
full eyes were asking, "Why thi
waste, when my work languishes 70
want of funds? Why so much spen
here for self, and SO little for me an
mine?" Oh, what test of our piet
Christ's coming would be!
But Christ's cause is as sure a test q
his visible presence would be; and b
our interest in it we may kno'
whether we love him or not. Let i
not shrink from applying this ties
for it is that to which we must a