The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-06-21

suspect He is lost and / with flushed cheek
and q terrorized look,thsy, rush this way
and that saying: "Have you seen cav.
thing of my boy He Is twelve years of ages
of fair complexion. and has blue eyes and
auburn hair. Have you seen Him, since
we left the scity"' Back they 90 in hot,
haste, in and out the streets, in and out
the private houses and among the sur
rounding hills. For three days they
search and inquire, wondering if He has
been trampled under foot Of some of the
throngs or has ventured on the cliffs or
fallen of a precipice.. Send through all
the streets and lanes Of tho city and
among the surrounding bills that most
dismal sound:: "a, lost childl. A, lost
child"' And 10, after three days they
discover Him in great temple, seated
among the mightiestreli gionists ofiall the
world. The walls of no other building
ever looked down on SUCH scene. A
child twelve years old surrounded by
septuagenariaas, He asking His own ques--
tions and answering theirs.
am not SO much interested in the ques.-
tons they asked Him as in the questions
He asked them. He asked the questions
not to get information from the doctors,
for He knew it already, but to humble
them by showing; them the height and
depth and length and breadth of their
own ignorance. While the radiant boy
thrusts these self.conceitedi philosophers
with the Interrogation, point they put the
forefnger of the right hand to the temple
as though to start their thoughts into
more vigor. and they would look upward
M, n hav h,,- l. IL,
and then by absolute silence or in positive
words confess their incapacity to answer
the interrogatory.. With any one of q
hundred questions about theology, about
philosophy. about astronomy, about time,
about eternity. He may have baked them,
disconnected them, flung them fiat. Be-
hold the boy Christ asking questions and
listen when your child asks questions. He
has the right to ask them The more he
asks the better. Alas for the stupidity of
the child without inquisitivsness! It IS
Christlike to ask, questions. Answer
them it, you can. Do not say: Il can't
be bothered now." 1t il your place to
be bothered with questions. II you are
not able to answer, surrender and confess
your incapacity, as 1 have no doubt did
Rabbin Simeon and Hillel and Shammai
and the sons Of Betirah when that splendid
boy, sitting or standing there with gar
ment reaching from neck to. ankle, and
girdled at the waist, put them to their
very, wit's>end. Its no disgrace to say:
81, don't know" The learned doctors
who environed Christ that day in the
temple did not know or they would not
have asked Him any questions The only
being in the universe who never needs to
say, 81 do, not know" Is the Lord
Almighty. The fact that they did not
know sent Keppler and Cuvier and Column
bus and Humboldt and Herschel and
Morse and Sir William Hamilton and all
the other of the worlds mightest natures
into their lifelong explorations. Telescope
and microscope and stethoseope and
electric battery and all the scientific ap-
paratus of all the ages are only questions
asked at the door of mystery. Behold the
Nazarene lad asking questions, giving
everlasting dignity to earnest interroga-
ton.
But while l see III, old theologians
standing around the boy Christ am i'm
pressed as never before with the fact that
what theology most wants is more of
childish simplicity. The world and the
Church have built up i'm mense systems of
theology. Half of them try to tell what
God thought what God planned. what
God did five hundred million years before
the small star on which we live was cre-
ated. L have had many a sound sleep I'M
der sermons about the DEGREES of God and
the eternal generation Of the Son and dis
courses showing who Melchisedek wasn't.
and give fair warning that if any min-
lister ever begins a sermon on such a sub
ject in my presence I will put my head
down on the pew in front and go into the
deepest slumbsr I can reach. Wicked
waste of time, this trying to scale the
and fathom the unfathomable
while the nations want the bread
of life and to be told how they can get rid
of their sins and their sorrows. Why
should you and perplex ourselves about
the DEGREES of God. Mind your own BUSH
ness and God will take care of His. In
the conduct of the universe l think He
will somehow manage to get along with
out us. II you want to love and serve
God, and be good and useful and get TO
Heaven, warrant that nothing which &C.
Cured eight hundred quintillion Of years
go will hinder you a minute. 1t is not
the DEGREES of God that do US any harm,
il is our own DEGREES of sin and folly.
You need not go any further back in his
tory than about $50 years. You see this
is the year 1889 Christ died about thirty
three years of age. You subtract 81 from
1889 and that makes 1t only ], S5S years.
That is as far back as you need to go.
Something occurred on that day I'M
der an eclipsed sun that sets US all
forever free il with our whole heart and
life we accept the tremendous proffer
Do not let the Presbyterian Church or the
Methodist Church or the Lutheran Church
or the Baptist Church or any of the Evan
gelical Churches spend any tiese in trying
to fix up old creeds. all Of them imperfect
as every thing man does is imperfect !
move . new creed for all the Evangelical
Churches Of Christendom only three ar
ticles IN the creed and nes need Of any
more II l had all the conss01ated people
of all denominations of tina earth on one
great plain, and l had voice loud enough
to put it to a vote that cresd of three ar
ticles would be adopted with a unanimous
vote and a laundering aye that would
make the earth quake and the heavens
ring with hosanna- This is the creed !
propose for all Christendom:
Article l. 'God so loved the world that
he gave His only begotten Son that who
soever beieveth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life"
Article . This is faithful saying and
worthy Of all scceptation that Jesus Christ,
came into thu world 10 save sinners, even
the chief"
Article 8. Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive blessings and riches and
honor and glory and power, world without
end. Amen"
But you go to tinkering up your cid
creeds and patching and splicing and in
terlining and annexing and subtracting
and adding and explaining and you will