The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-12-05


and one shepherd goes in one direction
and the other shepherd goes out in the
other direction. and the sheep stealer
in another direction, and each one calls,
and the flock of each of the honest
shepherds rush to their owner, while
the sheep stealer calls and calls again,
but gets not one of the flock. No won-
der that Christ years after, preaching
on great occasion and illustrating his
own shepherd qualities, says: "When
He putteth forth His own sheep He
goeth before them, and the sheep fol-
low Him for they know His voice, and
the stranger they will not follow for
they know not the voice of the strang-
er." The sides of these hills are ter
raced for grapes. The boy Christ had
often stood with great round eyes
watching the trimming of the grape
vines Clip goes the knife, and off falls
a branch. The child Christ says to the
farmer: What do you do that for?"
TO-" says the farmer that is dead
branch and it is doing nothing and is
only in the way, so cut it off" Then
the farmer with his sharp knife prunes
from living branch this and that ten
drill and the other tendril. "But"
says the child Christ 'these twigs that
you cut off now are not dead, what do
you do that for?'' CO." says the farmer
I'VE prune off these that the main
branch may Lave more of the sap and
so be more fruitful" No wonder in
after years Christ said in His sermon:
81 am the true vine and my Father is
the husbandman; every branch in me
that beareth not fruit He taketh away,
and every branch that beareth fruit He
purgeth it that it may bring forth more
fruit"
Streaks of nature all through Christ's
sermons and conversations! When a
pigeon descended upon Christ's head at
His baptism in the Jordan it was not
the first pigeon He had seen. And then
He has such wide sweep of discourse as
you may imagine from one who has
stood on the hills that overlook Naza-
reth. AS far as 1 understand. Christ
visited the Mediterranean sea only once,
but any clear morning He could run up
on hill near Nazareth and look off to
the west and see the Mediterranean,
while there in the north is snowy Mount
Lebanon, clad as in white robe of ascen-
sion, and yonder on the east and south
east Mount Gilboa, Mount Tabor and
Mount Gilead, and yonder in the south
is the plain OF Esdraelon, over which
we rode yesterday on our way to Naza-
reth. Those mountains of His boy
hood in His memory, do you wonder that
Christ when He wanted good pulpit,
made 1t out of mountain-"seeingth the
multitudes He wentup into the mount
ain" And when He wanted special
communication with God, He took James
and John and Peter into "a mountain
apart"
o, this country boy of Nazareth come
forth to atone for the sins of the world,
and to correct the follies of the world
and to stamp out the cruelties of the
world and to illumine the darkness of
the world and to transfgure the hemis-
pheres! So it has been the mission of
the country boys in all ages to trans
form and inspire and rescue. They
come into our merchandise and our
court rooms and our healing art and our
studios and our theology. They lived
in Nazareth before they entered Jeru-
salem. And but for that annual influx
our cities would have enervated and
and slain the race. Late hours
and hurtful apparel and overtaxed di- |
gestive organs and crowding environ
ments of city life. would have halted
the world, but the valleys and mount |
aims of Nazareth have given fresh sup
ply Of health and moral inauguration to |
Jerusalem, and the country saves the |
town. From the hills of New Hamp- |
shire and the hills of Virginia and |
the hills of Georgia come into |
our National eloquence the Web
sters and the Clays and the Henry W. |
Gradys From the plain homes Of
and Maryland come into
our national char ties, the George Pea
bodys and the William Corcorans. From |
the cabins of the lonely country regions |
come into our National destinies the |
Andrew Jacksons and the Abraham
Lincolns. From the pillow boys furrow
and village counter and blacksmith's
forge come most of our city giants.
But alas that the city should so often
treat the country as OF old the one from
Nazareth was treated at jerusalem!
Slain, not by hammers and spikes, but |
by instruments just as cruel On every |
street of every city crucifixion goes on.
Every year shows its ten thousand of
the slain. o, how we grind them up! |
Under what wheels, in what mills and |
FOR what an awful grist! Let the city
take better care of these boys and young
men arriving from the country. They
ire worth saving. They are now only the
preface Of what they will be it, instead
Of sacrificing, you help them.
Agentleman long ago entered school
n Germany and he bowed very low be-
lore the boys and the teacher said:
why do you do that?" 90" said the
visitor II do not know what mighty
nan may yet be developed among them"
At that instant the eyes of one Of the
boys flashed fire. Who was it? Martin
Luther. A lad on his way to school
passed doorstep on which sat lame
md invalid child. The passing boy said
20 him: why don't you go to school?'
20, l am lame and 1 can't walk to
SCHOOL," Get on my back" said the
we'll boy, land 1 will carry you to
school" And so he did that day and for
many days until the invalid was fairly
started on the road to an education.
Who was the we'll boy that did that
kindness? don't know. Who was the
invalid he carried? 1t was Robert Hall,
the rapt pulpit orator of all Christen-
iom. Better give to the boys who come
lp from Nazareth to Jerusalem a crown
instead of cross.
On this December morning in Pales-
tine on our vav ont from Nazareth wa