The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-01-04
Religious Crabs.

10 Wink up u uedNeh o"NN "o'"T'
They seek to develop Christian
character by a careful system of self
examination and review, They SEIZE
eagerly Upon every anniversary such
as a birthday. New Year, Lords
Supper, etc., as occasions for retro
spection, The effect is dolefuI
enough. They are forever mourning
over their slow progress. And what
wonder? The crab Is not model
ofspeed or grace. and what could he
expected of those who initiate him?
The fact Ia, men are not constructed
for walking backwards. either phys
ically or spiritually. Let any one
try to walk backwards up long.
steep hill. and see what progress he
will make. If he attempts to hurry,
he will surely stumble. 1t Is not a
natural way to walk. God made Us
to walk with our faces to the front.
It is the same in the religious life.
II we keep our eyes turned back
ward, instead Of baking forward, we
shall surely fall again and again, and
our progress will, of necessity, he
slow and irregular. Many Christians
look back perpetually at some past
experience that brought great peace
and Joy ; or they dwell in memory
upon some period of unusual activi.
ty and conservation, and while their
gaze is thus fixed behind them, they
pass by present opportunities of ser.
vice, they neglect the duties of to-
day. Others. looking back. see only
mistakes and failures, and are dis.
couraged. They fear to undertake
present duty, lest in that they should
be equally unsuccessful. 1t matters
not whether the past be bright or
dark, to dwell upon it only hinders
our onward course.
Away with useless retrospection !!
We have too much of 1t. There is no
strength to be derived from looking
backward. nothing but weakness
and encouragement. Our strength
ia In forgetting. Look forward.
Progress is the watchword of Chris
tianity. the ideal of Christian life and
action. That is no true spirituality
that lives wholly in the past. Let
the dead past bury its dead-Act. act
in the living present." If we look
back ward, it should he hut to forget
the past, not 10 dwell! upon il. to
glnat or mourn over it as the case
may be.
1t is useless to dwell on our past
lives. because we cannot change them.
Deeds are immort i. That which is
done can never be und0ne. Ponder.
ing upon it will do No good. Judas
pondered upon his sin till he was
driven to despair. and committed
another sin. Peter turned away
from his sin, and forgot It in earnest
service, showing the reality OF his
repentance and receiving free for
giyeness.
To look backward Is useless. be-
cause no past experience is of present
full value. A man may have been
saint year ago; but if he has forsaken
his holy life, if he has ceased TO live
for God and his fellow.men, and is
to-day engrossed in self1hn, IS and
sin, of what value Is his last years
saintliness? The remembrance of it
only makes his present condition
worse by contrast.
On the other hand, no past eXper-
fence can hinder our present Obedi-
ence and salvation. 1t matters not
how sinful or how empty may he
the record of the past life. or how
many its falls. to every soul that de-
sires Gods blessings to-day that
blessing is freely offered.
But the best of all reasons why we
should look forward, aud not back
ward is that there are greater things
for us in the future. No Christian
need live forever in the light of a
past experience, however grand it
may have been. Every day may be,
and ought to be, brighter and more
useful than any day that has preced.
ed 1t. 1t matters not how much you
may have enjoyed of Gods love and
power in the past, he is willing and
able TO give you much richer exper-
fences in the future.
Sir Isaac Newton, toward the close
of his life. lamented the fact, that.
with a whole ocean of truth spread
out before him. he had, with all his
study, only been able to gather few
pebbles from the shore, If this Is
true of science, how much more of
religion. The most noble Christian
the world has ever seen has done no
more than this. He has but gathered
a few pebbles from the shore. Yet
how often we are satisfied with these.
We toss the pebbles from one hand |
4 At