The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1891-04-24


And now yOu understand why they
lied about ycu and tried to drive you
hither and thither. Is was 70 put you
IN the glorious company of such men as
Iguatius, who, when he went out 70 be
destroyed by the lions said: Il am the
wheat and the teeth OF the wild beasts
must first grind me before can be-
come pure bread for Jesus Christ -
An, yes, it is persecution to put you in
glorious company; and while there are
many things that you Will have to post
pone to the future world for expiana-
ton, I tell you that It is the whole
tendency of your religion to unravel
and explain and interpret and 1lunnine
and irradiate- Job was right 1t Is a
glorious transparency. The crystal
cannot equal it,
1 remark again that religion sur
passes the crystal in its beauty. That
lump of crystal is put under the magni-
tying glass of the crystallOgrapher and
he sees in it indescribable beauty
snow drift and splinters of boar frost
and corals and wreaths and stars and
crowns and oscillations of conspicuous
beauty. The fact is that crystal is SO
beautiful that can think of but one
thing in all the universe that IS SO beau
tiful, and that is the religion of the
Bible. No wonder this Bible repre-
sents that religion as the day break, as
the apple blossoms, as the Giittering of
a kings banquet It is the joy of the
whole earth People talk too much
about their cross and not enough about
their crown. Do you know the Bible
mentions a cross but twenty-seven
times while it mentions a crown eighty
times?
Beautiful in its symmetry. When it
presents Gods character it does not
present Him as having love like great
protuberance on one side of His nature,
but makes that love in harmony with
His Justice love that will accept all
those who come to Him, and q justice
that will by no means clear the guilty.
Beautiful religion in the sentiment it
imp1ants Beautiful religion in the hope
itkindles! Beautiful religion in the fact
that it proposes to garland and enthrone
and emparadise an immortal spirit.
Solomon says it is a lily. Paul says it is
a crown. The Apocalypse says it is a
fountain kissed of the sun. Ezekiel
says it is a fOliaged cedar. Christ says
it is bridegroom come to fetch home a
bride. While Job in the text takes up
a whole vase of precious stOnes-the
topaz and the sapphire and the chryso-
prasus-and he takes ont of this
beautiful vase just one crystal and
holds it up until it CLEANS in the warm
light of the eastern sky, and he eX-
claims: THE crystal cannot equal 1t. -
o, it is not a stale religion, it is not a
stupid religion, it is not a tOOthless hag,
as some seem to have represented it; it
is not Meg Merrilies with shriveiled
arm come to scare the world. It is the
fairest daughter of God, heiress of all
His wealth. Her cheek the morning
sky; her voice the music of the south
wind; her step the dance of the sea
Come and WOO her. The Spirit and the
Bride say come, and whatsoever viii, let
him come.
Do you believe with Christ and say ii
is a bridegroom come to fetch home a
bride? Then strike hands with your
| Lord the King while I pronounce you
| everlastingly one. Or if you think with
Job that it is a jewel, then put it on
your hand like a ring, on your neck
like a bead, on you forehead like a star,
while looking into the mirror of Gods
| Word you acknowledge the crystal
cannot equal it.
Again, religion is superior to the
| crystal in its transformations. The
| diamond is only a capitalization OF
| coal Those crystals which adorn our
| persons and our homes and our mu-
| seums have only been resurrected from
| forms that were far from lustrOus.
| Scientists for ages have been ezamin-
| ing these wonderful transformations.
| But tell you in the Gospel of the Son
of God there is a more wonderful trans
| formation. Over souls by reason of sin
| black as coal and hard as iron, God by
his comforting grace stOOps and says:
| They shall be Mine in the day when ]
make up My jewels"
What say you, twill God wear
| jewelry?'' If He wanted 1t. He could
make the stars of heaven His belt and
have the evening cloud for the. sandals
| of his feet; but He does not want that
/ adOrnment- He win not have that jew,
| elry- When God wants jewelry He
| comes down and digs it out Of the
depths and darkness OF sin These
souls are all cr.ystallizations of mercy.
He puts them on and He wears them il
| the presence of the whole universe. He
| wears them on the hand that was nailed
| over the heart that was pierced, or
the temples that We're stung. ''They
/ shall be Mine" saith the Lord. Gin the
day when 7 make up My jewels ,
Wonderful transformation 1.-The
| crystal cannot equal it There she is
/ "A vra:f of the street. buf she shall fe