The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1891-05-21
THE N[ENDING OF NETS.
CONTINUED from first Page

waters what are called gill nets, and
tho fish put their heads through the
meshes and then cannot withdraw
them because they are caught by the
giIls. But gill nets cannot be OF any
service in religious work. Men are
never caught for the truth by their
heads; it is by the heart or not at all
No argument ever saved q man and no
keen analysis ever brought man into
the kingdom OF God. Heart work,
not head work. Away with your gill
nets! sympathy, helpfulness, consola-
ton. love, are the names of some OF
the threads that we need to weave in
our Gospel nets when we are mending
them.
THE WORLDS HEART BURSTING WITH
TROUBLE.
Do you know that the worlds heart
is bursting with trouble, and if you
could make that world believe that the
religion of Jesus Christ is a soothing
omnipotence the whole world would
surrender tomorow-yea, would sur
render this hour2 The day before
James A. Garfield was inaugurated as
president was in the cars going from
Richmond to Washington. A gentle
man seated next to me in the cars knew
me, and we were soon in familiar con-
yersation. 1t was just after bereave-
ment, and was speaking to him from
an overburdened heart about the sor-
row / was suffering. Looking at his
cheerful face / said: II guess you have
escaped ali trouble. | should Judge
from your countenance that you have
come through free from all misfortune. !"
Then he looked at me with look /
shall never forget and whispered in my
ear: "Sir, you know nothing about
trouble. My wife has been in an in
sane asylum for fifteen years" And
then he turned and looked out of the
window and into the night with a
silence was too overpowered to break.
That was another illustration of the
fact that no one escapes trouble. Why,
that man seated next to you in church
has on his soul weight compared with
which q mountain is a feather. That
woman seated next to you in church
has grief the recital of which would
make your body. mind and soul shud.
der
When you are mending your net fol-
this wide, deep sea of humanity take
out that wire thread of criticism and
that horsehair thread of harshness
and put in a soft silken thread q
Christian sympathy. Yea, when yor
are mending your nets tear out those
old threads of gruffness and weave in {
few threads of politeness and geniality
In the house of God let all the Christian
faces beam with a look that mean
welcome. Say good morning" to tn
stranger as he enters your pew, and a
] the close shake hands with him ant
, say, "How did you like the music !?
, Why, you would be to that man i,
panel of the door of heaven; you woult
be to him a note of the doxology tina
seraphs sing when a new soul enters
! That man is a thousand miles from
home, and he has just heard by tele
graph that his child is sick with scarle
: fever, and his boy at college has go
into disgrace, and he has had bushes
troubles, and is so homesick he ca
hardly keep from crying. Just on
: word of brotherly kindness from 20
5 would lift him into small heaven.
have in other days entered pc,
a in church, and the woman at the othe
end of the pew looked at me as muc
as to say, 'How dare youa This is IN
pew, and pay the rent for it." Wei
crouched in the other corner an
} made myself as small as possible an
e felt as though had been stealing SOM
q thing. So there are people who hay
= a sharp edge to their religion, and the
:, act as though they thought most Pc
u pie had been elected to be damned an
i they were glad Oft. Oh, let us brigbte
G up our manner and appear in utmo
J. gentlemanliness or ladyhood.
,f AVOID ABRUPTNEss.
s The object in fly fishing is to thro
the fly far out, and then let it dre
gently down and keep it gently risir
and falling with the waters, and N
If plunge it like a man of-war's ancho
|. and abruptness and harshness of ma
ner must be avoided in our attempt
>. usefulness. I know a man in Ne
~ York who is more sunshiny and geni
ie when he has dyspepsia than when he
e. not suffering from that depressil
st trouble. have found out his seer.
70 When he starts out in the morning wi
w. such depression he asks for spec
grace to keep from swapping up ar
. body that day, and puts forth adj
ne tional determination to be kindly a.
hit genial, and by the help of God he /,
complishes it. Many of our nets ne
to be nended In these respects, t
black threads and the rough threa
Vi taken out, and the bright threads a
rs the golden threads.of Christian GEM
IL ity woven in.
OF In addition to this, we need to NE
he our nets with 1noretmcads of patien
l., It is no rare thing for fisherman
y spend one whole day before he {
VI take st. Lawrence pike or an Of
la salmon or q Long Island pickerel o
ill Cayuga black bass, or a,Delaware c
lis fish, and he does that day after {
ha without particular discourageme
- Bpt what a lack of patience if we
~ not Immediately succeed, in soul cat
~ ing. We are apt ITO givedt up and s
Ike II will never try'again." Into ali
nets we necc torNMeave ALI along
edge. and all throsl.h tie center gre
% long, stout threads Of Christian
~ tience. How patient God has be
:. with us! Can we not be patient W
VIC our felowss hadtpresentod me fir
on. Scotland q few dayB4ago,an orname
for ed inkstand, thecwodedtparts of VIII
ter were made froma piece of a tree
,ss- down by Mr.. Gladstone, at Harvard