The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-04-09
ONE THING LACKING.
Rev T. Dewitt TalmAge Talks to
the Moralists.
Mere Morality without the Love of God
in the Heart will Not Insure
Happiness in the Life
to Come.

lyn and New York City on a recent Sab
bath, the text being:
One thing thou laekest.-Mark x.,2
The young man of the text was
splendid nature We fall in love with
him at the first glance. He was anna
Bile, and frank, and earnest, and edu-
Gated, and refined, and respectable, and
moral, and yet he was not Christian.
And SO Christ addressed him in the
words that / have addressed to you:
Zone thing thou laelxest." / suppose
that that text was no more appro-
pirate to the young man of whom I
have spoken than it is appropriate to
great multitude of people in this audi
ence. There are many things in which
you are not lacking. For instance, you
are not lacking in a good home. 1t is,
perhaps, no more than an hour ago that
you closed the door, returning to see
whether it was well fastened, of one of
the best homes in this city The young
er children of the house already asleep,
the older ones, hearing your returning
footsteps, will rush to the door to meet
you. And in these winter evenings. the
children at the stand with their lessons,
the wife plying the needle, and you
reading the book or the paper, you feel
that you have a good home. Neither
are you lacking in the refinements and
the conrtesies of life. You understand
the polite phraseology of invitation, re-
gard and apology. You have an appro-
pirate apparel. | shall wear no bet
ter dress at the wedding than when
] come to the marriage of the Kings
son. If / am well clothed on the other
occasions / will be in religious audi
ence. However reckless may be about
my personal appearance at other times,
when / come into eonsecrated assem-
blage ! shall have on the best dress 1
have. We all understand the proprie-
ties of everyday life and the proprieties
of a Sabbath life.
Neither are you lacking in worldly
success. You have not made as much
money as you would like to make, but
you have an income. While others are
false when they say they have no
income or are making no money, you
have never told that falsehood. You
have had livelihood or you have fallen
upon old resources, which is just the
same thing, for God is just as good to
us when He takes care of us by a sur
plus of the past as by present success.
While there are thousands of men with
hunger tearing at the throat with the
skength of tigers paw, not one of you
is hungry. Neither are you lacking in
pleasant friendship You have real good
friends. If the scarlet fever should
come tonight to your house, you know
very well who would come in and sit up
with the sick one; or, if death should
come, you know who would come in and
take your hand tight in theirs with that
peculiar grip which means, ''I'll stand
by you" and after the life has fed from
the loved one, take you by the arm and
lead you into the next room, and while
you are gone TO Greenwood they would
stay in the house and put aside the gar
ments and the playthings that might
bring to your mind too severely your
great loss. Friends? You all have
friends.
Neither are you lacking in your adj
miration of the Christion religion. There
is nothing that makes you so angry as
to have man malign Christ. You get
red in the face, and you say: ''Sir, /
want you to understand that though |
am not myself Christian, don't like
such things said as that in my store, -
and the man goes off, giving you part
ing salutation, but you hardly answer
him. You are provoked beyond all
bounds. Many of you have been sup
porters of religion and have given more
to the cause of Christ than some who
profess His faith. There is nothing
that would please you more than to see
your son or daughter standing at the
altar of Christ, taking the vows of the
Christian. 1t might be little hard on
you, and might make you nervous and
agitated for a little while; but Won
would be man enough to say: "My
child, that is right. Go on. am glad
you haven't been kept back by my ex-
ample. hope some day to join you -
You believe all the doctrines of relig-
ion. A man out yonder says: II am
sinner" You respond: $50 am l.
Some one says: Il believe that Christ
came to save the world" You say: $50
do l." Looking at your character, at
your surroundings, I find thousand
things about which to congratulate you:
and yet l must tell you in the love and
fear of God, and with reference to nv
last account: Zone thing thou lack
est"
You need, my friends, in the first
place, the element of happiness. Some
days you feel wretched. You do not
known what is the matter with YOU.
You say: Il did not sleep last night. |
think that must be the reason o. my
restlessness;" or 81 have eaten some
thing that did not agree with me, and |
think that mist be the reason And
you are unhappy. o, my friends, hap
piness does not depend upon physical
condition. Some of the happiest peo-
pie | have ever known have been those
who have been wrapped in consumption
or stung with neuralgia, or burning
with the slow fire of some fever. |
never shall forget one man in my first
parish, who, in excruciation of body
cried out: ''Mr. Talmage, 1 forget all
my pain in the love and JOY of Jesus