The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-02-05

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"You stand there in bands and
surplice and gown, and preach
preach like an angel, and we will
stand out here and attend to business.
Don't mix things Don't get business
and religion in the same bucket You
attend to your matters, and we will at
tend to ours" They do not know that
God sees every cheat that they have
practiced in the last six years; that be
can look through the iron wall of his
fireproof safe; that he has counted
every dishonest dollar they have in
their pocket, and that day of judg.
ment will come.
think that the Church of God and
the Sabbath are only an armory where
we are to get weapons. When wal
comes, il man wants to fight for his
country he does not go to Troy Oh
Springfield to do battle, but he goes
there for swords and muskets.
look upon the church of Christ and
the Sabbath day as only the place and
time where ami when we are to get
armed for Christian conflict; but the
battle field IS on Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday. Friday and
Saturday. "St Martins" and "Lenox
and "Old Hundred" do not amount to
anything unless they sing all the week.
A sermon is useless unless we can take
it with US behind the plOw and the
counter. The Sabbath day is worthless
if it lasts only twenty-four hours.
There are many Christians who say:
| 70 ,n1 hut
do not want to do it in these spheres
about which we are ta' king; and it
seems so insipid and moGotoaous. If
we had some great occasion. il we had
lived in the time of Luther, if we had
been Paul's travelling companion, if we
could serve God on great scale, we
would do it; but we can't in this every
day life" / admit that great deal of
the romance and knight errantry of
life have disappeared before the ad-
vance of this practical age. There is,
however, a field for endurance and
great achievement, but it is in every
| day lite. There are Alps to scale, there
are Hellespoints to swim, there are
fires to brave; but they are all around
us now This is the hardest kind of
martyrdom to bear. It took grace to
lead Latimer and Ridley through the
fire triumphantly when their armed
enemies and their friends were looking
on; but it requires more grace now to
bring men through persecution when
nobody is looking on
Do not think that any work God
gives you to do in the world is on too
small a scale for you to do. The whole
universe is MT ashamed to take care of
one little flower l say: what are
you doing down here in the grass, you
poor little flower? Are you not afraid
nights? You will be neglected, you
will die of thirst you VIII not be fed
Poor little hower!' NO" SAYS a star
'I'u watch over it tonight" NO"
saws cloud. I'll give it drink "
No" says the sun, 'I'll warm it in my
bosom" Then see the pullsys going,
and the clouds are drawing water, and
J say: what are you doing there, o,
clouds?" And they reply: "We are Civ
ing drinks to that flower" Then the
wind rises and comes bending down the
wheat, and sounding its psalm through
the forest, and 1 cry: "Whiter away
on such swift wing, o. wind?" And it
replies, I'VE are going TO cool the
cheek of that flower" And then z bow
down and say "Will God take care of
the grass of the field?" And a. flower
at my foot responds: "Yes; he clctl es
the lilies of the field, and never yet has
forgotten me, a poor little flower" o!
when see the great heavens bending
themselves to what seems insignificant
ministration, wEsen find out that God
does not forget any blossom of the
spring any SNOW flake of the winter
come 20 the conclusion that we can
afford to attend 10 the minute thingSof
life, and that what we do we ought 60
do well, since there is as much perfec-
tion in the construction of a spiders
eve as in the. conformation of flaming
galaxies.
Plato had fable which l have now
nearly forgotten, but it ran something
like this: He sail spirits of the other
world ca1zes back to this world to fad
a body and find sphere of work. One
spirit came aud took the body of king
and did his work. Another spirit came |
and took the boiy of a poet, and did
his work After a while Ulysses came; |
and he said: ''Why, all the fine bodies |
are taken, and all the grand work is |
taken. There is nothing left for me-"
And some one replied: 'Ah! the best |
one. has been Left for you" Ulysses
said, whats thst?" And the reply |
was, 'Ithe body of common man, do i
- ., oo,,r,on xvnrlr aud for n common
+" \ good fable for the world, I
and Just as good fable for the church !
Whether we eat or drink, or whatso- |
ever we do let Us do it to the glory of |
God.
Again. we need to bring the religion |
OF Christ into our commonest trials. |
For severe losses. for bereavement, for |
trouble that shocks like an earthquake |
and that blasts like a storm, we. pre-
scribe religious consolation, but, busS-
ness man, for the small annoyance of
last week, how much of the grace of !
God did you apply2 oh" ycu say,
these trials are too small for such ap-
plication~ My brother, they are
SHAPING your character, they are soar
ing your temper, they are wearing ont
your patience, and they are making you
less and less of a man.
go irtO a sculptor's studio and see
hun shaping statue. He has ehSsel
in one hand and mallet in the other,
and he gives a very gentle stroke
click. click. eiick! 1 say. "why don't
YOU strike harder?" ''O.'' he repl es,
'that would shatter the ssItue. 1
can't do it that wav; must do it this
way" So he works on, and after a
while the features come out. and every
body that enters the studio is charmed
o.S f,eoi1ataI NVa1l Cod bas vc,,rcO,,I