The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1893-01-27
W. c. 7. q. COLUMN
Timely Talks.

PRONUNCIATION of christian law. Nosh-
ing could better describe the whole
work of the Woman's Christian Tenn
perance Union than this comprehen-
sive word.
The word of Gods law, from which
the evangelistic idea sprang, underlIes
the whole superstructure of the de-
partments, like strong, well laid
foundation
Our faith in the word of God. HIS
law written in the book, also in the
tissues and nerves of the human body,
and in the conditions of social safety
and domestic peace and governmental
security, makes us afraid of anything
upon which He pronounces .'woe."
And when the woe begins to operate
before our eyes silence is no longer
possible. 1t is the fact that drink
kills, that brought our departments
into existance. If it only killed the
body, we should be obliged to take
measures against it, but when we also.
believe that it blights all of life, for
two worlds. we can but bend all our
energies to its destruction. But, for
our belief and knowledge of the factst
the temperance women would never
have troubled themselves about the
liquor traffic, in one way OF the: other.
As the case now stands. whether wa
are raising money, distributing litera
ature, suppressing impure literature
circulating petitions, and watching
them through legislatures, setting
type, teaching science, selling books
| dong the most secular of all our workJ
we have but the one purpose in it, viz!
that the uttermost salvation may come
to the hopeless, as sure as to the
respectable sinner, and that all men
shall be made to fear Gods wrath.
Observe how the scarlet thread of
the evangelistic warp supplies The
basis for all the weaving of plans
national and local.
The work of organizing a union
must be done in conformity to christian
law. The individuals, gathered ftem
various orders of social life, with many
prejudices, many denominational diff
erences, all sorts of tastes and affin+
tiles, are to be bound into one body,
the ''unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of Cod being
the bond; the head being Christ,
from whom all the body fifty framed
and knit together maketh the increase
of the body with the building up Of
itself in love-" 1t is no easy task
which is given to the organizer, as
will be seen when it is remembered
that we expect to gather into one
sisterhood all the women of the world.
At the outset We are met with the
question, show can this be done on a
christian basis?" but God has a revel-
alton in process.
''Womanhood the world over" as
Hannah Whitehall Smith said, "means
motherhood, and motherhood means
prayer. Few are women who have
gone down into the perilous depths to
obtain the crown of motherhood, who
did not go with prayer. The hands
of children open up the soul to that
consciousness of need which begets
prayer. Prayer sooner or later leads
to Gods one answer, Christ.
The woman in the darkest corners
of the earth. stretching out their hands
their souls dark with the unutterable
depths of need, their signs trying to
voice the prayers that cannot be trans
lated by any words they know how to
speak, all know what motherhood
means, and if they cannot at first. be
made to understand our risen, glOri-
fed Christ, we must make them feel
the warm and hallowed influence of
the word which represents Him in the
name of our organization, the genial
power of that Spirit, answering to the
need which they already feel, that the
children in their arms shall be pro-
tected from the destroyer in any form.
They must learn that christian means
safety, and we must teach the lesson.
They have already learned that strong
drink destroys, and the necessity OF
helpless child life, against selfshness
and lust, represented in unchristian
law, must be the lever by which |
womanhood in all lands shall be lifted
to Christ. and womanhood thus lifted |
means world risen to newness of
life.
As Christ came first by Mary alone
in the stable at Bethlehem. so shall |
He come the second time, to reign |
King and Lord, by this confederation
of the women of the whole world. ex-
allied to the high place which is-His
under the gospel, not only as mother
and educator of Lawmakers and rulers