Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1893-04-26


THE TERRORS OF DEVOTED LOVE.
Second-That true love in Christ has
its terrible hours in such world. There
are aspects Of love beyond the mere ex-
preston of tenderness and of kindly feel
ing Love has its hours of the terrible
and of the sublime, when death is pref
cradle to dishonor, and when violence
is to be desired above the baser things
that come with submission. A Virginius
could kill his own child for loves sake,
and we cannot say that the awful deed
of such father transcribed the limits
of the real expression of fathers love.
Let us remember that Jesus was not
only capable of anger, but that he was
angry. Let us remember that Jesus
was the supreme expression of the love
of God. If this be so, love living in this
world must be confronted with hours in
which wrath and Indignation rule SUI
preme. 1t cannot be otherwise. The
love which filed the soul of Christ was a
consuming fire, and before it evil must
be burned up
We are told that his baptism was the
baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire.
Upon more than one occasion in his life
we are told that he was angry. He said
himself that he came to bring not peace,
but sword. Such scenes in the life of
Jesus, such utterances from his lips, can
not be reconciled with the sentimental
slush of a certain school of Christianity
which continues to cry Peace, peace,
when there is no peace, when there can
be no peace with the forces of hell.
There is large amount of unadulterat-
ed hypocrisy in the cry for the gentle
ness Of the gospel in this hour. 1t will
be found in scores of cases to emanate
from men who hate the gospel of Christ
with all their soul, and who cry for its
gentleness and its sweetness because they
feel the touch of the sword of Christ, of /,
his truth and his indignation and his
anger in their inmost souls.
Jesus sacrificed himself. Christianity
means the sacrifice of self. If we would
be the disciples of Christ, we must be
willing to sacrifice self. The man who
sacrifices himself must displease the self |
ish. 1t is an arraignment of them and |
of their life. One of the most difficult
sacrifices for the follower of Christ to
make today is to count his reputation as
nothing for Christ's sake; is to be willing
to be Kissed and cursed and spit on by
the people. The most difficult sacrifice
which Christianity demands of its fol-
lowers today is that they be willing to
be unpopular. 1t is an easy thing to pan
der to vitiated public sentiment. 1t is
an easy thing to sell ones soul for this
cheap applause. The follower of Christ
who does it has betrayed his Master, has
belied his profession and is untrue to the
first principles of his life-the sacrifice
of self.
The world hated Jesus Christ. He was
not popular preacher in the sense that
he pleased the powers that ruled society.
They hated him with the bitterest in
tensity of their dark souls. 1t is impos-
sible for any man to live true Christian
life in this world, following Jesus in
spirit and in truth, and not be hated.
Jesus says it himself in so many words.
Hear him: IF We were of the world, the
world would love its own. But because
We are not of the world, but chose you
out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you. They prosecuted me. They
will also persecute you. Yea. the hour
cometh that whosoever killeth you shall
think he offereth service unto God
THE SWORD OF CHRISTIANITY.
There is and there must be of neces-
sity a point of contact with evil at
which Christianity bursts into a con-
summing fame. The Christianity inca .
pable of such a contamination, of such I
if you please, is dead, not liv- ;
ing. Nor is this in any wise incon-
sistent with the highest conception of
Jesus. In his personality was blended
The tenderest, the divinest love, with all !
the elements of sternest, moral warfare.
We see these elements combined fire.
luently in the character of the stern J
warrior. Prince Henry, the brother of {
Frederick the Great. king of Prussia, t
eads his army through Saxony, upon 1
mission of death, and yet he is careful {
IF every field of grain. If a soldier /
stepped out of the direct road, the cap. G
ain was punished. a
One day in the harvest season the !
,rince saw the peasants hurrying to save I
heir crops from an approaching storm. v
he had every horse taken a
rom the baggage wagons and sent to the il
assistance OF the farmers, who were s
Imazed at TINS sympathy from a great c
General and an enemy. On one occasion a
10 French officers were taken prisoners S
nd brought before him. He was indig- o
Iant that they had been deprivedo of their
words and restored them at once. The p
wounded among the prisoners he cared c
or as carefully as if they belonged to c
is own army. When he learned that t
0 of them wore without money, he pro- !,
ided for them from his own purse and y
t considerable Inconvenience to himself. Il
t is possible TO fight and yet TO love your G
nemy. 1t is possible to fight for princi- o
lie and truth and right and in the very z
attic seek the salvation of those against =