The herald., 1894-12-09

| persons, the very destructiveness OF
modern warfare must soon put an end
TO the barbarism OF war. A bloody.
handed Christianity could never bring
the heathen world to Christ. With the
advance OF intelligence among the
masses aud the coming of truer civili.
cation, men will not consent to stand
before gatling guns to be moved down
BY platoons nor to be blown to pieces
by dynamite to feed the vanity or graft
fy the greed OF tyrants or to repair the
blunders Of idiocy In the place OF states
manship. Christian nations will not
much longer make euch demands upon
their citizsne. A new era in the mode
of settling international differences was
begun with the Geneva arbitration. The
time is Fastening when the nations will
learn war no more. God hath 90 prom
ised in His word, and His goodness,
wisdom and power guarantee the full
fllment of that promise. Thus the
wrath OF men shall praise the Lord, and
the remainder of wrath He can and will
restrain. The morning cometh.
Another ground Of hope for the speedy
approach of the better day is found in
the fact that the Christian women in all
lands are awakening and working as
never before since the fret age of the
New Testament church. They are
panyinR, working. giving-giving their
toll. giving their money, giving them.
selves.
Perhaps the best OF all the signs OF
our times is the evident yearning OF the
heart OF christendom for Christian
unity. 1t is coming, for God hath said
it. Jesus prayed that all his followers
might be a. even as He and His
Father are One. How deep, how tender
that prayer! He cannot pray in vain.
That unity must come. A Christisnity
divided is Christianity discredited. A
united Christianity will be invincible.
There are some partition walls between
believers still standing, but in many
places they are climbing over them in q
gracious way. A few barbed wire eccle
siasmcal fences also still remain, but
they must 90. Inever did like barbed
wire fences OF any sort. They ere
likely to hurt the flock inside ae we'll a.
those on tho outside. | want to see
these separating walls removed. not be-
cause do not love fellow-believers of
other denominations. but because l do
love them and wish to get closer to them.
We are getting closer to them. During
my recent official tour through Mon.
tana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and
California, witnessed everywhere un-
evidences of the growth of
Christian fraternity. Fraternity is
growing. The aspiration for the practi.
cal unificatiou of the Church OF Christ
throbs liz the heart Of Ohristendom, and
that uniication will be evolved in due
time, according to Gods gracious law
that the inner life Of an organism
moulds its outer forms. This uni
Iication will not come by coer.
zion. The day for that is past.
has been bought by mar
Tyr blood and will never be surren-
Tered, nor will the unificatiou of the
,hurch come by the surrender OF the
essential principles of Christianity. But
t will come by the practical adoption OF
he golden motto: Unity in essentials,
liberty in non-essentials, charity in all
hings. We will interfere with no
mans religion and no man shall enter
ere with ours.
In some of the districts recently Wis
ted by me / found all the fences re.
cved by which ranches, orchards,
Vineyards and gardens had been sepa- |
a.ed. These districts were under the |
operation OF q stock law that protected |
md benefited all alike. So the day is
approaching when We shall have at the
ame time all the advantages OF Christ
an individuality combined with the
PRACTICAL unifcation of the whole BODY
# believers. The consensus of Christian
opinion will be the stock law of the
hurcn universal, excluding the bigotry |
hat is worse than the bulls of Bashan, |
he ignorance that is the mother of
nalignity, the envy that is fercer than
igers; and then the evil spirits that
ossess swinish souls will be driven out
nd drowned in the deep sea Of oblivion.
.et US not here in California fight over
be battles Of Europe of a darker time,
or the battles Of Bull Run and Apo.
oattox.
Then will Christianity fill the earth
nth its fruits-Methodist grapes, Pres-
yterian pears. Congregational cherries,
,piscopalian apricote. Lutheran lem
ns. Christian currants, Quaker ounces,
'aptist watermelons-and all the rest"