St. Paul daily globe., 1895-06-24

blot that all out. / am to go to him
and have perfectly clear, charitable
understanding with him, remove all
animosity. UncharitableneSS animos-
ity, any antagonism of spirit between
man and man is curse on all human
relations. You know what it is in busi-
ness life, how it keeps men apart-some
little business transaction, sacrificing
soul, life. You see how it is in families,
breaking up families into feuds, dis
turbing them and spelling their family
so completely that it is no longer
family, but a tribe of contending ami
mails, it may be sending that animoSity
down, generation after generation, un-
til tribes and nations take up the ami
mostly, and no one can tell how it be-
gan.
l do not believe that there is one
sound reason that any man can give
to his own soul in the presence of
God for any animosity he has in his
heart-I don't care what it is. 1t is
natural, 1 know. We all have it. But
that man who consents to having it,
consents to stand outside of the for
giveness Of God. / do not see how any
of us, if we permit these animosities,
can both justify the animosity and Of
fer this prayer. There are a good
many other prayers we might offer
and think we were sound, but l do not
believe that a man can be truly sin
cere before God and pray any prayer
of this Lords prayer and have an evil
feeling, a feeling of animosity against
his brother man. He must leave the
Lords prayer alone, and he must leave
the sermon on the mount alone, unless
he takes his fellownan into fellowship
with his own feeling. He belongs
under the Old Testament law where
revenge was permitted as the law of the
land, but permitted only as a law of
the land, and never consented to of
God. In the New Testament it is alb
solutely forbidden. There we are told.
Thou shalt not even hate thy brother"
and HE that hateth his brother is a
murderer is the utterance of the
Apostle John.
What an effect it would have on
this world of ours if all the Christian
world prayed this prayer Alright, If
every man who calls himself Christian
throughout this land of ours, hum
bly,, earnestly, sincerely, with whole
heartedness, could pray this one prayer,
Forgive US as we forgive" as he
goes about meeting his felloWmen in
close business and world relation. The
disarming of the nations would come
quickly then, because the disarming Of
personal aninosity would come, and
the world would recognize that God is
with His church on earth.
There are some people who daily
draw aside the cloudy curtain that
overhangs our lives just at the right
moment to let the sunshine in there
are some people who can come in and
start song where before there was
only moan. There are some people the
very touch of whose hands give com
fort
We are told that it is honorable
and great in God-kingly-to forgive.
Surely, then, it is in man. But let
that forgiveness be, however just,
be of the inner life. When you for
give brother don't do it by exacting,
but do it spontaneously, gladly as
you want God to forgive you. You
don't want q forgiveness to come up
at last when you appear III the pres
ence of God and have Him say to
you simply, Il have removed the pen
atty from you, am not going to pun
ish you for these evils you have
wrought" You want more than that.
You want the new life that then you
will see is the greatest life, the only
life worth having-you want that.
You want the gladness, the JOY the
peace of the perfect family of God.
Nay, you want the life of God in you
and developed to fullness, to complete
ness in His likeness.
God pity us and help us and give to
US some of that wise charity which
Christ had toward all the world when
he so loved it. that he gave Himself
with utter self-sacrifice to redeem it
some of that blessed mercy that in
the early davs Of the church, aye,
and in these later days, too, has led
in self-sacrifice SO many noble men
and women to eeQsecrate their lives
wholly, at any cost to themselves, TO
the winning of their fellowman. the
gaining of their brother into likeness
with God. This is the blessed life.
This is the life Christ lived. 1t is the
life all true men and women seek
to live, and it is the life that God
blesses-the life of mercifulness, of
love, of mutual helpfulness, all for
the purpose of perfection in the like
ness of God at last. May God forgive
us and teach US how to forgive.