The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-12-12

abundance of life SO with the seed cast
into mans life by God. Kept for mans
self, hidden away, isolated, it is useless,
or nearly so; it must toll, suffer, die, if it
is to give forth much fruit. Christ's
words brought out this great law, which
had animated all that was best in man
marlborough it under human conscious
ness, so to speak, and enabled men to look
on it and see its truth everywhere. He
saw men drifting into mere worship of
brute force, rushing into false enthusi
asms or mere struggles for personal
ascendancy. He saw the religious feelings
of men and women being preyed upon by
mere Journalists, with rules and prohibi-
tons and eXternalisms, as they have been
in every age; and He says gravely, decis-
lively: THAT is not the law of the King
dom of God at all; that is not a true
principle; the only true principle is to
sacrifice self that you may bring forth
much fruit" And having said so He
passed on to the cross, to sneers and
shame and suffering and blood to empha
size and deepen His lesson. Only in pain
and sorrow could even His
pure and spotless life bring
forth much fruit. Strange that it
should be so; only the cross only the ago
ny, convinces the world of the truth of
His life. And it is well for us, beloved,
if we remember this as a rule, in every
department of our life, moral, spiritual
as well as intellectual-nO result without
effort, no fruit without pain, no useful
ness without self-sacrifice. If you wish
to be of any use,if you want to live for
anything except food and drink and sleep
and your own comforts, you must submit
to this great law of fruitfulness-no result
without patient industry, no fruit without
pain, no usefulness to others without sac
rihce of self. Aye, and in your own deep
est self, if you would know the raptur-
Gus sense of life unto God" if you would
experience the glow of new birth unto
righteousness, and read into nature all
its highest meanings, and rejoice in good
ness and purity and love and virtue with
that keen rapturous movement of joy
which we call love of righteousness, and,
in its highest form, love of God. If in
your deepest self you would know this,
you must illustrate the same law, go
through the same experiences; you must
die unto SIM" you must cruelty the old
man. And crucifiXion is a slow, painful,
weary death, a conquering of evil habits
and passions that do not easily surren-
der, throwing away resolutely the husks
that you may find the grain; a stern, reso-
lutte effort at commanding your temper
and your tongue; but, so it is, you must
die if you would bring forth much fruit.
What is the secret of that winning power
that makes goodness so lovable in some
of Gods servants-that charm that
brings forth much fruit? Surely it is no
matter of temperament. 1t is gained in
the. awful hodrs of struggle with we'll
nigh over-mastering temptation, in the
dreGry moments of self-discipline and self
humiliation, in the often deaths of their
daily life, in the fatigue and WEAKNESS of
their communion with God; there is the
dying grain in their lives that had the
promise and shows the result. Except
it die it abideth alone; but If it die, 1t
hringeth forth much fruit" Oh, beloved,
let us strive more and more to put away
the curse of selfshness and of covetous-
ness. Whenever called upon to render
any assistance to those who need our
sympathy. either in word or deed, let us
forget self and willingly and cheerfully
respond to it according to the very best
of our ability, realizing at such times that
the Good Samaritan is speaking to us,
as to them of old: Take care of them;
and when l come again, | will repay
thee"
Character is moulded into it's best pro-
portions as much by what is done for
others as by what is taken from them.
1t is mutual help. Indeed, this is the test
that discriminates all almsgiying: Do
they benefit one person only, or
both? Do they help the needy, or the
giver's spirit as we'll? is not your soul as
likely to starye from selhshness as the
body of some poor soul for want of nour-
ishment? There are poorer men than l
am, to the end that | may make myself
freely poorer for their sake, and that will
be my most God-like privilege. Taking
from me earthly things, they pour back
spiritual things. Every time you have
been called upon for help has been part
of Gods discipline with you. He has
exercised a divine ministry upon YOU
Before God you can never be again as
| if that appeal had not been made. 1t
will come back again some time or other
| in the strange chickering's of memory,
on bed of sickness or death, or at the
last judgment. Silver and gold
our poorer brethren have not,
but nonetheless it may be a
gate called beautiful where we meet
them, for they loosen and uplift our Grip
pied affections and we, too, go healed,
leaping and walking and praising Cod
To His temple. Dear brethren, let us
! learn the lesson and never forget it. Let us
! not complain of the trials or sacrifices
! which duty brings to us. Our moral
| strength lies in offering to God that which
costs us something; in resolute secret
struggles to know God better and under
stand Him more-in these, and not in
mere emotional and sentimental talk
about religion, about our feelings, lies
our real strength. Let us do all we can,
then, to advance the interests of the
church, both for the good of others, as
| well as ourselves.
For this is the vineyard of the Lord
of Hosts, even the church of God, and
in it we must do our work, or project our
selves into miserable solitude outside it.
Sadly and YEARLY we go forth it may be,
to the old efforts, old struggles, bring
ing forth precious seed; but go we must,
back to the old struggles, renewed self
denial, or never shall it be true of us that
we "come again and bring our sheaves
with u.s." Lonely and barren in life we
shall be, and yet more lonely and barren
in death. Only one safety is thereto
throw ourselves into the death, the toll
the WEAKNESS, the self-sacrifce of moral
and spiritual effort; then, wherever oul
place be, however humble our sphere
however deSolate our sense OF
failure, we shall bring forth much
fruit. A mere ornamental Chris
tianity, Christianity of mere talk
and profession, of being shocked at sir
and of doing nothing to help sinners, OF
mere responsibility, the world has looked
at and even said goodbye to, and said it
too without regrets; but Christianity
that holding firm to the spirit and life
of Christ, shall exercise itself in the pow
er of blessing and helping others-a Chris