Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-03-06
Vital Religion.

itui AsOiiSAV"
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. Mathew, xxi, 81.
That kind of religion which stands
us in good stead through all the vary
ing experiences of life is not primarily
a. matter of emotion, but of conviction.
The heart cannot throw itself with en-
thusiasm into a given cause and make
sacrifices for it until the mind assures
itself that the cause is a just one and
worthy of any hazard in its behalf.
Mind, rather than heart, plays the
important part when you are seriously
formulating a theory by which your
future conduct is to be governed. Mere
impulse is well enough in its way, and
an appeal to the emotions is not usual
ly out of place, but OH SO grave sub
ject as YOUR we'll being in the present
and your destiny hereafter you are not
to trust to what the heart desires, or
even longs for, but to what commends
itself to your best judgment as likely
to be true. Then, when you have
reached a conclusion, when you have
passed the limit of doubt and tread the
uplands of an unwavering belief, you
can give free scope to your emotional
nature and let your heart go out with
out fear that it may go too far.
The Injunction is to love God with
all your mind" At first blush it seems
to contain contradiction of terms-to
involve an anomaly-but in very truth
it does nothing of the kind. On the
contrary, it reveals the only safe pro
cess by which a really vital religion can
be evolved Your emotions must have
an idea for their basis, just as house
must have a corner stone. 1t is not safe
to allow your feelings to have full
sway, uncontrolled by a conviction
which YOU have hammered out in hours
of profound thoughtfulness. If you
feel SIRE IN your mind that an all pow
erfuI Beng has created you Ter wise
purpose; that He exercises a continuous
providence over your life; that death
may eVict Won from your body. but can
accomplish nothing further than this
harmless robbery, then You can unleash
your affections and let them roam
where they will, Unaffected by donbt, |
undisturbed by a regret. lfyou do not |
feel sure, however, that there is a God,
or that you will have life immortal, |
your affections count for nothing
They are like some will o'-the wisp that |
leads the unwary traveller into the
mire and leaves him there.
Why should we not exercise in mat
tiers of supremest moment the same
reason which decides or should decide |
our action everywhere else? The bust
ness man never allows his feelings to |
control his investments. He has Ger
tain amount of money in the bank; it |
is his treasure; it represents years of
toll and hardship. He does not give |
countenance to every scheme of profit |
which presents itself, but looks with |
careful eyes and judges with calm de-
liberation before he risks his funds. No
presddice can sway him, but everything
must make its appeal to his reason and
to his business experience. He would |
shortly become bankrupt if he pun sued |
any other course.
Whenever a man is more emotional
than thoughtful he runs the risk of
grave dangers. The brain is as valua-
BILE portion of the human anatomy as
the heart, and unless your feelings and
your convictions run side by side the
race will never be won. In religious
matters, more than elsewhere, you
should use your mind reverently and
boldly, for when the time of trial comes,
if you are to bear your burden bravely,
you must know as we'll as feel that ev-
erything that is is right. The reason
why the religion of SO many fails them
when they most need it-when ill for
tune visits the household or the bells
toll at the departure of loved one-is
that they have never been thoroughly
convinced that what they profess is an
eternal verify.
When the mariner is on lea shore,
his vessel enshrouded in an impenetra-
BILE fog, the noise of breakers in his ears,
lie trusts in his compass more implicit
ly that ever. Standing at the wheel
with tfembling heart and hands, awe
struck at impending peril, he will stake
his life. on the truthfulness of the nee
die. He does not depend ON his feeling {
that it cannot deceive him, but on his
knowledge that it never has deceived =,
him. That compass is the one thing he 1
is absolutely sure OF, and, being sure,
he does not hesitate even when the jut-
ting rocks are under the bow of his YES
sci. 1
That kind of faith is what we need
in our religious life-sturdy, steadfast,
unyielding Such faith alone can make
us heroes and heroines. When you
have reached the eminence from which .
your whole mind goes out to God, from
which you can look down on the events
of life and see His ruling hand, thou
sand evidences of His interest in and !.
His love for you, it will be impossible .
for you not to love Him with all your !.
heart. On the contrary, if you simply
send your emotions, your hopes-which
sometimes fly with weary wings-your !
longings, on the way to heaven, a sus-
picion may arise some dark night when :
the candle feebly lights the room of :
death that possibly these hores are
false and these longings not trust :
worthy. Such an experience is fatal
to happiness, for it changes your dis !.
m nj 6nct1oir XnI1p ro1ioriop do / L
serts you and your resignation bids Won =
goodly. God pity you in time like I
that, for your heart we'll nigh breaks. !:
You cannot build safe bridge with !,
out sinking the piers to the solid y
granite in the bed of the river.
Your faith is not good for much I'M E
less it is founded on reason.
The man who thinks he believes is y
not the equal of the man who not only
knows that he believes, but why he be- '
lieves. .
A doubt concerning the providence 7
of God when you are in the deep wa
tiers makes your heart so heavy chat you
are likely to sink.
1t is impossible for you to cling to q
unless you are sure that il :
exists and sure that it will hold you up !
If you first love God with all your L
mind, and then with all your heart,
neither temptation nor sorrow can
you.
If your religion is based Oh knowl- ,
edge as well as feeling, on conviction ;
as we'll as emotion. you are beyond the |
reach of harm in this world and close
to the joys of heaven.-N. Y. Herald. i
There are two ways to avoid drown
ing in a sea of metaphysics-to be able