Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1895-07-25
THISTLES N CORN,
By their fruits ye shall knop them
Matthew, vii, 20.

ndu C6L 1ISHuly 0PPIOSi0US Ghio
present life until he has an I'M
wavering faith in the life to
come, and no man can rightly
appreciate heaven until he as
sures himself that what he is
now doing and sacrificing and
suffering will have a distinct
bearing on his character, and
therefore on his happiness or
misery hereafter.
When a gardener plants vege-
in the springs he knows
Just what kind of crop he will
have in the autumn. His pota-
toes will never become turnips
and his radishes will never be-
come beets. If he is careless in
his planting he will be lacking
when he reaps. There is in ma
ture only that kind of necro-
nancy which reproduces in lar
ger quantity the exact kind of
wheat which you SOW. Nature
is never c%apricious, and if you
expect generous returns you
must make a generous invest
ment.
Physically, we know this by
experience; spiritually, we know
it by induction. If oats repro
.uce oats it is safe to infer that
noble thoughts and endeayors
will result in happiness and pro-
fit, and if a neglected farm goes
to waste you may be sure that a
neglected soul will follow the
same rule.
Religion, therefore, is merely
the science Of successful spirit
culture, with heaven for your
reaping season. There is moth
mysterious about it except as
the processes of growth are al
ways mysterious.
Theology is a very different
for it consists merely of a
series of speculations, or, in
some cases, Of vagaries, whose
influence on life is very remote
and obscure.
You can live long and well
without theology, but you can
not live at all without religion.
The electric current, for illustra-
ton, runs along the wire and
carries your message to the
other side of the continent-that
is practical religion. You have
a theory as to what the electric
current is-that is theology. You
can do without the theory, but
you cannot do without the cur
rent. The learned may, twith
more or less profit discuss the
nature of electricity;out the poor
man, who will be befogged by
definitions, knows as well
as you do the value of the mys-
fluid which traverses a hem
isphere in the twinklipg Of an
eye.
Now, it is a fundam entail law
OF religion that no man can SOW
thistles and reap corn. The ex-
pertinent has been tried so5 of.
ten, and so often failed, that in
would be foolish to try it again.
Life, therefore, becomes a ser.
ious affair, for some one is keep
ing a debit and credit accoun-
with your soul. Not serious il
the sense of awful. but in the
sense Of grand and glorious
This is not a vale of tears, but
rather rugged mountain path W
which you + climbing to the
summit. There are hours of ex
ceeding pleasure, when you res
for a while to enjoy the prospec
and gather inspiration there.
from; when the genial SUNSHINE
wih4 fills you bliss and the flow
ers spring at your feet; whel
you are a thousand times glat
that you undertook the journey
and your heart beats high will
joy and rapture.
There are other hours when
seems as though the storms wer'
fiends to block your passage
when Heaven above and eartl
beneath are black with discour
aging shadows, and when yo7
wonder if there is any SUNNI
or if it is worth while to struggl
to attain it.
All these experiences ar
working their effect on you
They are making or unmakin;
|you. They are your discipline
your trial and your education
Laughter and tears are equal
necessary, and if the Lord ha
denied the capacity for eithe
you would be half a man. 70
yield yourself at times to gle'
full hilarity, and at times to ben
your shoulders to a terrible bun
den and stagger under it. TT
lsame God listens to your happ
mess and your misery, simp-
asking you to be brave and {
the best you can.
Does this logic of cause al
effect cease at death, and is tt
other world wholly unlike Thu
There is no hint of any SUI
lchange to be found anywher
ION the contrary, there is ever
treason to believe that you w:
take up, the day after death, tt
same character you had the ds
before death. The air is full.
myths and fables with referen,
to this matter. There are
more harps in the future tn;
fthere are in the present. Y,