The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-02-04

eAS seating of the PEG
pie, stood in the
pulpit looking from
side to side, and when no more people
could be crowded within the walls, he
turned to me and said, with startling
emphasis: s'What an opportunity!
Immedia tely that word began to en-
large, and while a hymn was being
sung, at every stanza the word ''op
portunity" swiftly and nightly un'
folded, and while the opening prayer
was being made, the word piled UP
into Alps and Himalayas of meaning,
and spread out into other latitudes
and longitudes of significance until II
became hemisphere, and it still grew
in altitude and circumference until II
encircled other worlds, and swept out
and on, and around until 1t was as Dig
as eternity. Never since have reao
or heard that word without oelng
thrilled with it's magnitude and mo-
mentum. Opportunity! Although I'D
the text to some it may seem milo
and quiet note, in the great gospel
harmony it is staccato passage. II
is one of the loveliest and awfulest
words in our language of more thar
one hundred thousand words OF En-
glish voca bulary. LAS we have oppor
tunity, let US do good.
What is an opportunity? The lexl'
cographer would coolly tell you 1t IS
conjunction of favorable circumstances
for accomplishing purpose; but words
can not tell what it is. Take thou
sand wears to manufacture definition,
and you could not successfully describe
it. Opportunity! The measuring roo
with which the Angel of the Apocalypse
measured heaven could not measure
this pivotal word of my text. Stand
on the edge of the precipice of all time
and let down the fathoming line hand
under hand, and lower down and lower
down, and for a quintillion OF years
let it sink, and the lead will not strike
bottom. Opportunity! But while dc
not attempt to measure or define the
word, I will, God helping me, take the
responsibility of telling you something
about opportunity.
First, it is very swift in its motions
Sometimes within one minute it starts
from the throne of God, sweeps around
the earth, and reascends the throne
from which it started. Within less than
sixty seconds it fulfilled its mission.
In the second place opportunity
never comes back. Perhaps an oppOr
tunity very much like it may arrive,
but that one never. Naturalists tell
us of insects that are born, fulfill their
mission, and expire in an hour; but
many opportunities die so soon after
they are born that their brevity of life
is incalcula BILE What most amazes
me is that opportunities do such over
shadOwing, far reaching and ire
mendous work in such short earthly
allowance. You are a business man of
large experience. The past eighteen
months have been hard on business
men. A young merchant at his wits
end came into your Office, or your
house, and you said, ''Times are hard
now, but better days will come. Ihave
seen things as bad, or worse, but we
got out, and we will get out of this.
The brightest days that this country
ever saw are yet to come" The young
man to whom you said that was ready
for suicide, or something worse,
namely, a fraudulent turn to get out
of his despairful position. Your hope
fulness inspired him for all time, and
thirty years after you are dead he will
be reaping the advantage of your
optimism. Your opportunity to do
that one thing for that young man
was not half as long as the time 1 have
taken to rehearse it.
In yonder third gallery you sit,
man of the world, but you wish every
body well. While the clerks are stand
ing round in your store, or the men in
your factory are taking their noon
spell, some one says, 'Have you heard
that one of our men has been converted
at the revival meeting in the Methodist
church?' While it is being talked
over you say, well, I do not believe
in revivals- Those things do not last
People get excited and join the church
and are no better than they were be-
fore. I wish our men would keep
away from those meetings" Do you
know, oh, man, what you did in that
minute of depreciation? There were
two young men in that group who that
night would have gone to those meet
ings and been saved for this world and
the next, but you decided Them not to
go. They are social natures. They
already drink more than is good for
them, and are disposed to be wild.
From the time they heard you say
that they accelerated their steps on
the downward road In ten years they
will be through with their designations
and pass into the great beyond. That
little talk of yours decided their des-
tiny for this world and the next You
had an opportunity that you misim-
proved. and how will you feel when
you confront those two immortals in
the last judgment and they tell you
of that unfortunate talk of yours that
flung them over the precipice2 Oh,
man of the world, why did you not say
in that noon spell of conversation,
Good! am glad that man has got
religion. L wish 1 had it myself Let
us all go tonight. Come on; will