The Iola register., 1896-04-10

resolution like this young man in the
text when he said: II will arise and
go to my father"
When Napoleon talked of going into
Italy, they said: "You can't get there
If you knew what the Alps were you
wouldn't talk about it or think about
it You can't get your ammunition
wagons over the Alps" Then Napo-
leon rose in his stirrups, and waving
his hand toward the mountains. he
said: There shall be no Alps! That
wonderful pass was laid out which has
been the wonder of all the years since
the wonderment of all engineers
And you tell me there are such noun
tains of sin, between your soul and
God, there is no mercy. Then see
Christ waving His hand toward the
mountains l hear Him say: / will
come over the mountains of thy sin
and the hills of thine iniquity." There
shall be no Pyrenees; there shall be no
Alps.
Again, notice that this resolution
of the young man of my text was
founded in sorrow at his misbehavior.
1t was not mere physical plight 1t
was grief that he had so maltreated
his father. 1t is sad thing after
father has done everything for child
to have that child ungratefuL
How sharper than a serpent's tooth It Is,
To have thankless child
That is Shakespeare. "A foolish son
is the heaviness of his mother" That
u p,
not some of us been cruel prodigals2
Have we not maltreated our Father?
And such a Fatherl Three times a
day has He fed thee. He poured sun
light into thy day and at night
kindled up all the street lights of
Heaven. With what varieties of ap-
parel He hath clothed thee for the
season. Whose eye watches thee?
Whose hand defends thee? Whose
heart sympathizes with thee? Who
gave you your children? Who is
guarding your loved ones departed?
Such Father! So loving, so kind. If
He had been a stranger: if He had for
saken us; if He had fiagellated US; If
He had pounded US and turned US out
of doors on The commons, it would not
have been so wonderful-our treat
ment of Him; but He is a Father, so
loving, so kind, and yet how many of
us for our wandering have never apollo
gized! If we say anything that hurts
our friends feelings, if we do any
thing that hurts the feelings of
those in whom we are interested how
quickly we apologize! We can scarce
ly wait until we get pen and paper to
write letter of apology. How easy
it is for anyone who is intelligent,
right-hearted, to write an apology, or
make an apology! We apologize for
wrongs done to our fellows, but some
of US perhaps have committed ten
thousand times ten thousand wrongs
against God and never apologized-
Iremark still further, that this reso-
luton of the text was founded in
feeling of home-sickness- l do not
know how long this young man, how
many months, how many years he had
been away from his fathers house, but
there is something about the reading
of nv text that makes me think he was
homesick. Some of you know what
that feeling is Far away from home
sometimes, surrounded by everything
bright and pleasant-plenty of friends
who have said: Il would give the
world to be home tonight" Well,
this young man was homesick for his
fathers house. I have no doubt when
he thought of his fathers house he
said: Now, perhaps father may not
be living" We read nothing in
this story-this parable-founded on
everyday life-we read nothing
about the mother. 1t says moth
ing about going home to her.
think she was dead. / think she had
died of broken heart at his wander
ings, or, perhaps he had gone into dis
sipation from the fact that he could
not remember loving and sympathet-
ic mother. A man never gets over hav-
ing lost his mother. Nothing said
about her, but he is homesick for his
fathers house. He thought he would
Just like to go and walk around the
old place. He thought he would just
like to go and see if things were as
they used to be. Many a man after
having been off a long while has gone
home and knocked at the door, and a
stranger has scome. 1t is the old home
stead, but a stranger comes to the door.
He finds out father is gone, and mother
is gone, and brothers and sisters all
gone. think this young man of the
text said to himself: Perhaps father
may be dead" Still, he starts to find
out He is homesick- Are there any
here to-day homesick for God, home
sick for Heaven?
But 1 remark the characteristic of
this resolution was, it was Immediately
put into execution The context says
''he arose and came 70 his father" The
trouble in 999 times out of 1000 is that
our resolutions amount to nothing, be-
cause we make them for some distant
time II l resolve to become Chris
tian next year. that amounts to moth
ing at all. If l resolve to become
Christian tomorrow, that amounts to
nothing at all If l resolve at the
service this day to become Christian.
that amounts to nothing at all II l
resolve after go home to-day to yield