Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-03-19

never drops below zero. but December
is cherries month. and the pasturage
is very poor on the hilltops. Christ
stepped out OF warm heaven into the
cold world that cold December night.
The worlds reception was cold. The
surf Of bestormed Galilee was cold.
Joseph's sepulchre was cold. Christ
came, the great warmer, to warm the
earth, and all Christendom to-day feels
the glow. He will keep on warming
the earth until the Tropic will drive
away the Arctic and the Antartic. He
gave an imitation of what he was going
to do when he broke up the funeral at
the gate of Main and turned 1t into
reunion festival, and when with his
warm lips he melted the Galilean hurri-
cane and stood on the deck and stamped
his foot, crying, "Silence" and the
waves crouched and the tempests folded
their wings.
oh. Il was this Christ who warmed
the chilled disciples when they had no
food by giving them plenty to eat. and
who in the tomb OF Lazarus shattered
the shackles until the broken links OF
the chain Of death ratified into the dark
est crypt OF the mausoleum. In his
genial presence the girl who had fallen
into the fire and water is healed OF tho
catalepsy, and the withered arm takes
muscular, healthy action. and the ear
| that could not hear an avalanche
catches a leafs rustic. and the tongue
that could not articulate trills quat-
| rain. and the blind eye was relumed.
and Christ. instead OF staying three
DAYS and three nights in the sepulchre.
as was supposed. as soon as the worldly
curtain OF observation was dropped be-
gan the exploration OF all the UNDER
ground passages of earth and sea.
wherever a Christians grave may after
awhile be. and started light OF chris
tian hope, resurrection hope. wnieh
shall not go out until the last cerement
Is taken off and the last mausoleum
breaks open.
Notwithstanding all the modern In
ventions for heating. tell you there Is
nothing so full of geniality and social
| ity as the old-fashioned country hre-
place. The neighbors were to come In
for a winter evening of sociality. In
the middle Of the afternoon, in the
best room in the house, some one
brought in a great backlog with great
strain and put it down on the back OF
the hearth. Then the lighter wood was
put on, armful after armful. Then
shovel of Goals was taken from another
room and put under the dry pile. and
the kindling began. and the cracking,
and il rose until IL became roaring
flame, which filled all the room with
geniality and was reflected from the
family pictures on the wall. Then the
neigabors came in two by two. They
sat down. their faces to the fire, which
ever and anon was stirred with tongs
and readjusted on the andirons. and
there were such times of rustic repartee.
and storytelling, and mirth as the
black stove and the blind register never
dreamed Of Meanwhile the table was
being spread, and so fair was the cloth
and so clean was the cutlery. they glis-
ten and glisten In our minds to-day.
And then the best luxury Of orchard
and farmyard was roasted and prepared
sharpened by the cold ride. oh! my
friends, the Church of Jesus Christ is
the worlds fireplace, and the woods are
from the cedars of Lebanon, and the
fires are fires of love, and with the sill
yer tongs of the altar we stir the flame
and the light is reflected from all the
family pictures on the wall-pictures OF
! those who were here and are gone now
oh! come up close to the fireplace.
Have your worn face TRANSPORTED in
the light. Put your cold feet, weary Of
he journey, close up to the blessed con-
fagration. Chilled through with trou-
BILE and disappointment, come close up
until you can get warm clear through.
Exchange experience, talk over the har-
vests gathered, tell all the Gospel news.
, Meanwhile the table Is being spread.
; On it, bread of life. On it, grapes OF
Eshcol. On 1t, new wine from the
kingdom. On 1t, a thousand luxuries
celestial. Hark, as a wounded hand
raps on the table, and tender voice
comes through saying: Come. for all
, things are now ready. Eat, oh, friends!
drink, yea, drink abundantly, oh, be-
, loveiw
, My friends. that is the way the cold
world is going to be warmed up. by the
, great Gospel fireplace. All nations will
come in and sit down at the banquet
While was musing. the fire burned
Come In out of the cold. come in out OF
the coldr'