The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-03-14
TEACHING POINTS.

ON.-Supplementary to a restful
trust of the soul in the Fathers Providence is
the duty of alertness, watchfulness, of being on
guard against moral danger. The underlying
truth of our lesson is that justice is always op-
erative, n sver suspended. There is no need of
a far-off. dramatic judgmentday; God does
justly now; he will be just eternally. These
are seed-times and harvests; but one unchaDg
ing Justice pervade, all. We wrong the truth
when we imagine that Justice sleeps. No deed
or thought of ours can escape the ceaseless Wig
lance of the omnipresent Right.
~ V. 37-40. Be Alert. The coming of the
Son of Man is the coming of the Cause of Man.
Jesus own life was absorbed in the life of hui
mainly. Whatever was done to any human
brother was done to Jesus Matt. 25-4O).--f
we are looking for no Coming of the Son of Man,
for no appealing Cause of Man, we shall, in our
Indifference, be robbed of a divinely- given OPP
portunity; in that case our lives will remain I'M
redeemed by an inspiring human hOpe.-To
watch for the opportunity to serve fellowman;
to cast vote or speak a word for the right
cause; to help the over-burdened under their
heavy loads; to quicken hope In the dsc0ur-
aged; to extend fraternal hand to those in
need of our sympathetic be, in word, eager
ly watchful to serve Christ in the person of his
brother this Is to practice the Christian doctrine
of watchfulnesS
(2) V.41-46 Blessed are all the Alert. Nor.
al alertness is a universal human duty. Chris
tianity does not create, but reveals, human du-
ties.-The faithful, in the nature of things, are
rewarded the unfaithful in the nature of things
suffer for their betrayal of trust.--The wise
servant did not imagine that he could deceive
his masters vigilance; neither did he covet the
rewards of recreancy. He kept his own integ-
rty; he was humane and just toward his fellow
servants. When this servant was judged he
was found to have earned promotion. The
servant, on the other hand, who thought of judg-
ment as thing In the far future which might
by timely repentance be escaped, was led to
moral ruin.--Unless Jesus taught falsely in
the! words, the belief that the judgment-day is
in the far future is not only false belief, it Is
morally dangerous.
49, V.47. 4s. Judgment shall be According
to Light. The stripes of judgment shall be
many or few on individuals according to the
measure of their knowledge of the truth.--It
is a human duty to love all human beings,-but
If one has been religiOusly taught from infancy
that God hates mankind, or portion of them,
and purposes to wreak on them terrible and
endless vengeance, such misbeliever cannot
without qualification be blamed for hating men,
in imitation of his imagined Deity. If, on the
other hand, one believes in God as Father,
and that every human being is his brother,-n
this is the doctrine he has been taught and pro-
fesses to believe,-he is inexcusable when he
hates and wrongs any human being. The ex-
ample of God is against him. The nature of
things is against him.--The larger hope is not
the morally easy doctrine, 1t carries wide and
deep responsibility. To wrong any human be-
ing, whether by direct act or by example, is to
wrong Christ and God; it is to oppose the nature
of things. To do a real good to any human be-
ing is to so far win the Divine favor.