Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-11-13
AN ABLE DISCOURSE.
Rev. e.. E. Woodruff breaches
to the Young Men.

!
This week is observed as the week of
prayer for young men, by the Young
Mems Christian Associations through.
out the world. In view of this, on in
vitation of the pastor, Rev G. f. Wood
ruff preached a sermon especially to
young men, at the Presbyterian church
last Sunday evening Mr.. Woodruff
took for his text the words found in
Mark 1921.
"'Then Jesus beholding, him loved
him, and said unto him, One thing
thou lackest' "
Tie thought Of the discourse ran
somewhat as follows The rich young
ruler did not lack moral earnestness
his mind was anxious for his souls
salvation he came running to Jesus,
filled with this one question, what
shall | do TO inherit eternal life?''
There was no lack Of reverence in him,
for lie came and knelt down before the
Master The influence of good training
shore forth in his character He was
not only eager and reverent, but also
well instructed for he knew the law,
it was Il source of his daily meditation
and the hope Of his life. Yet, III spite
of his religious instruction and all these
commendable features of his character,
there was one thing which he lacked.
To be generally right is not sufficient /;
man must be perfect, "even as our
Father i'll heaven is perfect" Religious
training alone is not sufficient for IA
mans soul; for in spite of all the rich
young rulers knowledge and discipline,
his heart was unchanged. One may
listen to preaching continually and yet
not be affected; he may even love to at
tend church and TO read his Bible These
things are a great help, enlarging the
mind and broadening the views. Any
act of helpfulness reflects on the soul
but external worship is not sufficient
| for the souls salvation.
Education is not the acquisition of
knowledge, not the storing of facts it is
making ones self more of man, devel
| oping ones self so as to become more
powerful to resist the temptations of
life. Yet man may lack one thing and
that the vital one. Man must learn
| that the prime object of his life is not
for himself alone, but for his fellow
men and for the world. In the case of
| the young ruler, his wealth was his all !;
he was religious, but not Christian.
Thus it is with many; they may feel
noble impulses and be drawn towards
God; they may reverence what is help
full and true, yet lack the fundamental
principle of Christianity. "Go, sell all
| that thou hast ~ this the rich ruler
could not do. There was light in the
law, with which he was so familiar ;
but it did not shine into lis heart.
But when we wish to know how a
| man lives, what we wish to see is not
his parlor, kept in readiness for COM
pany, but the living rooms. So also, we
do not desire to learn how a man lives
on the Sabbath, but what sort Of life
he leads every day of the week. We
desire 10 look down deep into the prin-
ciples Of his heart.
So long as we do not find others
whom we can serve, so long as we do
not realize that the world without us is
| large, we are not Christ's. Loving God
is loving others for the good we can do
them; it is the giving, of ourselves.
There's the rub' the giving of ones
self without hope of return of any sort.
The spirit Of self forgetfulness demands
me to ignore, to deny myself, and to
see the need of others. If | meet the
demand l conform TO Christs teach
| ings. Let me illustrate; before man
becomes parent, he regards his house
| and all his possessions as his own; but
when he has become a parent he no
longer considers them as his own, but
as his children's. He had no thought
of sharing his bread with anyone till he
had a family of his own. What pater-
nal love does for a man in reference to
his family, Christian love does for him
in reference to. the world; his wealth is
not his own, but belongs to the poor.
The principle of self-forgetfulness is
the difference between righteousness and
true Christianity. Without this one
point the rich young ruler was really
nothing. A sailors training may be
excellent in all points but one, he may
be able TO perform all the duties of the
sailor and not be able to swim. He
lacked only one qualification, but that
was the fatal one in the hour of ship
wreck. To be right in the main is not
sufficient. Giving ourselves may seem
a small thing, but it is not an easy mat
ter. Looking out of our window on
| stormy day, we see some one thinly
clad and with half starved look, to