The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-08-11

goodness which is His is wholly a conscious goodness.
Now you know what a repulsive and detormed kind OF
goodness that is, always thinking of itself, always conscious
of itself. How different the life of Christ. lie did not
make self sacrifice the end Of His life the sacrifice OF self
was not the motive that controlled His lite. Inc one pow
er in the life of Christ was love out OF this love there
grew unselfsh deeds and'labors for men grew up natural
", without a thought on the part of Christ that He was
doing all that. The one thing in Him was boundless love
His highest Joy was the welfare of others !; and IN that Joy
Christ never stopped to think OF, or estimate the greatness
of what He was doing for others, or to consider that 1t was
He himself that was doing all that. Christ did not sacrlhce
self in Him self was utterly forgotten, and lost sight OF IN
love. So it is that the sacrifice of self is not the motive
of the Christian life, of a perfect human lite, but love.
Self-sacrifce is always self-sacrifce, selfish IN a measure
therefore, e~gotistic, always conscious OF sell, and OF ITS
merits. Love alone is supremely unconscious, sincere,
true. A treasure of wisdom and knowledge is this great
principle, and Christ's whole life is one long illustration OF
it. And it is this principle, perhaps, that Will explain why
YOU in your labours for men may have met sometimes with
rebuff and failure. Men resent, and very properly, sell
sacrifice made in their behalf every selt-respectlng man
feels that it is a matter Of presumption tor another TO be
sacrificing himself for his welfare. But no man resents the
good offices of love, love that forgets self, and is uncon-
scious of ought but the welfare of its object. My TRENDS,
never go out to help any one with the thought nyour MIND
that YOU will deny self in so doing men don't want that.
Go to men because you love them, and their highest inter-
ests, and you will have an entrance into every heart.
But again, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge IN
Christ manifest to US the place that sincerity has IN a true
human life. How sincere and truthful Christ was, not SIM
ply that He always spoke the truth, and acted uPrlghty'
but how open was His mind always to impressions OF truth;
how kecnly sensitive to truth how gladly ola ne accept
all truth; how faithfully did He live up to truth. Christ
gladly RECOGNIZED truth where ever He found it, however un-
toward and unpromisng its surroundings. He marveled'
and bore witness to the plety OF the Roman centurion
whose son He healed, Il have not found so great faith, no,
not in Israel" His own people. What opennesso OF mind
in Christ is shown in the parable Of the Pharsee and Pub
lican who went up into the temple to pray-a sincerity that
pierced through the pretenteus emptiness OF the Pharsee,
and recognized the lowly devoutness of the publican: NOR
did our Lord accept only pleasant and agreeable truth. JUST
as loyally did He accept hard and dlsagreeable facts, ana
act upon them. Once He was warned to leave Judea, as
Herod was about to kill Him, and He answered 81 cast
out devils, and | do cures to-day and tomorrow, and the
third day | shall be perfected. Nevertheless | must walk
to-day and tomorrow, and the day following No shrk-
ing the hard facts of life there He knew them better than
any one could tell Him. And yet He went forward. what
a treasure to us of knowledge and wisdom IN Chrlsts SIN
cerity. How dull and slow of mind we are to accept truth.
How we persist in holding and maintaining that which we
desire, and in shutting our eyes to all that contradlctS TINS.
And this we do consciously, deliberately and, too, we reject
truth unconsciously, involuntarily our prejudlces rise up
and obscure truth, and we turn away without knowing 1t.
Preiudices of family. and Of race social, political and re-
ligious prejudice, all of this makes us untruthful. Chrlsts
life abounds in wisdom for our guidance in this the very
corner stone of character, sincerity.
Such, then, in briefest outline, are some OF those treas
ures of wisdom and knowledge that are revealed to us IN
Christ. Such are some of the aspects OF the humanity
and MANHOOD al f1ul VIII diOllC H"o ONh 10Y
Finally, these treasures are said to be hid IN ChIlst. But
whv are they hid? and how They are hid, not because
God would prevent men from receiving them, but because
not all men have the disposition and inclination to accept
them. The knowledge and wisdom of Christ can be I'M
derstood and appreciated only by him who has something
of these qualities in himself. They meet a response only
in him who has something in himself akin to this wisdom
and knowledge, some susceptibility for them. Chr'sts SIM
lessness, then, can never affect the man wholly gwen to SIN,
who never feels the weight of sin, who never strives against
sin. Christ's love has no message to the man engulied IN
s~elhshness. Christ's sincerity has no word OF truth Tor
him who is untrue and untruthful. 1t is a solemn thought,
then, that there are men from whom Christ's knowledge and
wisdom are hidden, not by a decree of God, but because OF
what these men are. Music in its fitness and power aP-
peals onlv to the musician, to one susceptible, and versed
in the art. And so, my friends, if Christ's lite has no mes
sage for YOU, it is because of the kind of man you are. And
Won are of that kind, because you have rnade yourself such.
The responsibility rests in every case upon you, and not
mon God. If Christs sinlessness does not appeal to
YOU, it is because you have acquiesced in sin, chosen sin
for Yourself. If Christ S life Of love does not meet a re-
sponse in YOUR heart, it is because, throughout your lite,
self and it's interests, have been first. If you are unattect-
ed by Christs truth, it is because you have chosen false
boon to be your guide and companion. ''ln Christ are
hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge God
grant that they may not be hid from us God grant that
we. bv our lives, by what we make ourselves, may not
erect barriers that will shut out from our existence Chrlsts
light and truth, His treasures Of wisdom and knowledge.