Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-03-25
ZEAL AND PATIENCE.
Two Qualities the Christian Soldier
should Have.

should Have.
Our Lord twice sent His disciples on
an evangelizing tour. The first time
He sent 20 men, in haste, as for a sudden
dash, corr:ers travelling with speed to
tell the inhabitants of the limited ter
ritory of Galilee that He had come as
the Prophet of the Kingdom of Heaven.
They were to take no extra clothing,
no knapsack for food, no weapons of de-
Tense, and were to stop for no saluta-
tons. They came back in few days
with the work done.
A second time our Lord sent out His
disciples, 10 of them; but this time
there was no hurried speed. First
they were to tarry in Jerusalem till
they weresuitably endowed with power.
Then they were to begin their ministry
there in Jerusalem; and to Jerusalem
and the vicinity they confined it for
some years. 1t was a long while be-
fore Paul became the apostle to the
Gentiles. And when Paul was con-
verted, as by flash of lightning, even
| that eager prosecutor and apostle was
| not In haste to begin his new mission,
but retired into solitude for three years
Of study. 1t was only with such DELHI
crate preparation that the siege began
| Of the world for Christ.
Too often since then, and for centuries
| the caution has degenerated into
sloth; but the lesson remains of delib-
| erateness combined with intense
energy. st. Paul is our lesson and ex-
ample of zeal and patience, the zeal
which cries: WOE is me IL preach not
the Gospel" and the patience which
could wait years in the desert or in
prison. The zeal must be part
of the souls furnishing, zeal deter
mined to carry on the work Of Christ;
the patience must be ready to wait
Gods time when opposition cannot be
overcome, or when sickness or age
holds one back from work. "I have
written to you, young men, because ye
are strong" says the aged st. John, al
ready retired from active service, and
strong work he asks of them; but he
himself, resting in Patmos, could give
himself up to quiet and ecstatic visions
OF the Heavenly glory.
Thus there come to almost every
Christian alternating seasons of zeal
Gus activity and enforced retirement
and rest. But the rest Is to be the re-
ward of long, active service, or Is of the
special direction of the Master, for to
each is given first his work. Let the
younger Christian put his preparation
| first, as John would have his "little
children" "lnow the Father" and
then, as they grow strong, let them
flame out in all holy activities. But
let not the sick or the old think that
their retirement from the thick Of the
conflict, illustrating the patience Of
the saints" is any lower honor or serv-
Ice:
Ills state Is kingly; thousands at his bid
ding speed
And post o err land and ocean without rest
They also serve who only stand and wait"
May it not well be that those who are
hidden thus to stand and wait have a
closer and more unimpeded view Of the
face Of their King? May it not be that
this is the peculiar privilege of sickness
and Of old age?
But this must be remembered, that
the activity, the zeal In the service
Of Christ and His Church is the
duty which we must press, which
should come with u constant i'm
pulse from within. The patience, the
waiting, is put upon us from above. We
must do what we can; and II we can
do little or nothing, that must not be
from our negligence, but because God
puts the bars before us, because He bids
us stand and wait.-N. Y. Independent.