The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-08-14


some lazy priest who coveted hi:
neighbours wealth and chose rather tC
sponge it out of him by holy fright
than to secure like reward by faith
full labor and economical expendi
lures.
The circumstances connected with
the utterance of the text were these
A certain individual came to Christ
with the inquiry, Good Master, what
shall | do to inherit (or as Matthew
records the question, that l may
haveO eternal life?" Jesus replied tc
him, keep the commandments: Dc
not commit adultery, kill, steal, nor
bear false witness, and honor thy
father and mother, and he would
have added Remember, and assist
with the ability that God has given
thee, the poor and the distressed"
But the individual interrupted him
with the self-satisfying declaration,
in which was, perhaps, mingled and
apparent very little of the pride
of self-righteousness: "All these
things have l kept from my youth
up" Jesus saw that there was some
thing worthy in the man. His life
had been generally correct; there
was much in it to be commended; as
far as he had gone his example stood
approved; he was very good Jew;
but it did not yet appear that he
was fully and in all respects practi-
cally what Christia nifty demanded.
The big heart of Jesus was drawn
out towards him; in the account
which Mark has treasured up we are
told that he ''loved him. He would
learn whether he possessed that other
necessary qualification. If he did,
the doors of the kingdom were open
to him, the precious gift of eternal
life had already begun to we'll up in
his soul and would reach OVERLOOKING.
Christ would give to him his hand of
fellowship and take him to his heart
as faithful disciple and co-laborer.
If he did not possess it he would
try whether he could not inspire him
with it. Did he love God and man
kind better than be loved the album
dance with which God had blessed
him? On which were his hearts best
affections placed, on God and Gods
or on that which God had
committed to his stewardship? Was
he as faithful steward using, or was
he ready to use, the means which
God had placed in his power to re-
lieve the needy and distressed and
advance the cause of human veal?
Could he give back to God by appro-
priating for human good all that God
had given to him? All this Christi
anity requires. 1t touches the main
spring of life and makes human good
the motive power in everything-in
keeping still and in keeping active
in doing nothing, in doing little, and
in doing much. 1t will not let the
hands nor the heart be idle and
stand apart from any cause whereby
human good is to be promoted. 1t
will unite the purse strings with
mans own fingers and hearty good
will while there is a dollar in it and
bring that dollar out; it will bow a
mans body to the block while there
is ahead to be chopped off, or tie it
to the stake while there is life to be
burned out, or nail it to cross while
there is life to be speared out,-pro-
vided only that the sacrifice gives
assurance of more good to mankind
than might be promoted without it.
Jesus, therefore, further replied to
him, "Yet lackest thou one thing:
sell all that thou hast, and distribute
unto the poor, and thou shalt have
treasures in Heaven; and come, fol-
low me-"
1t was thus that Jesus did. All
that he had and all that he was he
brought to the shrine of religion
and laid upon the altar an offering
for human good. The sacrifice of
the last trying hour was to him no
greater than he had always and all
along been making. 1t was only the
acceptance on the part of others of
that life which he had long before
dedicated to God for them and had
kept in service in their behalf.
When the young man heard this
He went away, sorrowful, but he
went away. There is no one can go
away from Christ knowingly, but he
must go as this young man did. sor-
rowful. There is no one can refuse
the sacrifice which Christianity re-
quired OF him, but he must suffer a
loss; it is as much against his own
interest as it is against that of any
other person, and, perhaps, even
more.
It were better to keep near to Christ