The Brinkley argus., 1898-09-08
APpEALgo TO THE HEROIC.
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 h attfooting men to enter Hia serv- ie> Christ did not appeal to the motives nASoh usually influence human choice.
 id not say: Follow me. and wIIk6ive you wealth, power, pleasure plsce, ease, safety" but virtually, the converge was true. With an absolute franknsss which would have frightened men who were not of heroic fiber He told His disciples that in leaving all 10 become His followers they were in vited to become sharers with Him m poverty, homelessness. detraction, per secution; that He would lead them into the midst of conflict in which earth and hell would turn their worst weap- ons against Him and His followers; that the time would come when to kill the disciples of the hated Nazarcne would be regarded as pious act; that they were called to tribulation, cross bearing. hatred of self, mnrtyrdom. While He did not disclose all the hard ships of His service at any one time, vet He made it plain to possible dlsci- ples. that in following Him they must be ready to forsake anything, accept anything, endure anything-even to the loss of life itself-follow Him un- conditionally, without stopping to count the costs of this or that action.
 But, strange as it would seem to Caesar or Sybarite. Christ's methods of appeal grappled to His soul with something much stronger than hooks of steel men and women not few whc were willing to follow Him even unto death. Such 2 method of appeal at- tracted 1em. It touched the heroic in them. It made them unconqucrable, for how can man be overcome who regards death for Christ's sake as the crowning incident of his victory :: Christ, who knew what is in man, did not make . mistake when He enlisted .o!diers for the conquest of the world by appealing to the heroic in man.
 Christ's appeal is still to the heroic in man. The external conditions of dis cipleship have greatly changed since Jesus, the Hero above all heroes, fought the greatest Conflict of the Ages alone; but the essential conditions of disciple ship are now and always will be the same. Christ never invited man to be saved for his own sake, and never will. He will not lift selfshness into Heaven to sit there in the eternal enjoyment ot egoistic felicity.
 But are we not in danger of being
 mode selfish by the very afauencc of modern Christianity? Christianity has raade ceEtain favored circles of life ex- eeedingly pleasant. In her train fol- low law. liberty, education, industry, competence, art, and all the comforts and clegsncics of life. It requires no self-denial to be Christian in these days, so far as the external conditions of life are concerned. Indeed, Chris ti.nity is now % rich and increased in goods that she is in danger of bidding against her old rival, the World. by offering great temporal advantages to those who are wise enough to enter within her sheltered fold. This is well enough if the blessings of our Chris tian. civilization are regarded as incl dental and. subsidiary. but the danger is that. they, will be regarded as pri- mary. and fhat the possession of them will unfit Christians for that daily self denial without which religion is the most hateful form of selfishness.
 Christ.s tonic for this malaria of mod ern ,life-aeIfshness-is the same as of old. the heroic, the soul of which is self-denial. for the advancement of worthy ends And there are so many opportunities for heroism. even in low ly life, that anyone who is Christ-like in his station is thereby qualified to take from Christ's own hand the Holy Grail of the heroic. and drink with Him of His cup.
 When Victor Hugo desired to find hero around whom to group the series of books which form his great work, Les. Miserables," the election did not fall on the great Napoleon, the chief character in one of the books, but on Jean .Ialjean, the cx-convict. the man who was, lifted out of crimiuuiity by the help of the "good bishop" who lied 70 heroically to save his guest from ar rest as robber, the convict who be- came wealthy manufacturer and m honored citizen. but again was returned to the gallcys by knowingly bctraying himself to a keen-cycd detective while using his enormous strength to save . man from being crushed to death un- der n loaded cart; Jean Vnljean. who for many years lived life of complete dead to the world, liv- ing for Cosette. Marius and others, who did not understand the worth of his sacrifices. only to have the heroism of his life discovered when he was found dying alone. dying for lack of human sympathy. staying his lonely soul by praying to the Grand Sufferer" of Calvary, whose example he had for many years initiated.
 And the life of our day furnishes many opportunities for the exercise of Christian hcroism. Christ knows them, and they know Christ. and gladly fol- low Him whithcrsoever He goeth; men and women who go to the most distant posts of our Captains ''far-fiung" bat tlc line; workers in the obscure home missionary churches. or in social set dement's. among the poor, or in any service great or smnll which gives promise of filling place in Christ's re- dcmptjvc plan. The world has need of such heroes. who will place others be- fore self, duty before ease, the spiritual before the carnnl. service before in