The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-06-12

l
home with you today. Say goodby to
your friends In the neishboring pews and
| 60 with him to any one Of a hundred
churches till his soul n saved and he
joins you In the march to heaven. More
important than that ring on the third
finger Of your left hand 1t Is that your
Heavenly Father command the angel Of
mercy concerning your husband at his
conversion. as In the parable Of OLD put
ring on his hand"
No letter Of more importance ever
came to the great city Of Corinth, stu
ateu on what was called the Bridge Of
the Sea-" and glistening with sculpture,
and gated with style Of brass the mag
nifcence Of which the following ages
have not been able to successfully iini-
tate, and overshadowed by the Acro-Cor-
inthus, fortress Of rock 1000 feet high
II say no letter ever came to that great
city Of more importance than that letter
in which Paul puts the two startling
questions: what knowest thou, o wife,
whether thou shalt save thy husband2
Or how knowest thou, o man, whether
thou shalt save thy wife?" The dearest
sacrifice on the part of the one 10 cheap
IL it rescue the other. Better 60 to the
smallest, weakest, most insignificant
church on earth and be copartners In
eternal bliss than pass your earthly mem
bership In most gorgeously attractive
church while your companion stays out
side Of evangelical privilege. Better have
the drowning saved by a scow or sloop
than let him or her go down while you
sail by In the gilded cabins Of Majestic
or Campania.
sacriacs Preferences.
Second remark: II both of the married
couples be Christians, but one Is so nat
urally constructed that It ID impossible
to enjoy the services Of q particular de-
rian or punctilious, let the one less par
ticular 90 with the other who Is very
particular. As for myself, feel as much
at home In one denomination Of evan
gelical Christians as another, and ! think
l must have been born very near the
line. like the solemn roll Of the Epis-
copal liturgy, and like the spontansity
Of the Methodists, and. I like the impor-
lance given to the ordinance Of baptism
by the Baptists, and like the freedom
Of the Consresationalists, and like the
government and the sublime doctrine Of
the Presbyterians, and like many of the
others lust as much as any have men
toned, and could happily live and
preach and die and be buried from any
of them. But others are born with liz
ing SO stout, 30 unbending, 80 inexorable
for some denomination that It is a posi-
tive necessity they have the advantage Of
that one. What they were intended to be
in ecclesiasticism was written in the
sides Of their cradle, II the father and
mother had eyes keen enough to see 1t.
They would not stop crying until they
had put In their hands as a plaything
Westminster catechism of the Thirty
nine Articles. The whole current of their
temperament and thought and character
runs into one sect Of religionists as nat
urally as the James river into the Ches-
apeake. It would be torture to such
persons to be anywhere outside of that
one church.
Now, let the wife or husband who Is
not 60 constructed sacrifice the milder
preference for the one more infexible-
and rigorous. Let the grapevine follow
the rugosities and sinuosities Of the oak
or hickory. Abram, the richer In focks
Of Christian grace, should say to Lot,
who Is built on a smaller scale: Let
there he no strife, pray thee, between
me and thee and between my herdsmen
and thy herdsmen. Is not the whole
land before thee?" As you can be edited
and happy anywhere, go with your COM
panion to the church to which he or she
must 60 or be miserable.
Advice to Parents.
Remark the third: II both the married
couple are very strong in their sectarian-
ism, let them attend the different church
es preferred. 1t is not necessary that
you attend the same church. Religion
Is between your conscience and your
God. Like Abrnm and Lot agree to SUI
fer. When on Sabbath morning you
come out Of your home together and one
goes one way and the other the other,
heartily wish each other good sermon
and a time Of profitable devotion, and
when you meet again at the MONDAY re-
past let 1t be evident, each to each and
to your children and to the hired help,
that you have both been on the Mount of
TRANSPORTATION, although you went up
by different paths, and that you have
both been fed by the bread Of life,
though kneaded by different hands In Diff
ferent trays and baked In different ovens.
"But how about the childrenw am Of
ten asked by scores Of parents. Let
them also make their own choice. They
will grow up with reverence for both
the denominations represented by father
and mother II you by holy lives commend
those denominations. II the father lives
the better life, they will have the more
favorable opinion of his denomination.
If the mother lives the better life, they |
will have the more favorable opinion Of |
her denomination. And some day both |
the parents will, for at least one service,
20 to the same church. The neighbors
will say, ~ wonder what is going on to-
day, for saw our neighDor and his wife, |
who always go to different churches, 60
ing arm In arm to the same sanctuary"
Well, will tell you what has brought |
them together arm in arm to the same
altar. Something very important has
happened. Their son ia today uniting |
with the church. he Is standing In the
aisle, taking the vows Of a Christian.
He had been somewhat Maynard and
gave father and mother q good deal Of
anxiety, but their prayers have been an.
swered In his conversion, and as he
stands In the aisle and the minister of re.
ligion says, do you consecrate yourself
to the God who made and redeemed you,
and do you promise to serve him all your
days" and with manly voice he an
swers, II do" there Is an April shower
In the pew where father and mother sit
and a rainbow Of Joy which arches both
their souls that makes all differences Of
creed infnitesimal. And the daughter,
who had been very worldly and gay and
thoughtless, puts her life on the altar Of
and as the sunlight of that
Sabbath streams through the church
window and falls upon her brow and
cheek she looks. like their other daugh-
ter, whose face was illuminated with
the brightness Of another world on the
day when the Lord took her into his
keeping years ago.
A Hint From Astronomy.
should not wonder II, after ALL these
parents pass the evening Of their life in
the same church, all differences Of church
preference overcome by the Joy Of being
In the house Of God where their children
were prepared for usefulness and hcav.
en-. But can give you recipe for ruin.
Ing your children. Angrily contend in
the household that your church Is right
and the church of your companion Is
wrong. Bring sneer and caricature to
emphasize your opinions, and your chill
dren will make up their minds that reli-